Boeing owns a large swathe of land that has a rather checkered history. It is in Simi Valley, California, and used to be owned by RocketDyne, where engines were tested for the Space Program, from the late 50’s, through to I think 2003. There was a lot of other research carried out, and in 1957, there was an accident that saw the meltdown of a test reactor. You can read all about its history here.
Boeing are being very diligent about the cleanup operations, and since the 2800 acre site ceased any research operations, the local wildlife has thrived. I am part of a small team of photographers permitted to photograph on site. We have had camera traps and trail cameras there for a number of years, and have documented a myriad of healthy animals. Indeed, some of our images and footage have revealed newly discovered mountain lions that the NPS have subsequently trapped, collared and tracked. Probably the most famous of these was the incredible P-64, who I first captured on a few trailcams. He was a big boy, and I named him ‘Lockheed’ in lieu of Boeing, and in homage to my old and dear late friend Bob Calvert (Captain Lockheed). He was quickly trapped and collared by the NPS and subsequently became famous for crossing the scary 101 freeway multiple times, through a culvert. They called him ‘Culvert Cat’ – I maintain that ‘Lockheed’ was far more suitable.
