Arroyo Conejo Open Space is a

open space reserve An open space reserve (also called open space preserve, open space reservation, and green space) is an area of protected or conserved land or water on which development is indefinitely set aside. The purpose of an open space reserve may include ...

in the western

Simi Hills The Simi Hills are a low rocky mountain range of the Transverse Ranges in eastern Ventura County and western Los Angeles County, of southern California, United States. Geography The Simi Hills are aligned east-west and run for , and average arou ...

in northern Newbury Park,

Ventura County, California Ventura County () is a county in the southern part of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 843,843. The largest city is Oxnard, and the county seat is the city of Ventura. Ventura County comprises the Oxn ...

. Most of it is part of the Arroyo Conejo Nature Preserve (sometimes shortened to the Arroyo Nature Preserve).

Geography

Hill-Canyon-Wastewater-Plant-Wetlands-Newbury-Park

The preserve is often locally referred to as La Branca or the Barranca (Spanish for "the canyon"), and is nicknamed the Grand Canyon of the Conejo Valley. Its stated purpose is "the preservation of the scenic areas, natural habitats, wildlife, archaeological and paleontological sites of the

Conejo Valley The Conejo Valley is a region spanning both southeastern Ventura County and northwestern Los Angeles County in Southern California, United States. It is located in the northwestern part of the Greater Los Angeles Area. Communities in the Conejo ...

and surroundings, specifically including the

Arroyo Conejo Arroyo Conejo (Spanish for “Rabbit Creek”) is the longest creek in the Conejo Valley, sprawling over the cities of Thousand Oaks and Camarillo, and the communities of Newbury Park, Casa Conejo and Santa Rosa Valley. Arroyo Conejo is the pri ...

". It contains 250 acres of land and has been administrated and owned by the Conejo Open Space Conservation Agency (COSCA) since its incorporation in July 1977. La Branca is a narrow ravine or gorge that runs three miles from northern Newbury Park near the

Rancho Conejo Playfields Rancho Conejo Playfields is a multi-use community park in Newbury Park, California, adjacent to Conejo Canyons Open Space and the Arroyo Conejo Nature Preserve which includes of public open-space land and numerous trails in the western Simi Hi ...

, to

Hill Canyon Hill Canyon is a deep canyon in the western Simi Hills and within northern Newbury Park and Thousand Oaks, in Ventura County, southern California. The Arroyo Conejo Nature Preserve includes the central canyon area, and is part of the Conejo Cany ...

near the Hill Canyon Wastewater Treatment Plant in the Conejo Canyons Open Space. La Branca has a

gorge A canyon (from ; archaic British English spelling: ''cañon''), or gorge, is a deep cleft between escarpments or cliffs resulting from weathering and the erosion, erosive activity of a river over geologic time scales. Rivers have a natural tenden ...

section with cliffs rising up to . The preserve is home to large variety of plant- and animal species, including for instance southwestern pond turtles,

mountain lions The cougar (''Puma concolor'') is a large cat native to the Americas. Its range spans from the Canadian Yukon to the southern Andes in South America and is the most widespread of any large wild terrestrial mammal in the Western Hemisphere. I ...

bobcats The bobcat (''Lynx rufus''), also known as the red lynx, is a medium-sized cat native to North America. It ranges from southern Canada through most of the contiguous United States to Oaxaca in Mexico. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUC ...

black bear Black bear or Blackbear may refer to: Animals * American black bear (''Ursus americanus''), a North American bear species * Asian black bear (''Ursus thibetanus''), an Asian bear species Music * Black Bear (band), a Canadian First Nations group ...

deer Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the reindeer ...

coyotes The coyote (''Canis latrans'') is a species of canis, canine native to North America. It is smaller than its close relative, the wolf, and slightly smaller than the closely related eastern wolf and red wolf. It fills much of the same ecologica ...

, and avifauna such as

quails Quail is a collective name for several genera of mid-sized birds generally placed in the order Galliformes. The collective noun for a group of quail is a flock, covey, or bevy. Old World quail are placed in the family Phasianidae, and New Wor ...

golden eagle The golden eagle (''Aquila chrysaetos'') is a bird of prey living in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the most widely distributed species of eagle. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. They are one of the best-known bird of p ...

hawks Hawks are birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. They are widely distributed and are found on all continents except Antarctica. * The subfamily Accipitrinae includes goshawks, sparrowhawks, sharp-shinned hawks and others. This subfamily a ...

owls Owls are birds from the Order (biology), order Strigiformes (), which includes over 200 species of mostly Solitary animal, solitary and Nocturnal animal, nocturnal birds of prey typified by an upright stance, a large, broad head, binocular vi ...

