This is the only place I've lived that has a "Cultural Identity". This place is different. We're still cowboys and pioneers. That spirit is still in us and it makes us unique. When the desperadoes attack we circle the wagons. Only now the guys in the black hats wear Armani and instead of six guns, they carry briefcases.
I like to think of myself as The Ringo Kid. Who is your "Inner Cowboy"?
Our communities have really come together over environmental and preservation issues. The Chatsworth Neighborhood Council and the West Hills Neighborhood Council just both passed nearly identical resolutions about the sad shape the Chatsworth Nature Preserve is in. Both resolutions call on Council Member Englander to help us initiate discussions with DWP to protect the ecology pond used extensively by local wildlife, and develop a resource management plan for the property.
They also both passed resolutions about the Draft Environmental Impact Statement that NASA has just presented to the public about their property at the Santa Susana Field Lab (SSFL). They both recommend rejecting the DEIS and ask NASA to start over and find a way to preserve what's important up on the mountain.
Troublemakers!
Myself and several others from the Santa Susana Mountain Park Association (SSMPA), have been traveling around the Valley selling our preservation plan to as many neighborhood councils as we can. We've had great success! Our presentation has been about the SSFL, but, that is only part of the goal of preserving 15,000 acres in danger of development in the Simi Hills. A protected wildlife corridor to connect the Santa Monica Mountains to areas North of the San Fernando Valley is critically needed in this area.
Please go to;http://ssmpa.com/issues-and-positions.php
15,000 acres is a lot of open space. The NASA property is only 450 acres, SSFL as a whole is 3200 acres. With the exception of Sage Ranch and Santa Susana Pass State Historic Park, the rest is in private hands, in danger of falling under a bulldozer. It's the last wilderness! Without it the Santa Monica Mountains would die. Really! The "Vast Majority" of the community wants to see it preserved. That's the main thing we wanted to demonstrate with our Neighborhood Council Program. I think we've made our point.
We've now moved into the next phase of the program. We're taking the results of our efforts and our recommendations to the legislators who make the decisions. I think they're listening. I hope they are. A lot of pioneers are getting their computers warmed up to fight what's in those briefcases.
Yeah, Troublemakers!
(This time I am sharing concerns that are those of the SSMPA. However, the opinions expressed here don't reflect the opinions of EVERYONE I work with or for. Don't assume I'm speaking for anyone else.)
