Santa Monica Conservancy Negotiating Deal to Create Safe Haven for Wildlife

LOS ANGLES-The preservation-minded Santa Monica Conservancy has tentatively agreed to buy 326 acres above Woodland Hills, putting the land off-limits to development to save part of a key wildlife corridor.

The parcel is part of the Big Wild, a 20,000-acre section of the Santa Monica Mountains that is roughly bounded by the San Diego Freeway, Will Rogers State Park and Ventura Boulevard in the San Fernando Valley. The Conservancy will get much of the money needed to complete the transaction from funds generated by Proposition 12. This bond measure was approved earlier this year by California voters to raise $2.1 billion to expand parks and preserve open space.