Big Sur Land Trust

Big Sur Land Trust
Founded 1978 (1978)
Headquarters Monterey, California, United States
Area served
California Central Coast
Method Conservation by Design
Revenue
US$6.08 million (2015)
Endowment US$6.9 million (2015)
Employees
16
Slogan "For love of the land"
Website bigsurlandtrust.org

The Big Sur Land Trust is a private 501(c)(3) non-profit located in Monterey, California that has played an instrumental role in preserving land in California's Big Sur and Central Coast regions. The trust pioneered the “conservation buyer” method in 1989 by partnering with government and developers to offer tax benefits as an inducement to sell land at below-market rates.[1] As of 2016, it has protected around 40,000 acres (16,187 ha) of land through acquisition and resale to government agencies, or it continues to own the property. It has also added conservation easements to another 17,000 acres (6,880 ha).[2][3]

The trust was founded in 1978 by a small group of local Big Sur residents who were members of the Big Sur Citizens’ Advisory Committee. Four of the residents visited the San Francisco headquarters of The Trust for Public Land in 1977 where they learned about land-trust finance and management. They decided to form an organization that could promote environmental protection in keeping with the Coast Master Plan and the California Coastal Commission. In February 1978 the community members incorporated The Big Sur Land Trust as a nonprofit California corporation. Their original aim was to protect Big Sur's natural beauty “from over development without recourse to government control while recognizing the right of property owners to sell to whomever they wish.”[1] The trust has partnered with many public and private agencies and organizations to protect land. They have transferred most of the land to public agencies and have retained ownership of smaller portions.

History

In 1977 a small group of local Big Sur residents were appointed by Monterey County to the Big Sur Citizens’ Advisory Committee. They were assisting the county in developing a Coast Master Plan for Big Sur.[4] Retired oil company executive Earl Moser, who had successfully led a campaign to stop construction of a refinery at Moss Landing on Monterey Bay, chaired the new grassroots effort.[1]

The disparate group shared a common mistrust held by Big Sur residents of added government. They knew local groups were already upset by what they viewed as the California state park's lack of responsiveness to local concerns.[5] The Coast Master Plan and the laws enforced by the California Coastal Commission set new standards for clean air and water, hazardous waste disposal, protection of the land and sea, endangered species, and procedures for evaluating new development along the coast with environmental impact reports. The group of Big Sur residents decided to form their own organization that could promote environmental protection reflecting the desires of the people who lived there.[1]

The Big Sur Land Trust is well-regarded, and ranked alongside notable trusts like Washington's San Juan Preservation Trust, Wyoming's Jackson Hole Land Trust, New York's Adirondacks Land Trust, and Maine Coast Heritage Trust.[1][5]

Founders

In 1978, seven families formed the Big Sur Land Trust. They envisioned preserving the iconic Big Sur landscape for the benefit of future generations. The founding members were Zad Leavy, an experienced attorney and his wife Laela; Sherna and Kipp Stewart; Roger and Beverly Newell; Nancy Hopkins; Lloyd and Pat Addleman; Martin and Suzanne Forster; and Peter Harding. Hopkins, daughter-in-law of Hewlett Packard founder David Packard, became the trust’s first president. Attorney Zad Leavy became its first executive director and served for 25 years.[4][6]

Board of Trustees

The Big Sur Land Trust is governed by a board of trustees.[2] As of 2015, the board had 16 board members, including 12 trustees and four administrators: board chair, co-chair, treasurer, and secretary. Board members represent local and regional powerbrokers. The board is supported by a 10-member advisory council.[7] Donors include a Who's Who of local philanthropists. Public members who pay a $50 per-year enrollment fee gain access for a fee to the trust's privately owned lands.[5] The trust is operated by a professional staff and supported by hundreds of members and volunteers.[7]

Changes to mission

When it was founded in 1978, the trust's mission was to conserve significant lands and waters of California's Central Coast and focus on purchasing property for conservation in perpetuity.[1][3] It has emphasized conserving unique landscapes on the California central coast including stream spawning beds for threatened steelhead trout, coastal redwoods, grasslands, and oak woodlands. Along with its land acquisition and conservation easements activities, the trust engages in environmental education.[3]

In 2014, as land values increased and public agency budgets shrank, the trust altered its mission to focus more on the well-being of people and land stewardship on the Central Coast. It is striving to allow more people to gain access to the land it has protected.[1][8] The trust now manages a number of properties within Monterey County. The most southern property is the Circle M Ranch near Lucia, California, and the most northern properties are the Vierra Ranch and Rancho Colinas in the Gabilan Mountain foothills.[2]

