State Buys 625-Acre Ranch for Parkland : Open space: The Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy wants to create a wildlife corridor at Sage Ranch. But the plan hinges on a land-swap deal for adjoining property.

The Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy has purchased the 625-acre Sage Ranch near Simi Valley for $4.2 million, an acquisition described as a key link in a wildlife corridor that could one day stretch from Santa Clarita to the Pacific Ocean.

The ranch has long been a top priority of the conservancy, a state agency that buys land in the Santa Monica Mountains and the hills that ring the San Fernando Valley, spokeswoman Julie Zeidner said Monday.

The property, acquired last week from a Sherman Oaks mortgage company, will be turned into a public park with mountain-bike and hiking trails, picnic areas and a campground. A ranch house will be converted into a nature center.

“It’s a significant purchase in and of itself,� Zeidner said.

But Sage Ranch is more important as a piece of an uninterrupted 35-mile strip of parkland the conservancy hopes to create so wild animals may roam from inland areas to the sea, she said.

The ranch can serve that purpose only if 5,500 acres to the north and south of it are also preserved as parkland, Zeidner said.

“Sage Ranch could be part of a 35-mile wildlife corridor,� she said, “or it could be an island of parkland cut off on the north by a landfill and to the south by development on Jordan Ranch.�

Sage Ranch is bordered on the north by the 4,369-acre Runkle Ranch and on the south by the 2,300-acre Jordan Ranch, both owned by entertainer Bob Hope.

The conservancy supports a proposed land swap between Hope and the National Park Service that would allow the subdivision of about half the Jordan Ranch, but preserve the other half as parkland. Under the deal, Hope would also sell the Runkle Ranch to park agencies for a below-market $10 million.

If the land-swap deal is lost, its supporters say, Hope will sell both ranches to the highest bidder. For the Runkle Ranch, that could be the Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts, which has rated the Blind Canyon portion of the property an ideal site for a landfill.

The Ventura County Board of Supervisors holds veto power of the land-swap package since it must approve any large-scale development at Jordan Ranch. Developers aligned with Hope want to build 750 houses and a golf course there.

A majority of county supervisors have said the proposal has little chance of passing when it comes before the board in January, because the county general plan allows major developments only in or near cities.

Zeidner said purchase of Sage Ranch is another reason for the conservancy to argue for supervisors’ approval of the land swap.

“We’re hoping that in the next several months, with enough information, there is a possibility that the supervisors will change their minds,� she said.

Aside from its contribution to the wildlife corridor, Sage Ranch is important for its recreational value, Simi Valley officials said.

It contains woodlands, riparian areas, grassy rolling hills and 50 acres of citrus and avocado groves. Some areas are flat enough for hiking trails for the handicapped, officials said.

“We’ve been waiting a long time for Sage Ranch,� said Donald Hunt, the assistant general manger of the Rancho Simi Recreation and Park District and a member of the conservancy’s advisory board.

Sage Ranch is located at the south end of Black Canyon Road and the east end of Woolsey Canyon Road on the border of Ventura and Los Angeles counties.

It is next to the Rockwell Corp.’s Rocketdyne property that has had problems with water and soil contamination. Tests for contamination at the ranch were negative, Zeidner said.