Foes of Elsmere Dump Cite Peril to Rare Animals

Opponents of a huge public trash dump proposed for Elsmere Canyon near Santa Clarita said Monday that the site contains up to 14 rare animal species, a fact they intend to use as ammunition to block the proposal.

The proposed 190-million-ton dump would “ruin the habitat” of the coastal horned lizard, the Hammond two-striped garter snake and other animals recently identified as candidates for the federal endangered species list, said Karen Pearson-Hall, vice president of the Santa Clarita Valley Canyons Preservation Committee.

But proponents of the dump said the existence of rare species will not block the project because the animals could be relocated or a similar habitat could be preserved elsewhere to compensate for the loss of the canyon about one mile east of the Antelope Valley Freeway and San Fernando Road interchange.

The present proposal for the 2,200-acre landfill site already includes a buffer zone of more than 1,200 acres, where animals could live undisturbed, said Ron Gastelum, vice president of BKK Corp., the waste disposal firm developing the site for Los Angeles county and city.

However, “this is not just some crummy area you can write off,” said Frank Hovore, a biology professor at Cal State Northridge and a Santa Clarita resident opposed to the dump. “We’re dealing with a very sensitive area.”

Most of the site is U. S. Forest Service land, and the project would require the agency to trade Elsmere Canyon for private lands in Angeles National Forest.

“We don’t want the Forest Service to relinquish the land,” said Pearson-Hall, who is also chairwoman of the Santa Clarita Valley Sierra Club.

Other animals found in or near Elsmere Canyon and identified last fall by the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service as candidates for the federal endangered species list include such birds as the mountain quail, the horned lark and the southern spotted owl as well as lizards, snakes and the California leaf-nosed bat, said Carl Wishner, a biologist for Envicom Corp., a private consulting firm.

Last year, Wishner helped prepare a biological survey of the Elsmere Canyon area for the city of Santa Clarita, which opposes the dump, partly because of fears of ground-water pollution. The city has set aside $250,000 this year to fight the dump, according to the 1991-92 budget.

An environmental report on the proposed dump will be completed this summer, said Les Stenger, project manager for Dames & Moore, the private consultant chosen by the Forest Service and the county to prepare the document.