Ahmanson Ranch scenic beauty such as this is now safe from the threat of development. Photo: Mark Abramson/Heal the Bay
Governor Davis and Rob Reiner convened at Ahmanson Ranch on Oct. 1, 2003, to celebrate the purchase of the property by the State of California.

A couple of years ago, Heal the Bay joined the fight to save Ahmanson Ranch from a massive proposed development - a small city that Washington Mutual wanted to build on the thousands of acres of open space at the ranch. The ranch includes the headwaters of the Malibu Creek watershed, and encompasses the pools and cascades of East Las Virgenes Creek (which support the endangered California red-legged frog). East Las Virgenes Creek flows through oak riparian woodlands, into Las Virgenes Creek and then to Malibu Creek State Park and Surfrider Beach, where millions of people swim and surf every year. (View a photo album of these incredible resources).

Concerned citizens and Heal the Bay decided that the resources of Malibu Creek watershed must be saved. With the support of our thousands of members, groups like Save Open Space and the Rally to Save Ahmanson Ranch, and pro-active elected officials like Senator Sheila Kuehl, Assemblywoman Fran Pavely, and Ventura County Supervisor-elect Linda Parks, we let Washington Mutual Bank know that the people of Southern California treasure our clean water and wildlife habitat.

Heal the Bay attended meetings with decision makers, testified at public hearings and wrote letters to tell our public officials that the destruction of our dwindling aquatic resources is not acceptable to the people of southern California. Unfortunately, the Ventura County Board of Supervisors approved this development - with the exception of Supervisor Steve Bennett, who voted against the development. We continued working with government agencies, proving to them that the environmental impacts of burying an entire stream and increasing the treated sewage and polluted stormwater inputs to Malibu Creek would be illegal under the Clean Water Act and must not be permitted.

Finally, after years of hard work by Heal the Bay and many other groups, Washington Mutual chose to do the right thing. They agreed to sell Ahmanson Ranch to the State of California for $150 million. On Friday, October 10, 2003, the State Public Works Board provided the last, and unanimous, approval for the purchase from Washington Mutual of the 2,960-acre Ahmanson Ranch. The purchase price came entirely from voter-approved Proposition 50 bond funds that can only be used for water quality, wetland and watershed properties such as Ahmanson Ranch. After a short escrow period, the ranch will be owned by the people and protected in perpetuity. The creek and pools on Ahmanson Ranch that support the endangered red-legged frog will stay clean. The water from this headwater stream, which flows into Malibu Creek and Surfrider Beach, will not be polluted by sewage or urban runoff.

This was the first time Heal the Bay has ever opposed a development, because we recognized that there would be no way to protect water quality in the Malibu Creek watershed and Santa Monica Bay if a development of this scale was built. Our passion has paid off and now a beautiful piece of the Santa Monica Mountains is ours to cherish and protect forever. Thanks to all of our members and volunteers, and the many other groups and individuals who helped make this campaign a huge success. It was worth it!