Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy Frequencies?

[LZJSR]

Does anyone have a listing of frequencies for the rangers of the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy?

 

[Mick]

I hear them on

155.160 179.9 Mtns. Recreation & Conservation Auth., Malibu; input is 150.79 179.9

Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy

Does anyone have a listing of frequencies for the rangers of the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy?

 

[LZJSR]

Thanks!!!!

Thanks for the info!

 

[IanS]

That is the SAR frequency used by many users.

You will hear the MRCA rangers on the Fish and Games frequencies. They are dispatched by Surcomm.

 

[DPD1]

That explains why I never heard anything on the 155 one. The MRCA 56xx units on 151.43 are very interesting. Those guys have all kinds of weird jurisdiction. I've heard them pull people over in downtown L.A., on the freeway, all over. It seems like they can practically go wherever they want. But the SM range is a complex set of jurisdictions that I still don't fully understand.

 

[SCPD]

155.160 179.9 Mtns. Recreation & Conservation Auth., Malibu; input is 150.79 179.9

Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy

Great information Mick! The Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy is one of three agencies in the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority. Their website contains the following information:

"The Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority (MRCA) is a local government public entity established in 1985 pursuant to the Joint Powers Act. The MRCA is a local partnership between the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, which is a state agency established by the Legislature, and the Conejo Recreation and Park District and the Rancho Simi Recreation and Park District both of which are local park agencies established by the vote of the people in those communities.

The MRCA provides natural resources and scientific expertise, critical regional planning services, park construction services, park operations, fire prevention, ranger services, educational and leadership programs for thousands of youth each year, and is one of the lead agencies providing for the revitalization of the Los Angeles River."

Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority

The information I have also shows the MRCA using 154.600 simplex, PL 156.7. It is called "Channel C." It is interesting to note that the MRCA is using 155.160, known as "MRA" (Mountain Rescue Association) nationwide and is in nearly every search and rescue organization's radios. Then they are using an old business frequency, now included in the MURS allocation.

 

[SCPD]

That explains why I never heard anything on the 155 one. The MRCA 56xx units on 151.43 are very interesting. Those guys have all kinds of weird jurisdiction. I've heard them pull people over in downtown L.A., on the freeway, all over. It seems like they can practically go wherever they want. But the SM range is a complex set of jurisdictions that I still don't fully understand.

I would guess that the stops made on freeways and downtown L.A. might have something to do with the MRCA's role with the L.A. River. It could be conceivable that there was some type of violation that occurred in their jurisdiction on the "river" that resulted in a ranger following them and making a stop outside of their jurisdiction.

The Santa Monica Mountains are a real patchwork of jurisdictions. They are the home of several state parks established decades ago. In the 70's many people began to see the pace of development in the range and came to the conclusion that this valuable resource of open space would be gone in a short period of time. This resulted in the establishment of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area by an act of the Congress. Following that establishment some presidential administrations have submitted budgets using a tiny fraction of the money generated by the Land and Water Conservation Act of 1965, whereby money from public land and offshore oil lease fees is deposited into a fund at the rate of about a billion dollars a year. This money is supposed to be used for public land acquisitions, such as the private land holdings in the Santa Monica Mountains, as well as private inholdings in National Parks, National Forests, and National Wildlife Refuges.

Since the federal effort to maintain the Santa Monica Mountains remaining open space has been hampered, the state stepped in and has used funding from parkland acquisition bonds approved by ballot initiatives passed in the last 2-3 decades. I have a map somewhere that shows all the different public entity land ownership in the Santa Monica Mountains and it is complex. So is the management of this mountain range. The coordination between these multiple agencies is challenging and as I understand it those agencies are doing a very good job at it.

The program boils down to this, whatever agency has the money at any one time, attempts to acquire as much land as they can. Later another agency may be better off financially and then it picks up the slack.

It is clear to me that the pace of the acquisitions is slower than the forces of development. The result is beginning to look as though southern California will lose much of the open space resource it could have had.

Anyway, I will stop short of making some political observations and hope this helps you understand better the confusing jurisdiction situation that exists. One thing about the scanner hobby that has been clear to me for quite some time is that if you don't understand the roles, authorities, and lines and types of jurisdictions of the agencies you are listening to, the traffic monitored cannot be well understood.

 

[MCIAD]

Just to muddy the waters a little more . . .

The Santa Monica Mountains also have the Santa Monica Mountain National Park, AND the Pt. Mugu State Park, which includes Sycamore Cove and Sycamore Canyon, as well as a couple of State beaches along the coast.

The NPS frequencies are:
Castro Peak: 172.525
Laguna Peak: 171.725

I have no idea what the State Parks stuff is - all 800MHz and I don't listen.

Who is responding to what down the south coast can be, at times, pretty confusing.

EDIT: Smokey - you beat me to it, and as always, your comments are appropriate and well thought out. I should just sit back and wait to see what you post first, and then log off.

 

[DPD1]

I would guess that the stops made on freeways and downtown L.A. might have something to do with the MRCA's role with the L.A. River. It could be conceivable that there was some type of violation that occurred in their jurisdiction on the "river" that resulted in a ranger following them and making a stop outside of their jurisdiction.

Thanks for the info... Now that you mention it, I bet that was it. I've heard them around the 134/5 frwy area there by the park but also on the north side, which is around the river. Also heard them stopping somebody one night down there by Riverside and Fletcher off Foothill, right near the river downtown. Certainly sounds like it would be an interesting job. I think I've seen their trucks a couple times.

Not to mention, it's nice to hear a good old high level VHF system. That thing really gets out too... You can hear them all the way up Bakersfield on the same box.

 

[SCPD]

Just to muddy the waters a little more . . .

The Santa Monica Mountains also have the Santa Monica Mountain National Park, AND the Pt. Mugu State Park, which includes Sycamore Cove and Sycamore Canyon, as well as a couple of State beaches along the coast.

The NPS frequencies are:
Castro Peak: 172.525
Laguna Peak: 171.725

I have no idea what the State Parks stuff is - all 800MHz and I don't listen.

Who is responding to what down the south coast can be, at times, pretty confusing.

EDIT: Smokey - you beat me to it, and as always, your comments are appropriate and well thought out. I should just sit back and wait to see what you post first, and then log off.

Exmokey is the name and natural resource management is my game. For most other fields I can't pretend to know much. Since I retired my wife has often said "you can take the ranger out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the ranger."

 

[KG6GTH]

Santa Monica Conservancy Freq

The Oat Freq is 151.430 pl 167.9 Anyone know what the input is?

Thanks,
Sean

 

[Starman918]

I saw some Santa Monica Conservancy Rangers in a 4th of July parade in Hacienda Heights. The were assigned to the conservancy in Puente Hills? The antennas of their vehicle appeared to be the 800 type. Does anybody have any ideas what their frequencies would be?
Tom

 

[WayneH]

The Oat Freq is 151.430 pl 167.9 Anyone know what the input is?

It's not the standard F&G one listed in the database?

 

[code3cowboy]

I saw some Santa Monica Conservancy Rangers in a 4th of July parade in Hacienda Heights. The were assigned to the conservancy in Puente Hills? The antennas of their vehicle appeared to be the 800 type. Does anybody have any ideas what their frequencies would be?
Tom

CA Department of Parks and Recreation