Preservationists gathered Saturday afternoon at King Gillette Ranch to honor the late Margot Feuer, who led the charge in creating the Santa Monica Mountains Recreation Area.
Feuer spent over decade helping spearhead the movement to set aside the reserve, and her efforts culminated in the 1978 signing of the federal legislation that made her dreams a reality.
“She lived and breathed the mountains. She defended the mountains like her own children,” said Robert Coutts, who served with Feuer as a board member of the preservationist nonprofit Save Open Space, which Feuer co-founded.
Feuer and her family moved to Malibu in 1965, settling in the Serra Retreat area. She always held a deep connection with nature, but it wasn’t until moving to Malibu that she kicked off her career in environmentalism.
The serenity of the Santa Monica Mountains was being threatened by the looming development of a power plant, golf course and new housing projects.
Feuer decided to launch a fight against the plans. She joined forces with Tarzana hiker Jill Swift and Sue Nelson, a Brentwood resident who saw looming development in her own town.
She attended local government meetings and caught the eye of the Sierra Club, which enlisted her as a chief lobbyist and had her making frequent trips to Washington.
In fact, according to the Los Angeles Times, her cause won the support of then-Reps. Phillip Burton (D-San Francisco) and Anthony C. Beilenson (D-Woodland Hills).
Feuer’s battle to rescue the Santa Monica Mountains aroused stiff opposition from developers, who fought back.
But it would not stop the groundswell of support she had galvanized. In 1974, a congressional hearing was held in Los Angeles in which Feuer, along with her two counterparts and a group of supporters, made their voices heard by advocating for the reserve.
Their years of efforts materialized on Nov. 10, 1978, when President Jimmy Carter signed the bill that established the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area.
Today, Feuer, Swift and Nelson are known as the “pioneering women of the Santa Monica Mountains.”
Saturday marked the 34-year anniversary of the approval. Several who knew Feuer, who died June 16 at 89, reflected on her feisty resilience in facing down so many challenges. After the speeches, attendees witnessed a 1-year-old Valley Oak planted in her dedication, before they capped off the ceremony by mingling over cake.
Feuer’s staunch passion in achieving her goals distinguished her from other environmentalists, said Coutts.
“It was her life. It wasn’t something that she felt like doing. It was who she was,” he said. She followed this passion with a direct demeanor, and was unfazed by approaching even the highest-ranking public figures.
After living through the 1970 fire, she bristled at taxpayer money being wasted to rebuild hilltop properties, considering fires as simply part of nature. As one might imagine, her beliefs drew the ire of the community.
“She was very much at odds with a lot of the commercial interests,” her son, Zachary Feuer, said. Despite the backlash, her actions helped shape part of Malibu’s culture. She became one of the first Malibuites to take a stand against development, and Zachary agrees she helped pave the way for future Malibu preservationists who may have hesitated to break what was then the status quo. But eventually, Malibu became too cluttered for Feuer’s tastes. Growing irked by increasing traffic on Pacific Coast Highway, she moved to Beverly Glen in 1991.
Ginger Pollack, who served with Feuer as a founding board member of Save Open Space, remembered her as someone with a strong presence about her and a deep, powerful voice.
“She wasn’t a person,” Pollack said, “she was a force of nature.” She was also known for her powerful voice and her salty language, said Pollack, who dubbed her a “Connecticut Yankee” and likened her style to Katharine Hepburn.
Today, Pollack has worked with other local preservationists in putting together a book that chronicles the crusade to save Ahmanson Ranch, King Gillette Ranch, and Palo Comado Canyons Park Unit, which was formally Jordan Ranch.
It was these accomplishments, not her persona, for which she wanted to be remembered.
“It was never about Margot, it was always about the park,” Pollack said.