THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. - Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area re-opened early Thursday morning. Popular trailheads and visitor contact stations had been closed since October 1 due to the government shutdown.
"We are very excited to welcome people back to their national park lands in the Santa Monica Mountains," said Superintendent David Szymanski. "We hope people get outside this weekend and have a wonderful time in their parks."
Areas re-opened include Cheeseboro and Palo Comado Canyons, Rancho Sierra Vista, the Santa Monica Mountains Interagency Visitor Center, Paramount Ranch and Circle X Ranch.
Among other items, park biologists will arrange a necropsy on a mountain lion killed last week near the 101 Freeway's Liberty Canyon exit to determine its identity and origins.
Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area (SMMNRA) is the largest urban national park in the country, encompassing more than 150,000 acres of mountains and coastline in Ventura and Los Angeles counties. It comprises a seamless network of local, state and federal parks interwoven with private lands and communities. As one of only five Mediterranean ecosystems in the world, SMMNRA preserves the rich biological diversity of more than 450 animal species and 26 distinct plant communities. Learn more at www.nps.gov/samo.
Source: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service
