Ahmanson Ranch

* In a Nov. 26 letter (“Ahmanson Ranch Development,” Letters to the Valley Edition) Westlake Village residents Sharon and Herb Cohen claimed that if the Ahmanson Ranch development is built, “future generations will have to go to a museum to see what open areas used to look like.”

The opposite is true. The Ahmanson Ranch made possible 10,000 acres of parkland as part of a trade-off for a responsible development.

As a park volunteer with more than 1,000 hours assisting Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area visitors, I know firsthand how much hikers, mountain bicyclists and equestrians are enjoying this gift, and will continue to do so in perpetuity.

Where else in the park system can you find multiuse trails more than 10 miles in length? Soon we will be able to take the trail from Las Virgenes Road to the top of China Flat--nearly 14 miles. This will be possible only because of the Ahmanson Ranch. The letter from the Cohens goes on to say: “Go back to Seattle, Washington Mutual; leave our area . . . alone. We want future generations to enjoy the beauty of this land.”

What are the Cohens thinking? To me, it matters not whether the developer is from this state or out of state. The only way we could be assured of the beauty of this land was through the generosity of the developer. The Cohens and many others need to understand that Ahmanson Ranch has given us a once-in-a-lifetime gift that will endure forever. I appreciate their generosity.

JACK DWYER

Thousand Oaks

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* Re “San Fernando Valley Spineflower Won’t Get Protected Designation,” Nov. 27.

Over a year has passed for the processing of the petition to list the San Fernando Valley spineflower as endangered. Almost all the paper work is complete. [Michael Spear ] director of U. S. Fish and Wildlife in our region now puts this process on the back burner. Why? Who does Spear work for, the citizens of the United States or the developer, Washington Mutual?

LORRAINE SLATTERY

Newbury Park