, and numerous others. It contains the perennial South Fork of the

riparian zone A riparian zone or riparian area is the interface between land and a river or stream. Riparian is also the proper nomenclature for one of the terrestrial biomes of the Earth. Plant habitats and communities along the river margins and banks ar ...

vegetation, steep-sided canyons,

California oak woodland California oak woodland is a plant community found throughout the California chaparral and woodlands ecoregion of California in the United States and northwestern Baja California in Mexico. Oak woodland is widespread at lower elevations in coasta ...

s, as well as

wetland A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...

Wetlands

The Hill Canyon Wastewater Treatment Plant has the largest

constructed wetland A constructed wetland is an artificial wetland to treat sewage, greywater, stormwater runoff or industrial wastewater. It may also be designed for land reclamation after mining, or as a mitigation step for natural areas lost to land development. ...

s in

Ventura County Ventura County () is a county in the southern part of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 843,843. The largest city is Oxnard, and the county seat is the city of Ventura. Ventura County comprises the Oxnar ...

, within approximately of the Arroyo Conejo Nature Preserve. Natures Image has helped create this area by removal of

invasive plant An invasive species otherwise known as an alien is an introduced organism that becomes overpopulated and harms its new environment. Although most introduced species are neutral or beneficial with respect to other species, invasive species ad ...

species, as well as the planting of 1,600 native trees, 7,000 emergent marsh plants, 6,000 low herbaceous wetland plants, and 1,200 riparian scrub plants. The area is home to the endemic

Southwestern Pond Turtle ''Actinemys pallida'', the southwestern pond turtle, is an aquatic turtle of the genus ''Actinemys'' in the family ''Emydidae Emydidae (Latin ''emys'' (freshwater tortoise) + Ancient Greek εἶδος (''eîdos'', “appearance, resemblance� ...

, as well as large numbers of

mallards The mallard () or wild duck (''Anas platyrhynchos'') is a dabbling duck that breeds throughout the temperate and subtropical Americas, Eurasia, and North Africa, and has been introduced species, introduced to New Zealand, Australia, Peru, Bra ...

coots Coots are medium-sized water birds that are members of the rail family, Rallidae. They constitute the genus ''Fulica'', the name being the Latin term for "coot". Coots have predominantly black plumage, and—unlike many rails—they are usually ...

herons The herons are long-legged, long-necked, freshwater and coastal birds in the family Ardeidae, with 72 recognised species, some of which are referred to as egrets or bitterns rather than herons. Members of the genera ''Botaurus'' and ''Ixobrychus ...

, and numerous other species of freshwater fish and birds.

History

The nature preserve was highlighted in the Conservation Element of the General Plan in 1972 and later identified in the City's Conejo Canyons Study of 1976 as an area with particularly sensitive and important resources. The president of the Conejo Valley Audubon Society met with representatives from

The Nature Conservancy The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is a global environmental organization headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. it works via affiliates or branches in 79 countries and territories, as well as across every state in the US. Founded in 1951, The Natu ...

in 1974. One visitor during these meetings mentioned how incredible it was to "find such a primordial setting within the city limits of a

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

bedroom community A commuter town is a populated area that is primarily residential rather than commercial or industrial. Routine travel from home to work and back is called commuting, which is where the term comes from. A commuter town may be called by many o ...

." On July 1 of 1976, the Thousand Oaks-based ''News-Chronicle'' reported the formation of a Small Wilderness Area Preserves chapter to protect donated Canyon lands. Arroyo Conejo Nature Preserve was incorporated and organized in lieu of the Small Wilderness Group in July 1977.Maxwell, Thomas J. (2000). ''Hiking In Wildwood Regional Park: Natural History, Folklore, and Trail Guide''. California Lutheran University (CLU). Page 182.

References

{{Reflist, 33em Nature reserves in California Parks in Ventura County, California Simi Hills Conejo Valley Geography of Thousand Oaks, California Newbury Park, California Protected areas of Ventura County, California Protected areas established in 1977 1977 establishments in California

Geography

Wetlands

History

See also

References