First land deal

In February 1978, as the trust was being formed, it received an undivided half-interest in 26 acres (11 ha) just north of the Esalen Institute from its co-founder Michael Murphy.[1] The national Trust for Public Land held the half-interest in the Esalen land until the Big Sur trust's federal tax-exempt status was approved by the Internal Revenue Service.[1] Founding member Peter Harding donated the $1,250 filing fee. A neighbor's mother gave the trust leaders about $2,000 to help start the land fund.[9]

Big Sur Coastal Land Use Plan

The first master plan for the Big Sur coast was written in 1962 by architect and part-time local resident Nathaniel Owings. The members of the Big Sur Citizens’ Advisory Committee, who later founded the trust, met with Big Sur residents and county administrators to draft a new land use plan. The new Big Sur Local Coastal Program was approved after four years of work and several months of public hearings and discussion, including input from the residents of Big Sur. It is one of the most restrictive in the slate because of efforts to conserve scenic views and the unparalleled beauty of the area.[10] The Coastal Commission approved the plan in April 1986. It is the primary document used to determine what kind of development is allowed. The plan states, “The overall direction for the future of the Big Sur Coast is based around the theme of preserving the outstanding natural environment.... The County’s basic policy is to prohibit all future public or private development visible from Highway 1.”[1][1][5][11]

Financing

The trust is supported through memberships fees, private donations, and public conservation funding.[2] Some of its funding comes from California Proposition 70, which provided $776 million for wildlife, coastal, and parkland conservation. These funds that were allocated to and administered by county governments. Many of the individuals and groups active in the Big Sur land use planning project actively supported the referendum campaign in support of Proposition 70. County Supervisor Karin Strasser Kauffman, a strong supporter of conservation efforts, promoted the initiative publicly and the trust helped circulate petitions statewide. The initiative passed by a wide margin of 65 percent in June 1988.[1][12]

It also receives specialized grants, including a grant in 2016 for the Carmel River Floodplain Restoration and Environmental Enhancement project[13] and the Carr Lake Project.[14]

As of the reporting period ending in June, 2016, the trust had revenue of $6,088,077, income totaling $6,533,045, and assets of $35,452,353. The assets included land worth $19,973,147 and an endowment totaling $6,934,068.[15] It paid its officers a total of $278,759 in compensation and spent $112,000 for lobbying.[16]

Partnerships

As property values continue to rise in California's Central Coast, the trust has partnered with The Nature Conservancy, Monterey Peninsula Regional Park District, and the California Natural Resources Agency in land acquisition and conservation projects.[2]

Pioneer conservation buyer method

In 1989, Zad Leavy, a founder of the trust and long-time attorney, conceived of the idea of inducing landowners to sell property through a process later called the "conservation buyer method." It allows a landowner who permanently gives up their developmental rights to the non-profit trust to deduct from their income taxes the difference between the fair market value before the restrictions are in place with the value afterward. The owners receive a substantial one-time tax reduction, and also continually benefit permanently from the lowered property taxes.[1]

Controversial deals

Gamboa Ranch

In its second land deal in 1979, the trust edged out buyers from Oklahoma for 3,040 acres (1,230 ha) of land known as the Gamboa Ranch near Lucia, California. The owners of the land, 19 New York lawyers, had foreclosed on the $1 million mortgage in 1971 and in early 1979 were seeking to sell the land. Potential buyers from Oklahoma consulted with California Coastal Commissioner Zad Leavy about allowed usage for the land. After receiving his input, they were confident enough about their plan for a retreat-like development to skip a planned 60-day escrow and made a $1.6 million offer to buy the land from the New York attorneys, which they verbally accepted. A few days later Commissioner Leavy, without informing the Oklahoma purchasers, switched roles. Acting in his capacity as the attorney for the Big Sur Land Trust, he interrupted the attorneys' meeting during which they were planning to conclude the sale. Leavy offered them $2 million from the trust: $1.2 million in cash and $800,000 in tax credits. The six Oklahoma buyers, who had meanwhile flown to California to tour the property for a second time, were "flabbergasted" to learn their agreement had been turned down for a deal that Coastal Commissioner Leavy had arranged acting as attorney for the trust. They were completely unaware that he was acting in any other capacity than as a public official.[17]

At the same time the trust was negotiating with the attorneys, they also brought in the father-in-law of board member Nancy Hopkins, Hewlett-Packard co-founder David Packard. The entire deal was consummated in less than 48 hours.[18] In a complicated legal strategy known as a double-escrow, the trust bought the land, and during the few minutes they owned the land, they applied a highly restrictive conservation easement on the property. The easement significantly decreased the value of the property. Packard wanted a piece of open coastal land and was happy with the covenants and restrictions, but he initially concerned that the proposed contract wasn't legal. He asked Executive Director Zad Leavy to confirm that it was permitted by law.[9]

