Ahmanson Ranch Gallery
Ahmanson Ranch is now known as the Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve. The Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy administers the stunning 2,983-acre ranch which is captured here by my brother Patrick Collins in late 2003.
On October 3, 2003, Governor Gray Davis announced the saving of Ahmanson Ranch. This is a day that will forever live in the hearts of those who fought so hard to save the land. However, the reporting we did had to do with toxic contamination emanating from the neighboring Santa Susana Field Laboratory and what devastating effects might be had if the land were developed for 3,050 homes.
On May 15, 2004, a celebration of the creation of the Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve, commonly known as Ahmanson Ranch, took place at the Hidden Valley homestead of Dr. Richard Grossman, a famed plastic and reconstruction surgeon, and one of the movers and shakers in the battle of Ahmanson Ranch. The party was held as a fundraiser for SOAR - Save Open-Space and Agricultural Resources.
On July 2, 2005, the Victory Trailhead was dedicated on the eastern border of Ahmanson Ranch, formally known as the Upper Las Virgenes Open Space Preserve. This opened the 2,983-acre land to the western San Fernando Valley at the end of Victory Boulevard. The event was attended by a large number of people still wide-eyed in wonder at the opening of the parkland which in unmatched in Southern California.
