Agoura Hills Contributes To Santa Monica Mountains Preservation

AGOURA HILLS, CA — Agoura Hills contributed to a $28.5 million conservation effort to save a 325-acre plot of the Santa Monica Mountains just south of Agoura Hills, The Acorn reported.

The Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority, which now owns the plot, recently closed the final part of the sale in Triangle Ranch.

Agoura Hills first got involved with the project in 2018, incoming mayor Deborah Klein Lopez said in her address to the city Thursday. The effort happened over four phases as donors contributed to piece-meal acquisitions of the land, according to The Acorn.

The Triangle Ranch purchase included $8 million in state funding thanks to lobbying from senator Henry Stern, who represents Malibu, Calabasas, Thousand Oaks, Agoura Hills and more, and assembly member Richard Bloom, who represents Malibu, Agoura Hills, parts of Calabasas and Santa Monica and more.

Bloom said the ranch was at risk of being developed into private residences, even though it is a high fire risk zone.

Lopez said the effort affirms Agoura Hills' commitment to preserving open space and wildlife.

"Of course, having grown up in Agoura Hills and raised with these gorgeous mountains all around us, the protection of open space and habitats is of the utmost importance to me and to our residents," Lopez said.

Agoura Hills is in the midst of another major wildlife preservation effort — the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing, which will be constructed over the State Route 101 (Ventura Freeway) in Agoura Hills. The $87 million crossing will promote biodiversity in the Santa Monica Mountains and will protect wildlife from vehicular traffic.