Once Packard was reassured, the trust almost instantly sold hiim 1,500 acres (607 ha). The trust paid the lawyers $1.125 million,[9] and the lawyers also received a $900,000 charitable donation that offset their capital gains in exchange for the loss they took in selling the land to the trust.[1][19] Referring to the Oklahoma investors, Leavy commented afterward that "We just barely sneaked under the radar, we just barely beat them."[18]

The trust sold the other half of the land to the University of California who established the Landels-Hill Big Creek Reserve.[6][19]:282 Due to a revised exclusion to the real estate listing required by the trust, the realtor who had marketed the property and paid over $6,000 for a full-color brochure among other expenses was not reimbursed.[17]

The local Coast Property Owners Association and the Big Sur Gazette accused Leavy of a conflict of interest in his roles as both a Coastal Commission member and the trust's legal adviser. It charged the trust with engaging in deceptive practices. The trust responded that it only works with willing sellers, many of whom willingly placed easements on their property that they then retained.[1]:58

Odello East and Cañada Woods

Clint Eastwood bought five parcels totalling 279 acres (113 ha) along Highway 1 near Malpaso Creek, south of the Carmel Highlands, during the 1960s. In 1995, Monterey County bought the land from him for $3.08 million, despite the fact that in July 1994 the county assessor's showed the land's assessed value as only $308,682. The county put a conservation easement on the Mal Paso property in perpetuity.[20] Eastwood received a $6 million tax write-off for the donation.[20]

Using the proceeds from the sale, Eastwood bought the 134 acres (54 ha) Odello Ranch at the mouth of the Carmel River during the same year. The ranch had been used for several decades as farm land, most recently to produce artichokes. The purchase price included a county-approved subdivision map for 76 lots and rights to 196 acre-feet of water from the Carmel River. When he bought the property, Eastwood had the levees along the Carmel River lowered, which helped to protect the Mission Ranch resort he owned along with the neighboring Mission Fields residential neighborhood, both of which were flooded in 1994.[20]

Eastwood owned 550 acres (223 ha) known as the Cañada Woods development project immediately east of the Odello Ranch. It had formerly included the Rancho Cañada Golf Course, which his plan restored to open space. Eastwood soon asked the county to approve removing nine lots from the Odello property and 10 lots from his Cañada Woods development.[20]

In exchange, Eastwood transferred the development rights to 19 units to land adjacent to a 397 acres (161 ha) parcel known as Cañada Woods East. The Cañada Woods East parcel totaling 397 acres (161 ha) had been donated in 1983 by William Cusack to the Big Sur Land Trust and had been set aside in perpetuity as a scenic easement. Eastwood bought the parcel from the trust for $150,000. Although the trust owned the land, the county held the conservation easement, and Leavy characterized the county's decision to lift that easement as part of the Eastwood purchase as "a political decision."[20]

Leavy, representing the trust, said that preserving the Odello Ranch property had greater priority over the land donated by Cusack. Critics complained about the precedent of selling land without public comment for development purposes that had been set aside in perpetuity as open space. In December, 1995, Eastwood sought to exercise his right to appropriate the 195 acre-feet of water linked to the Odello property from the State Water Resources Control Board. Eastwood and his representatives said during a public hearing on his request that the appropriation was needed to establish the fair market value of the Odello Ranch for tax purposes. He said he might donate the land along with the water rights to the Big Sur Land Trust.[20] In the 1995 agreement, Eastwood retained 40 acres (16 ha) of the land along with approximately 16 acre-feet of water.[20]

In December, 2007, Eastwood and his former wife Maggie announced were transferring the 134 acres (54 ha) Odello Ranch on the east side of Highway 1 to the trust. Terms of the agreement require that 67 of the 73 lots remain as open space.[21]

As of 2016, the Malpaso property is off limits to the public and there are no plans to allow public access.[20]

Land ownership

As of 2016, the trust had acquired a number of properties that they continue to own. The table below summarizes major trust acquisitions. The purchase of land by the trust. The trust obtains the property rights and can choose to retain the land in perpetuity or coordinate with another organization to transfer the property into a larger conserved area.

