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Tucked in the Purisima Hills, this 556-acre expanse of rangeland is home to rolling oak woodlands, coastal scrub, and native grasslands that support a wide range of plant and animal life. The land provides vital habitat for the endangered California tiger salamander and serves as an important wildlife corridor, helping to reduce habitat fragmentation in…
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In January of 2020, citing the State of California’s goal to achieve 100% renewable energy by 2045, the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors voted to approve construction of the Strauss Wind Project. The project includes 29 wind turbines capable of generating enough energy to power about 43,000 homes. The construction and operations of the…
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Jalama Canyon Ranch is protected under a conservation easement held by the Land Trust for Santa Barbara County—conserving 1,000 acres of prime ranch land and wildlife habitat in perpetuity. The successful funding effort included state, local, and private entities, with a first-time grant award of $1,782,500 from the Sustainable Agricultural Lands Conservation Program (SALC) for the Land…
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When Bob Campbell, a Lompoc-area rancher, farmer, and business owner, faced regulatory obstacles related to the presence of endangered California tiger salamanders on his property, it was difficult to move forward with his ranching operations. The Land Trust for Santa Barbara County worked with Mr. Campbell and federal and state wildlife agencies to conserve 460…
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“As a family owned farm, welcoming in our fourth generation of farmers, we understand the importance of preserving our land and natural habitats for generations to come. We are proud to have accomplished a model for cooperation between agricultural businesses and conservation agencies in Santa Barbara County.” Bonipak CEO Joe Leonard
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The 950-acre Las Cumbres Ranch, owned by James and Patricia Selbert, was the Land Trust’s largest conservation easement of 2017. About the experience, Patricia Selbert said, “Working with the Land Trust was very rewarding. We have no interest in developing our property and the Land Trust helped us ensure the property would forever remain open…
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Big Bend Ranch, 108 acres along scenic California Route 1, was originally part of historic, Rancho San Julian, a striking piece of Central California Coast landscape. This property consists of beautiful and valuable watershed, farmland, grazing, oak woodland and riparian habitat. It’s located in the El Jaro Creek watershed, a tributary of the Santa Ynez…
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Set in the heart of the Santa Ynez Valley, the Sedgwick Reserve is a hub used extensively for research, arts, and education programs by local and global institutions. The Sedgwick Reserve contains much of the watershed of Figueroa Creek, from rolling oak savannah, to native grassland, to the gray pine forest extending into the Los…
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The Land Trust for Santa Barbara County holds a conservation easement on the approximately 450-acre El Capitan Canyon Ranch and Campground. This property is a privately owned and publicly accessible campground with tent and RV camping, yurts, and cabin accommodations. There is also organic farming, pastured livestock operations, and hiking on adjacent state park land…
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In the 1980s and 90s, the late Walter Thomson granted some of the earliest conservation easements in Santa Barbara County. These Land Trust easements protect three adjacent Santa Ynez Valley ranches covering 1440 acres of land at the entry to scenic Happy Canyon. The Williams Ranch is 100 acres of land, featuring hilly coastal sage…
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Land Trust partnered with the owners of Rancho Monte Alegre, protecting the 3,109-acre historic ranch in the Carpinteria foothills. Since the late 1900s, the land has been used for cultivation of olives, citrus, loquats, figs, apples, and dairy farming. The conservation easement permanently limits development to 24 home sites while 300 acres of farmland are…
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On one of the larger private ranches in the county, owners Jonathan & Nancy Kittle granted a conservation easement on 900 acres of upper watershed land to The Nature Conservancy in 1973. The easement, which protects the oak woodland, chaparral, grassland, small streams and springs on this part of Rancho Las Cruces, was transferred to…
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In 1998, Walter Thomson donated a conservation easement over Rancho Felicia, part of the first thoroughbred training ranch established in the Santa Ynez Valley. Mr. Thomson wanted to guard the agricultural heritage of Happy Canyon, and make sure his ranch never became a ranchette subdivision—the easement allows only two separate parcels to be created, each…
