Perhaps best known as the gateway to the Goleta Butterfly Grove, one of the largest Monarch butterfly over-wintering groves in California, the Coronado Butterfly Preserve is home to native coastal sage scrub habitat, eucalyptus groves and numerous birds and wildlife that thrive in this urban community treasure.Visit our page for more detailed information, including about Monarch Butterflies and the Coronado Butterfly Preserve.

The Modoc Preserve along Modoc Road is owned by the La Cumbre Mutual Water Company, which serves Hope Ranch and nearby neighborhoods. After reviewing various options for this land and seeking the approval of its shareholders, the Water Company in 1999 granted a conservation easement to the Land Trust, to keep this land open and undeveloped for community benefit.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.

Visiting the Modoc Preserve
Located in Santa Barbara, the Preserve is accessed from Modoc Road or Vieja Drive, south of Highway 101.

Fairview Gardens is home to the popular organic farm on Fairview Avenue next door to the Goleta public library. It is one of the few remaining farms not lost to the urbanization of Goleta. Thousands of people visit Fairview Gardens each year to shop at its farm stand, to take the self-guided farm tour, or to join in various fun and educational events sponsored by the Center for Urban Agriculture. The Land Trust helped the Center purchase the land at a discounted price by placing an agricultural easement on the farm. Grant funds awarded by the County Board of Supervisors, along with private and foundation gifts, helped complete the land purchase.Our 1997 agricultural easement requires that 88% of the land be used for agricultural production, with farm support, employee housing and educational uses allowed on the remaining land. This easement is unique in that it requires that Fairview Gardens use organic or biodynamic farming methods only. Conservation easements don’t typically specify agricultural methods, but the Center for Urban Agriculture is strongly committed to organic farming, and wanted the easement to reflect that commitment.

Visiting Fairview Gardens
You can visit the farm any day between 10am and sunset and follow theself-guided tour. No reservations necessary. Bring a picnic to enjoy at one of thepicnic tables around the farm. Visit Fairview Gardens’ web site for more info.

In the foothills behind Santa Barbara, San Roque Ranch is one of the largest undeveloped properties along the city limits. The land was purchased by environmental investment group Cima del Mundo, which donated an easement on 880 acres of the 1,200-acre ranch. The easement includes the rich upper riparian woodland along San Roque Creek, reaching all the way up to La Cumbre Peak. Cima del Mundo gave up the right to build homes on five existing land parcels. A productive avocado orchard, and land developable for a few home sites, remains south of the conservation easement. The riparian woodland, chaparral scrub and towering sandstone formations of San Roque Ranch, now owned by Land Trust supporters Michael and Robin Klein, will always remain a spectacular scenic backdrop to Santa Barbara. The Arroyo Burro public trail easement crosses the ranch, offering hikers a close up view of the nearby easement land.

Rowny Preserve Coming Soon!

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.

One of the last undeveloped, private properties in the Santa Barbara foothills was protected in 2012, a culmination of four years of work on the most complex and expensive land acquisition the Land Trust has ever done. The 462-acre Hot Springs Canyon has always been privately owned, since the 1960’s by the McCaslin family, yet the public has hiked and ridden on this undeveloped land for decades. The McCaslin’s approached the Land Trust in 2008 when they decided to sell but the world economic collapse made for a difficult time to raise charitable contributions. In 2011, we revisited this opportunity and after much research and community outreach, decided to enter into a purchase option. In a fast-moving campaign lasting from March 2011 to March 2012, the Land Trust succeeded in raising $7.8 million dollars – all of it from generous local individuals, families and foundations with no government money going into this land purchase. From the beginning, the Land Trust made clear its plan to convey the land to Los Padres National Forest for long-term stewardship as we do not have the capacity to manage this property. The canyon is entirely within the National Forest boundary and is largely surrounded by public land. As of this writing, the Land Trust continues to own Hot Springs Canyon while we work out complex legal and title issues related to private road access, a groundwater agreement with the Montecito Water District, potentially hazardous electric utility materials left on the site, and historic use of mineral spring water by a private water company.After the land is transferred to the Forest Service, the Land Trust will remain engaged with the Service and with the local community to ensure that the Canyon is managed in a way that protects its environmental resources and public trails. The Montecito Trails Foundation has agreed to be a partner in maintaining the trails, and the Pearl Chase Society would like to find a way to recognize the historical assets of the canyon, which includes a long history of Chumash use and the remnant foundation of the Hot Springs Resort and Spa that operated there for more than 130 years until being destroyed in the 1964 Coyote Fire. At this time, the Land Trust allows public use of the existing trails. Look for our signs on the trails with the “rules of the road” and enjoy the land responsibly.

