Conejo Post

Margot Feuer and Mary Wiesbrock

How many places could you live, where you could actually meet the people responsible for the creation of a local national park or state park?  I don’t think there are many, but the Conejo Valley is definitely one of them!

Margot Feuer and Mary Wiesbrock are in the photo at the left, taken at Ahmanson Ranch this past summer.  In the 1970′s, Margot, who lived in Malibu, joined with Jill Swift from Tarzana and Sue Nelson from Brentwood, to campaign for a national park in the Santa Monica Mountains.  They campaigned  at home and lobbied in Washington, D.C., which led to the President Jimmy Carter signing legislation in 1978 to create the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area (SMMNRA).  This is according to an article by Ventura County Supervisor Linda Parks in March, 2009.  A link to the article is below.

In the early 1990′s, Mary Wiesbrock of Agoura Hills and Sue Boecker of Oak Park campaigned to save Jordan Ranch from development.  They formed the nonprofit group, Save Open Space, (SOS) in their fight to preserve these hills at the east end of the Conejo, and were joined by many activist volunteers.  Margot Feuer also came onboard for this new effort to increase the National Recreation Area.  They were successful!  It is now the Palo Camado Canyon Unit of the SMMNRA. 

But, as Mary says, “You never give up!”  Mary, Sue, and Margot continued in their efforts to secure new parkland in or near the Conejo Valley, for generations to come.  Save Open Space was central in the fight to save Ahmanson Ranch for parkland, and also King Gillette Ranch at Las Virgenes Road and Mullholland.  In the Ahmanson Ranch effort, Rob Reiner’s group, Rally for the Ranch, was also quite influental, led by Chad Griffin, along with a number of incredible activists.  Joe Behar, the “Bullhorn Guy,” from the west San Fernando Valley was tireless in his efforts, as was Mayor Janice Lee of Calabasas, and now-Supervisor Linda Parks.  Others who worked to get the parkland included Bonnie Biddison of Oak Park, and Suzanne Duckett of Thousand Oaks.  I did too…and attending the Ventura County hearings in the fall of 2002 was my introduction into how CEQA and local government worked  I also believe that reporter Michael Collins had a terrific impact with his investigative article in the Ventura County Reporter, titled “Rocketdyne Ranch.” It was published during the hearings, and reported on the perchlorate findings in an Ahmanson well.

So, aren ‘t we lucky in the Conejo Valley?  We get to see history happening!  to go to the Save Open Space website, go to:  www.SaveOpenSpace.com  To read Linda Parks’ article on the founding of the national park, go to:  http://portal.countyofventura.org/pls/portal/docs/PAGE/BOS/BOS_DISTRICT_2/MARCH.IS.WOMEN’S.HISTORY.MONTH.PDF

Posted and photo by Janna Orkney