Name Size Location Date acquired Prior Owner Purchase price Description
Carmel River Parkway 3 acres (1 ha) West of Rancho San Carlos Road in Carmel Valley, California June, 2009 Rancho San Carlos Partnership $1.13 million Site for future river education center.[22]
Arroyo Seco Ranch 1,675 acres (678 ha) About 8 miles (13 km) west of Greenfield, California 2007 N/A $1.30 million[notes 1] The land includes about 2 miles (3.2 km) of frontage on the Arroyo Seco River, which flows through the land. The property was a priority for restoring the historic steelhead population. The location includes a sycamore alluvial woodland forest, blue oak, valley oak, coast live oak, providing habitat for California red-legged frog, foothill yellow-legged frog, Pinnacles optioservus riffle beetle, western pond turtle, and steelhead trout.[23]
Glen Deven Ranch 860 acres (348 ha) Big Sur, California 2001 Seely and Virginia Mudd Bequest Located in the iconic Big Sur landscape and surrounded by central coast grasslands and woodlands. Many coastal perennial rivers and wildlife habitats are protected on the property. The property is also hosts summer nature camps where youth learn about coastal ecosystems. The ranch totals 900 acres (364 ha) on top of a ridge above Highway 1 and Palo Colorado Road.[24]
Marks Ranch 816 acres (330 ha) Near Toro County Park, Monterey County, California 2007, 2010 St. John's College, Annapolis, Maryland $4.75 million Northeast of Toro County Park. Formerly an egg farm and cattle ranch owned by Benjamin and Nisene Marks. The trust sold 624 acres (253 ha) for $2.2 million in 2010 and another 113 acres (46 ha) in 2012 for $2.7 million to Monterey County for inclusion in Toro Park. The remaining 79 acres (32 ha) held by the trust includes the Marks family hacienda and adjacent lands. The Violini family is maintaining the ranching operation. The trust is converting the buildings to a gathering location for Salinas and Monterey Peninsula families.[25][26][27]
Mitteldorf Preserve 1,057 acres (428 ha) Santa Lucia Foothills, Monterey County, California February, 1990 Westbrook Land and Timber Company $1.35 million Located between Joshua Creek Canyon Ecological Reserve the south, Palo Corona Regional Park on the north, and Santa Lucia Preserve to the east. Mitteldorf conserves the largest redwood trees in Monterey County. It also protects madrone, oak woodland, coastal chaparral, and grassland habitats. The land is accessible through the Santa Lucia Preserve and is only open to trust members. The trust is developing infrastructure for a nature camp and research program.[28][29]
Carmel River Songbird Preserve and Carmel River Parkway 12 acres (5 ha) Carmel Valley, Monterey County, California 2008 McWhorter family $1 million Located near Schulte Road 6 miles (9.7 km) east of Highway One; riparian, fish and floodplain habitat for 43 types of birds, California redlegged frog, Western pond turtle, and steelhead trout. Connecting to the 1.5 miles (2.4 km) South Bank Trail from Quail Lodge to Palo Corona Regional Park. A use permit is required to enter Palo Corona Regional Park.[30][31]
Notley's Landing 8 acres (3 ha) About 11 miles (18 km) south of Carmel, Monterey County, California 2001 Rose Ulman $400,000[notes 2] The Big Sur trust planned to open it to the public with hiking trails.[31][32]
Odello East 84 acres (34 ha) Near the mouth of Carmel River, Monterey County, California 1998, 2016 Clint Eastwood Land exchange Eastwood purchased the land and donated it to the trust. In exchange, conservation easements were removed from other land he owned further east.[20]

Conservation easements

The trust has negotiated a number of agreements covering about 17,000 acres (6,880 ha) with private property owners to preserve the land without transferring ownership. In these instances, the property owners agree to give up the right to develop the land and to conserve resources in perpetuity.[33][34]

The landowner receives a one-time tax break, the difference between the prior market value and the value after the ability to develop the land is removed. They also receive the benefit of an ongoing reduction in property taxes. The conservation agreement stipulates that the conserved lands are managed based on values and intentions stipulated to by both parties.[35] As of 2016, the trust had protected using conservation easements about 17,000 acres (6,880 ha) of land.

