Open Space Preserves

Here are some other open space lands conserved by the Land Trust’s efforts. Some of them are open to the public, while others remain private, protecting important natural, scenic and cultural resources on private lands that are monitored by the Land Trust.

Rancho Monte Alegre (3,060 acres)

The largest conservation easement ever created in Santa Barbara County was negotiated by the Land Trust with the owners of Rancho Monte Alegre, a 3,109 acre historic ranch in the Carpinteria foothills. Since the late 1900s, the land has been used for agriculture, cultivation of olives, citrus, loquats, figs and apples, as well as dairy farming.

The conservation easement permanently limits development to 24 home sites on the ranch. The homes are required to be located and designed to minimize their visibility from the Carpinteria Valley.

Outside of the 24 home sites, which cover less than one percent of the property, about 300 acres are in an agricultural easement, mostly where orchards now exist. All of the land outside the farm areas and home sites, about 2,750 acres, will be governed by a conservation easement that allows no agricultural, residential or other development. The upper watershed of Santa Monica Creek and Sutton Canyon Creek, made up of coastal sage scrub, chaparral, and riparian woodland habitat, will be protected in perpetuity as natural, scenic open space.

Mar Y Cel (150 acres)


Mar Y Cel (Sea & Sky) is a 350 acre estate in the Santa Ynez Mountain foothills above Montecito. The property includes the well known "Tea Gardens" built by Mr. & Mrs. Henry Bothin in the early 1900s. One of Montecito’s most intriguing properties, the site contains the remains of an intricate array of stone aqueducts and water works, Romanesque arches, and Greek-like statues. In September 2000, the environmental investment group Cima del Mundo LLC offered to donate a conservation easement on the northern 150 acres of the estate, eliminating the possibility of residential development and ensuring protection of the scenic beauty and wildlife habitat on this part of the estate. A popular hiking trail, the West Fork of Cold Springs Trail, has run through this area for many years, but it was not on a legally-dedicated easement. Cima del Mundo agreed to grant a one-half mile trail easement to the Land Trust, so that the right to use this trail is now guaranteed to the public.

Mission Canyon Watershed (134 acres)


Near the top of Mission Canyon, this scenic watershed land was donated to the UC Santa Barbara Religious Studies Department by The Rowny Foundation. Because the Rowny family did not want it developed, the estate gave a conservation easement to the Land Trust at the same time (VERIFY), limiting use of the land to activities of the Religious Studies Department, passive recreation and scientific study. The easement prohibits clearing of the native oak woodland, riparian and chaparral vegetation, and prevents any new development. An important wildlife corridor along Mission Creek, the site features an old, corrugated metal dairy barn. This property is not open to the public, and may be visited only with permission of UCSB.

Mackie Mountain (17 acres)


In the 1980s, when the land around Mackie Mountain (locals also call it "Muffin Hill") was proposed for development of the Vandenberg Village homes, the county planning commission required that the 17 acre Mackie Mountain site be set aside as open space. The developer offered a permanent conservation easement to the Land Trust for Santa Barbara County. Surrounded entirely by homes now, the Mackie Mountain preserve protects regionally unique Burton Mesa Chaparral vegetation, and provides local residents walking trails around and to the hilltop, offering a panoramic view of the Lompoc Valley and the nearby 5,000 acre Burton Mesa Chaparral Preserve owned by the State of California. You can visit Mackie Mountain during daylight hours. Park near one of the four access trails on Galaxy Way in Vandenberg Village.

Modoc Preserve (25 acres)

The Water Company retains the right to build facilities like water wells, pipelines and access roads, and otherwise the land will remain as open space. Supporters for the Modoc Preserve are raising money to provide an endowment for maintenance, and also to build a network of pedestrian and equestrian trails through the oak woodland and around a small natural wetland within the preserve.

San Ysidro Oak Woodland (44 acres)


When the Ennisbrook subdivision was proposed in Montecito, the community and the county insisted that the oak woodland and Monarch butterfly eucalyptus grove along San Ysidro Creek be preserved and protect in their natural state. In 1997, the Land Trust accepted a conservation easement on the property, providing that the Ennisbrook Owners Association maintain the area under the guidance of a biologist. A hiking trail easement between San Leandro Lane and East Valley Road provides a lovely walk through the woodland.

More Mesa (36 acres)


The 300-acre More Mesa just west of Hope ranch has been one of the preservation community’s highest priorities for decades. While most of More Mesa is owned by an out-of-state investor who is not interested in selling it for preservation, the Land Trust did succeed in buying one property on the northwestern edge of More Mesa in 1991. The former "Austin/Andrews Property" was purchased with Proposition 70 bond funds, and transferred to the County. With a Coastal Resource Enhancement Fund grant, the Land Trust prepared a 1992 management plan for this property. In recent years, the County Flood Control District has begun planting native riparian plants there, as part of its mitigation program for flood control maintenance along Atascadero Creek. The More Mesa open space includes oak woodland and riparian habitat, and has nice trails that are popular with local birdwatchers, bikers and horseback riders. You can get to the property by driving south on Patterson Avenue, and then east on Shoreline Drive to a trailhead near Orchid Drive.

Point Sal (130 acres)


The dramatic, windswept coastline near Point Sal near Guadalupe is home to some of the Central Coasts more unique geological, botanical, wildlife and archaeological treasures. Point Sal’s coastal dunes, steep oceanside bluffs and wetland habitats support over 300 native plant species, many at the northern or southern extent of their California range. The mingling of two major ocean currents offshore results in an ecologically rich interface of northern and southern marine species (Steller sea lion, northern fur seal, Guadalupe fur seal, northern elephant seal). The eleven different types of habitat found at Point Sal sustain a rich array of breeding and overwintering birds and other wildlife.

This area is quite spectacular, but quite remote – today the one public road to the area remains washed out by a storm, so no vehicle access is available. In 2003, the County Parks will release an updated management plan for 863 acres of Point Sal land under county, state and federal ownership. This plan will address management of the area’s sensitive resources, and make recommendations for future public access improvements. For information, contact the County Parks Department.

The Land Trust purchased these 130 acres adjacent to Point Sal State Park from private owners in 1989-90 using Proposition 70 state bond and county Coastal Resource Enhancement Fund grants. We then prepared a management plan for this and other public land at Point Sal before transferring the property to the County Parks Department. The county purchased another 320 acre private holding at Point Sal in 1998.