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At the top of Refugio Pass and just west of former President Reagan’s “Western White House,” Rancho Dos Vistas is now protected by a conservation easement that allows three home sites, setting aside the remaining ninety percent for wildlife habitat. At the time, the Land Trust helped landowner Cima del Mundo secure a state income…
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Formerly known as Rancho Aldea Antigua, Spanish for ancient hamlet, Whitecliff runs along the western ridge of the Franklin Creek watershed, just outside the Los Padres National Forest. It is one of several dozen small ranches and farms that create the beautiful, open landscape between Foothill Road and the forest land. The Land Trust has…
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When the City of Buellton voted to annex farmland owned by Norman Williams to build a new housing development, school, and city park, Mr. Williams was faced with paying a large fee to the State of California to cancel the Agricultural Preserve (Williamson Act) contract on his land. However, a new state law allows landowners…
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Rancho Purisima, LLC acquired the 2,800-acre La Purisima Ranch in early 2012 to pursue a conservation effort to protect the threatened and endangered California tiger salamander and Western spadefoot toad on the property. In 2014, the owner and Conservation Land Group then began working closely with the Land Trust, the local community, and federal and…
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Thanks to the commitment and generosity of former ranch owner Steve Lyons, a key land parcel between Los Alamos and Orcutt is protected by a Land Trust conservation easement. Part of the original Las Flores Ranch and now known as North 4 Deer Ranch, the 653 acres of undeveloped property is on the southern slope…
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Eric Hvolbøll’s great-grandparents purchased La Paloma Ranch in 1866, and his mother lived there her entire life. Over the decades, the ranch in Venadito Canyon has been a sheep and cattle operation and farmed for walnuts, tomatoes, lima beans, and most recently, avocados and agave. Their love of the land led the Hvolbølls to sell…
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Bill Horton and Glenna Berry Horton placed 104 acres of their avocado ranch in a permanent conservation easement to guarantee that most of this scenic and productive avocado ranch will remain undeveloped in perpetuity. Bill’s grandparents founded the ranch and two succeeding generations have grown lemons and now avocados on the ranch. Today, the Persoon…
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If you have driven on Highway 246 into Lompoc, you have seen the sunlight flickering through the big walnut groves that are the hallmark of Hibbits Ranch, a 395-acre farm just east of the city limits. Four generations of the Hibbits family have farmed the Lompoc Valley, building a diverse and successful farming operation run…
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Thoroughbred owner and breeder Walter Thomson and his late wife Holly donated a conservation easement in 1986 over their Happy Canyon ranch. The easement ensures this spectacular, oak-studded land is never subdivided for dense development. The easement restricts cultivated agriculture to mapped areas outside of the oak savannah, native grassland and pine forest that serve…
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Freeman Ranch is the scenic backdrop to Refugio State Beach and the first conservation easement the Land Trust bought from a rancher on the scenic Gaviota Coast. Important natural resources on the ranch, including a large vernal pond, a 30-acre oak woodland, and one mile of Refugio Creek, are guarded through agricultural management practices that…
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Harold & Dorothy Briggs donated a parcel of land along the Santa Ynez River to the Land Trust in 1989, and their estate donated an adjacent parcel in 1995. The Land Trust then sold the ranch to a private buyer, retaining an agricultural easement to keep the property open for ranching and farming and to…
OFFICE:
1530 Chapala St., Suite A,
Santa Barbara, CA 93101
MAILING:
P.O. Box 91830, Santa Barbara, CA 93190
PHONE:
(805) 966-4520
Non-profit tax ID:
#95-3797404
Recent winter storms caused extensive damage at Arroyo Hondo Preserve, impacting trails, roads, and infrastructure. For safety reasons, the preserve is currently closed while the land continues to shift and recovery efforts begin. Our stewardship team is actively assessing conditions and planning the careful work ahead. We’re sharing updates and photos as recovery progresses and inviting the community to support this effort.