Name Beneficiaries Acreage Year Easement Value Location and Habitat
Addleman Pat and Lloyd Addleman 285 acres (115 ha) 1984 N/A Along Burns Creek; Redwood forest, coastal sage scrub.[36]
El Sur Ranch Jim Hill 3,550 acres (1,437 ha) 1997 $11.5 million From the Point Sur Naval Facility to the mouth of the Little Sur River at Hurricane Point; coastal plains.[37]
Dorrance Ranch Dorrance family 4,300 acres (1,740 ha) March, 2008 $6 million, gift[notes 3] About 10 miles (16 km) south of Salinas and 15 miles (24 km) east/southeast of Monterey in the Sierra de Salinas Mountain Range of Monterey County on Mount Toro; oak savannas, ponds, wetlands, and grasslands, habitat for golden eagle, California red-legged frog, California tiger salamander, burrowing owl, California condor, and others.[38][39]
Carmel River Parkway Quail Lodge, Inc. 10 acres (4 ha) June, 2009 Gift West of Rancho San Carlos Road in Carmel Valley, California.[22]
Rancho Colinas Ron and Linda Stoney 1,107 acres (448 ha) 2009 N/A Gabilan Mountain foothills, south of San Juan Bautista; oak woodlands, grasslands and wildlife corridors.[40][41]
Vierra Ranch Ron and Linda Stoney 965 acres (391 ha)[40] 2014 $1 million Gabilan Mountain foothills, 6 miles (9.7 km) north of Salinas; oak woodlands, grasslands and wildlife corridors.[42][43]
Violini Ranch Johnny and Henry Violini 3,200 acres (1,295 ha)[38] December, 2007 $1 million Southwest of Salinas, on the Sierra de Salinas ridge between Salinas and Carmel valleys; blue and valley oak woodlands, native grasslands, savannas and wetlands.[44][45]

Land transfers

Land transfers are instances where the trust purchases property and then sells or donates the land to a third party. When the property is transferred a conservation easement is added to the title requiring the buyer to maintain the land in its undeveloped state. These kinds of transfers usually incorporate the property into a larger park.

The trust has acquired a number of properties that they then sold to third parties. The third parties have included private individuals, the Monterey Peninsula Regional Park District, the United States Forest Service,

The trust collaborates with state and regional agencies and other conservation partners to preserve larger extents. Many lands purchased or donated to the trust are transferred to regional park districts or federal land management agencies. Land transfers help expand habitat for wildlife and native plant populations within watersheds.

Transfer Name Former Name Value / Purchase Price Acreage Former Owner Year Transferred New Owner Location and Notes Key Habitat and Resources
de Dampierre River Trails Park Moo Land $1.925 million 32 acres (13 ha) Genevieve de Dampierre 2006, 2012 Monterey Peninsula Regional Park District Near Carmel Valley Village and adjacent to Garland Regional Park Woodlands, grasslands and dense riparian vegetation. The trust restored and completed trail work on the park in 2011.[46]

[47]

Gamboa Ranch Potter or Circle M Ranch $1.125 million plus $900,000 in tax benefits[9] 3,040 acres (1,230 ha) Consortium of New York attorneys 1978 David Packard and University of California On Highway One south of Big Creek in southern Big Sur
Martin Dunes Granite Rock quarry $3.5 million[9] 125 acres (51 ha)[9] 1998 Marina, CA Privately owned by numerous private landowners in partnership with the Big Sur Land Trust.[48] Marina, California Coastal dunes habitat for five threatened species.
Marina Dunes Preserve Granite Rock quarry $3.5 million[9] 51.26 acres (21 ha)[9] Granite Rock Company 1998; 2000 Monterey Regional Parks District Marina, CA Coastal dunes habitat for endangered Smith’s blue butterfly, threatened western snowy plover, California legless lizard, Monterey spineflower, Monterey gilia, Menzies’ wallflower, and western snowy plover.[49]
Henry Miller Memorial Library Bequest 30.69 acres (12 ha) in two parcels[50] Emil White 1989, 1997 Miller Memorial Library 48603 Highway 1, Big Sur, CA Cultural site
Long Valley Long Valley Ranch $2.4 million[notes 4] 425 acres (172 ha) 1998 Elkhorn Slough Foundation Midway between Prunedale and Las Lomas off San Miguel Canyon Road at Elkhorn Slough, Moss Landing, California Live oak woodland and maritime chaparral.[51][52][53][54]
Mill Creek Redwood Preserve $2 million[55] 1,534 acres (621 ha)[56] Philo Lumber Company 1988, 2000 Palo Colorado Canyon, Coastal redwoods
Palo Corona Ranch Fish Ranch $32 million[19]:325 9,898 acres (4,006 ha) initially;[57] reduced with land given to the Joshua Creek Reserve to 4,300 acres (1,740 ha) Craig McCaw 2002, 2004 Monterey Peninsula Regional Park District Carmel Valley, CA Coastal grasslands and woodland, ponds, and perennial creeks.[57]
Joshua Creek Canyon Ecological Reserve $5 million; 640 acres (259 ha) initially; 6,180 acres (2,501 ha) in 2004[58][59] California Department of Fish and Game South of Carmel Valley Highlands, CA Coastal redwoods
Palo Corona Regional Park Whisler-Wilson Ranch; formerly A.M. Allen Ranch $4.25 million[60][61][62][notes 5] 317 acres (128 ha) Whisler and Wilson Family Trusts 2010, 2012 Monterey Peninsula Regional Parks District East of Point Lobos First redwood forest south of Carmel; steelhead stream habitat
Point Lobos Ranch A.M. Allen Ranch $12.8 million[9] 1,315 acres (532 ha)[61] 1993[9] Carmel Valley, CA Contains one of the world's largest native Monterey Pine forests, rare Gowen cypress, and rare maritime chaparral plant community.[63]
The Horse Pasture $1.1 million 160 acres (65 ha)[36] Robert, Adam, and Anna Beck March, 2007 The Wilderness Trust Partnership with Wilderness Land Trust. Located in the northern Las Padres National Forest adjacent to Tassajara Hot Springs. Added to the adjacent Ventana Wilderness.[64][65][66] A mixture of chemise-dominated chaparral, mixed oak, Coulter Pine forest, and meadow.

