A Plea for Youth Camp

Orange County probation officials will lobby the U.S. Forest Service today to renew a special use permit for the 125-bed Los Pinos Conservation Camp for juvenile offenders in the Cleveland National Forest.

County officials have been so nervous about possibly losing the camp’s permit that the Board of Supervisors rushed through a resolution this week urging the federal government to allow Los Pinos to remain. The permit for the camp, which the county has operated for 29 years, expires at the end of 2001.

Probation officers will make their pitch at a meeting at 9 a.m. at the Corona Library.

The Forest Service is seeking other proposed uses for the 59-acre facility, located off Ortega Highway just west of Riverside County. Possibilities raised in recent months include an interpretive center, a Native American retreat and headquarters for the Forest Service--an idea that reportedly died after rangers balked at driving the winding mountain road twice a day.

Replacing the camp would be expensive for the county: It would cost an estimated $25 million to buy land and build a new one--if a similar site could be found. The county has invested about $8 million in the camp since 1970, officials said.

Los Pinos is the second-largest juvenile facility among five run by the probation department. It houses boys ages 16 to 18 sent by the court for first-time offenses including drug possession and gang activity.

Forestry officials said this week that there’s no reason for the county to panic. Today’s meeting is procedural, they said, because the camp’s use hasn’t been reevaluated for the past 20 years.

“This will allow us to gather information and make a determination about whether to reissue the permit,” said Judy Behrens, public services manager for the forest’s Trabuco ranger district.

However, there have been some problems with the county operation, Behrens said. Overnight campers have feared the camp’s residents, she said, and information requested from the county on such things as the number of walk-aways--juveniles who leave without permission--hasn’t been forthcoming.

“Who knows why we haven’t [received it]?” she said. “You know how bureaucracies are.”

County officials insisted this week that they were unaware of any complaints and said they are providing the Forest Service with the information, although laws that protect juveniles’ privacy restrict what can be shared.

Of 680 juveniles assigned to the camp in 1999, 20 walked way without permission, acting Chief Probation Officer John B. Robinson said. Most were picked up within three days after returning to their homes.

“We feel we’re a good neighbor,” Robinson said. “We’re unaware in 30 years of there ever being a problem.”

Located two miles from the rural highway, the camp’s buildings are nestled among pine and oak trees in the rugged hills. There are no bars on the windows of the dormitories, where low-risk offenders are sent by the court for periods ranging from three months to a year.

The closest residences are a sprinkling of cabins at the Mystic Oaks Nudist Resort, formerly called McConville, located on the same road as the camp. Co-owner Gail Nilson said walk-aways have stopped at the resort gate looking for a phone but haven’t caused any problems.

Three weeks ago, three teenagers walked away from the camp and asked someone who was leaving Mystic Oaks for a phone, Nilson said. That person sent them to the nearby El Cariso Village general store, then notified the resort office so they could inform Los Pinos. The boys were picked up at the store.

“It’s not like the kids come down here looking for trouble. They’re looking for a phone,” Nilson said. “Los Pinos is really needed. Orange County needs a place like that to send kids and help them out.”

Probation officials will make a presentation at the public meeting today cataloging the work done by juveniles at the camp, including improving forest trails and campsites and assisting when needed to fight brush fires. If the work had been done for minimum wage, it would have been worth about $200,000 to the Forest Service, he said.

The program, which offers high school classes and proficiency tests, also is successful in keeping its charges away from crime after they leave, Robinson said. About 75% of the graduates have no new violations within the first six months.

County Supervisor Tom Wilson sent a letter supporting Los Pinos to be read at the meeting.

“I think it’s a wonderful facility for youth,” Wilson said in an interview. “[It’s] really an opportunity for them to understand reality in terms of responsibility and interfacing with other kids. There’s a lot invested up there.”

Those invited to today’s meeting include the camp’s neighbors, residents in nearby El Cariso Village, government agencies, environmental groups such as the Sierra Club, and special interest groups, including Native American organizations. The area of the camp contains Indian artifacts and rock paintings.

In addition to the permit review, all of the national forests have been updating their forest plans, including Cleveland National Forest, Behrens said. One factor in the review is what the best uses are for the various nonforest facilities.

“Let’s face it: In the last 20 years, there have been a lot of changes out there,” she said.

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OC JUVENILE BEDS

Los Pinos Conservation Camp, for juvenile offenders aged 16 and older, is the second-largest facility in Orange County. A special use permit for the 59-acre facility expires at the end of 2001, and forestry officials are considering if it should be allowed to continue there. Below are a list of juvenile facilities in Orange County.

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Facility Location Beds Juvenile Hall Orange 434 Los Pinos Conservation Camp Cleveland Nat. Forest 125 Youth Guidance Center Orange 125 Santa Ana Jail (on contract) Santa Ana 64 Joplin Youth Center Trabuco Canyon 60 Juvenile Hall Annex Santa Ana 40 OC Jail (on contract) Santa Ana 15 Alternative incarceration programs 13 TOTAL 881

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LOS PINOS WALK-AWAYS

Last year, 20 juvenile offenders walked away from Los Pinos Conservation Camp, a non-secure facility. Most were apprehended within three days after returning to their homes.

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1999 20 1998 5 1997 11 1996 12 1995 41

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Source: County of Orange