Other projects

The trust works on a number of projects in the Monterey County region. Projects focus on the expansion of preserved natural habitat for unique central coast species, and increasing the opportunities available for community members to connect with the environment.

Lobos-Corona Parklands Project

The Lobos-Corona Parklands Project is a collaboration between the Big Sur Land Trust, Monterey Peninsula Regional Park District, California State Parks, and the Point Lobos Foundation. The trust was a leader in a number of components of the Lobos-Corona project including developing the Carmel River Parkway Project and the South Bank Trail. The organization has also contributed to land acquisition and development at Palo Corona Regional Park.[67]

Carmel River Parkway

Beginning in 2004, the Big Sur Land Trust began efforts to collaborate with other agencies and the local community to protect and restore the Carmel River.[46] They developed a conservation plan to restore and enhance the Carmel River ecosystem. One of the major components is a recreational trail that will connect the lower Carmel Valley to upper reaches of the watershed.[36] About 20 agencies and organizations and more than 200 residents contributed to the planning.[68] Known as the Carmel River Parkway Vision Plan, it includes integrated plans for trails, park lands, restored natural areas, and public informational sites in the Carmel River watershed.[30][46]

The South Bank Trail

The trust obtained a $1.2 million grant from the California Resources Agency River Parkways Program to build a 1.5 miles (2.4 km) long handicapped accessible pedestrian and bicycle path that connected Quail Lodge in Carmel Valley to Palo Corona Regional Park. Monterey County secured a grant to design the trail, and the trust received private donations to acquire an easement from private landowners to build the trail. It was completed in October 2011.[68]

Carmel River floodplain restoration

The Carmel River Floodplain Restoration and Environmental Enhancement Project is a plan to restore the natural hydrology of the Carmel River near the Carmel Lagoon and minimize flood risk. When the project is completed, it's expected to:[69]

Palo Corona Regional Park Project

The Big Sur Land Trust purchased the Whisler Wilson Ranch property in 2010 and sold the property to the Monterey Peninsula Regional Park District in 2013. The property spans the east side of Highway 1 from Carmel to Pt. Lobos and connects Palo Corona Regional Park to Point Lobos Ranch.[60] In collaboration with the Monterey Regional Park District, the trust developed the 4.5 miles (7.2 km) Hatton Canyon recreational trail that connects the top of Carmel Hill to the lower Camel River Trail System at Carmel Valley Road.[36] The trust also helped establish a visitor access and land management plan to address land management issues, including:[36]

Carr Lake Multi-Use Park

In 2016, the trust received a grant from the California Coastal Conservancy to acquire Carr Lake, a 500 acres (202 ha) undeveloped space in the center of Salinas, California. The low-lying land has been largely used as farmland. Runoff from the farming operations flows northeast through a reclamation ditch toward Tembladero Slough and into the old Salinas River, and eventually into the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. Sediments that have accumulated in the ditch increase flood risk to nearby homes. The trust is working with city of Salinas to re-purpose the land and create a multi-use community park.[14][70]

Notes

  1. ↑ The easement was purchased by the California Wildlife Conservation Fund and is monitored by The Nature Conservancy.
  2. ↑ Purchased with help from the state Coastal Conservancy, Catherine L. and Robert O. McMahan Foundation, the Barnet J. Segal Charitable Trust, and the Robert V. Brown and Patricia M. Brown Monterey Fund.
  3. ↑ The Dorrance family gave the $940,000 difference between the appraised value and the purchase price as a charitable gift. The Big Sur Land Trust was one of several groups that provided funds.
  4. ↑ In partnership with the Elkhorn Slough Foundation and David and Lucile Packard Foundation.
  5. ↑ Funds were contributed by the Catherine L. and Robert O. McMahan Foundation, and The Nature Conservancy, which contributed $166,050 for preservation of redwoods and stream habitat.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Walton, J. (2007). "The Land of Big Sur: Conservation on the California Coast" (PDF). California History. University of California. pp. 44–64. doi:10.2307/25161929. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 22, 2015e. Retrieved 8 September 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Trust, Big Sur Land. "About Us (Big Sur Land Trust)". Big Sur Land Trust. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 "Big Sur Land Trust FAQ".
  4. 1 2 "Founders". Big Sur Land Trust. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Anderson, Mark C. (December 18, 2008). "The Big Sur Land Trust revisits its mission". Monterey County Weekly. Retrieved 4 October 2016.
  6. 1 2 "Sam Farr Tribute".
  7. 1 2 "Big Sur Land Trust Trustees".
  8. ↑ "Big Sur Land Trust New Mission".
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "The Big Sur Land Trust is trying to buy paradise". Monterey County Weekly. December 13, 2001. Retrieved October 24, 2016.
  10. ↑ Barnett, Mary (March 1981). "Big Sur LCP Adopted by County Planners" (PDF). Big Sur Gazette. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 20, 2014.
  11. ↑ "Draft Findings of the Monterey County LCP Periodic Review". December 22, 2003. Retrieved August 20, 2016.
  12. ↑ Newman, Morris (28 April 1991). "Focus: Big Sur, Calif.; An Environmentally Correct Resort Hotel". The New York Times. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
  13. ↑ "Freeing the river to use its floodplain".
  14. 1 2 "Coastal Conservancy Funding".
  15. ↑ "Big Sur Land Trust". CitizenAudit.org. Retrieved November 8, 2016.
  16. ↑ "Form 990 for 2014" (PDF). Retrieved 8 November 2016.
  17. 1 2 "Zad Leavy: Man of Many Hats" (PDF). Big Sur Gazette. September 1979. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
  18. 1 2 "Fall-Winter 2008-2009 Big Sur Land Trust Newsletter". documentslide.com. Big Sur Land Trust. Retrieved 15 November 2016.
  19. 1 2 3 Brewer, Richard (2004). Conservancy: the Land Trust Movement in America (paperback ed.). Hanover, NH: Dartmouth College Press. ISBN 978-1584654483. Retrieved 31 August 2016.
  20. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Pitnick, Richard (January 29, 1998). "Eastwood's Odello donation helped the movie mogul and the county". Retrieved October 25, 2016.
  21. ↑ "Eastwoods Give $6-Million Ranch to Big Sur Land Trust". Los Angeles Times. 12 December 1997. Retrieved 15 November 2016.
  22. 1 2 "Big Sur Land Trust Acquires and Protects Carmel River Lands, Secures Critical Link in Carmel River Parkway". Big Sur Land Trust. June 11, 2009. Archived from the original on February 10, 2012. Retrieved November 10, 2016.
  23. ↑ "Arroyo Seco Ranch". Big Sur Land Trust. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
  24. ↑ Miller, Paul (April 20–26, 2001). "Magnificent Big Sur Estate Donated to Land Trust" (PDF) (17). Carmel Pine Cone. 87. Retrieved 4 October 2016.
  25. ↑ "Marks Ranch". Big Sur Land Trust. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
  26. ↑ Parsons, Larry (August 29, 2012). "With acquisition of Marks Ranch, Toro Park expands to more than 5,000 acres". Monterey County Herald. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
  27. ↑ .Rubin, Sara. "Marks Ranch Purchased by County Parks". Monterey County Weekly. Retrieved 17 November 2016.
  28. ↑ Anderson, Mark C. (June 5, 2008). "Big Sur Land Trust welcomes the public to a private paradise to celebrate National Trails Day.". Monterey County Weekly. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
  29. ↑ (State), California. "California. Court of Appeal (6th Appellate District). Records and Briefs: H006607, Reply to Answer to Petition for Writ". Retrieved 8 November 2016.
  30. 1 2 Alberola, Gabriela (February 13, 2014). "Environmental Management Projects and Programs in the Carmel River Watershed" (PDF). Carmel River Watershed Conservancy. Retrieved 4 October 2016.
  31. 1 2 "Central Cost Parks 2000-2011". ConnectingCalifornia.org. Retrieved 9 November 2016.
  32. ↑ McCabe, Michael (May 18, 2001). "Big Sur Trust buys historic overlook / Notley's Landing was important in timber trade". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 6 October 2016.
  33. ↑ "Conservation Easements".
  34. ↑ "FAQ". Retrieved 28 July 2016.
  35. ↑ "Big Sur Land Trust Landscapes".
  36. 1 2 3 4 5 "Big Sur Land Trust Newsletter". 2007.
  37. ↑ "El Sur Ranch Location". El Sur Ranch. Retrieved 14 August 2016.
  38. 1 2 Parsons, Larry (2008). "Ranch With a View Will be Preserved". Monterey Herald.
  39. ↑ "Monterey's Iconic Mt Toro Vista Protected". Big Sur Land Trust. March 11, 2008. Archived from the original on February 10, 2012. Retrieved 15 November 2016.
  40. 1 2 "Big Sur Land Trust Vierra Ranch".
  41. ↑ "With Future Generations in Mind, Landowners Act to Protect Vital Wildlife Habitat, Working Lands". Big Sur Land Trust. December 17, 2009. Archived from the original on February 10, 2012. Retrieved 15 November 2016.
  42. ↑ "Big Sur Land Trust Acquires Conservation Easement on Vierra Ranch". Big Sur Land Trust. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
  43. ↑ "Your Town: Land trust receives easement". December 18, 2009. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  44. ↑ "The Carmel Pine Cone Real Estate" (PDF). www.pineconearchive.com. December 28, 2007. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
  45. ↑ "Partnership: Salinas Valley Farming Family Partners With Land Trust to Protect Vital Landscape" (PDF). Big Sur Land Trust. 2008. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
  46. 1 2 3 "New Carmel Valley Hiking Trail Opens To Public". KSBW.com. October 6, 2011. Retrieved 4 October 2016.
  47. ↑ Counts, Chris. "MOO LAND DEAL CREATES EASY TRAIL ACCESS" (PDF). Carmel Pine Cone.
  48. ↑ Dorrell-Canepa, Joey (December 20, 2005). "Dune Habitat Restoration Plan Marina Dunes Preserve Marina, California" (PDF). Monterey Peninsula Regional Parks District. Retrieved 9 November 2016.
  49. ↑ Root, Mary; Brady, Heather (July 6, 2007). "Ventura FWO: Partners Remove Invasive Plants from Monterey Bay Dune Habitats". U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Retrieved 9 November 2016.
  50. ↑ "Monterey County Planning Commission" (PDF). Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  51. ↑ "Van Dyke and Holl" (PDF). 2003.
  52. ↑ Scharffenberger, Tom (July 2, 1999). "Elkhorn Slough Watershed Conservation Plan" (PDF). Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  53. ↑ "Elkhorn Slough Protected Lands". www.elkhornslough.org. Elkhorn Slough Foundation. Retrieved 16 November 2016.
  54. ↑ "Land trust buys woodland". Santa Cruz Sentinel. February 19, 1998. p. 2.
  55. ↑ "Mill Creek Redwood Preserve". Monterey Peninsula Regional Park District. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  56. ↑ "Mill Creek Redwood Preserve". Monterey Peninsula Regional Park District Mill Creek Purchase.
  57. 1 2 "MPRPD Palo Purchase".
  58. ↑ "Monterey Peninsula Regional Park District Palo Park".
  59. ↑ "Wildlife Conservation Board Minutes". May 23, 2002. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  60. 1 2 "Big Sur Land Trust Sells Whisler-Wilson Ranch to Monterey Peninsula Regional Park District". Big Sur Land Trust. January 15, 2013. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  61. 1 2 "Regional Park District to Acquire Whisler-Wilson Ranch from Big Sur Land Trust". Monterey County Weekly. 2012.
  62. ↑ Abraham, Kera (December 3, 2010). "Big Sur Land Trust adds Whisler-Wilson Ranch to its bounty". Monterey County Weekly. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  63. ↑ "Point Lobos Ranch Park Property".
  64. ↑ "Horse Pasture Preserved". www.cuke.com. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
  65. ↑ "LAND WITHIN CALIFORNIA'S VENTANA WILDERNESS PROTECTED". Wilderness Land Trust. 24 August 2007. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
  66. ↑ Counts, Chris. "Land trusts team up to buy historic wilderness pasture" (PDF). Carmel Pine Cone. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
  67. ↑ "Lobos-Corona Vision Plan" (PDF).
  68. 1 2 "Yuba News".
  69. ↑ "Big Sur Land Trust Carmel River".
  70. ↑ "Reclamation Ditch".

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