Visiting Hot Springs Canyon
Under the Land Trust’s interim ownership, the existing trails in Hot Springs Canyon will remain open to the public during daylight hours. The following activities are prohibited:
• Use of motorized vehicles.
• Camping.
• Setting of any fire and smoking.
• Use of firearms and hunting.
• Trail building and brush cutting without permission of the Land Trust.
Directions to the trailhead: From U.S. 101 in Montecito, exit Olive Mill Road, which, after intersecting Alston Drive, continues as Hot Springs Road. Three miles from U.S. 101, you’ll reach Mountain Drive. Turn left and proceed 1/4 of a mile to the trailhead, which is on the right side of the road and is marked by a Montecito Trails Foundation sign. Park in a safe manner alongside the road.

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 protected 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.

Visiting the San Ysidro Oak Woodland
A hiking trail easement between San Leandro Lane and East Valley Road provides a lovely walk through the woodland. To get to the trail, find N. Jameson Lane which travels parallel to the 101 Freeway just to the east of town. Go north on Hixon Rd then turn right onto San Leandro Lane, or go north to Sheffield Dr. and turn left onto San Leandro Lane. Along the north side of San Leandro Lane you will eventually see a small green building with a white picket fence in front of it. Go through the gate in the picket fence as this is the entrance to the trail.

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 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, are 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.

The Carpinteria Salt Marsh is one of the largest and most ecologically important coastal estuaries in California. In 2008 the Land Trust completed a four year restoration project to provide better wildlife habitat, opportunities for scientific research, and ways for the people to visit and learn about the coastal environment. A new pedestrian bridge connecting the Carpinteria Salt Marsh Nature Park and the Land Trust public trail and habitat restoration area was opened in March 2008.Work was funded in part by more than $100,000 in community donations while the following agencies provided over $1,950,000 in grants to the Land Trust for ecological restoration: State Coastal Conservancy, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, County of Santa Barbara and National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration.

History of the Marsh
Deciding to preserve part of the marsh, 11 families living in the adjacent Sandyland Cove sold their part of the marsh to the UC Natural Reserve System (NRS) in 1977. Later, when faced with proposed development, a partnership including the Land Trust, State Coastal Conservancy, City of Carpinteria, UC Natural Reserve System, County Flood Control District and adjacent homeowner associations purchased the remaining portion of this valuable coastal wetland.

The marsh is now a busy, healthy ecosystem filled with rare birds, fish, snails, sharks and plants. Nestled between homes, agriculture, nurseries, the railroad and freeway, the marsh is one of the last remaining coastal estuaries in California. Less than 10% of the historic wetland habitat exists in California, and this 230-acre reserve is one of the only places left where the land meets the ocean, providing an essential environment for numerous plants and wildlife.

Visiting the Carpinteria Salt Marsh
The Nature Park is open during daylight hours every day, and docent tours of the nature park are available. Call the City of Carpinteria Parks and Recreation Department at (805) 684-5405 for a schedule of docent led tours.From Hwy 101 southbound, take the Linden Ave. exit 86B. Turn right onto Linden and continue toward the beach. Make a right turn at 3rd St. and continue until the street ends, turn onto Ash Ave. and park. The Carpinteria Salt Marsh Nature Park lies along Ash Avenue. Following the trail toward the mountains and to the west will take you to the Land Trust pedestrian bridge, public trail and restoration area.From Hwy 101 northbound, take the Casitas Pass exit 86. Turn left onto Casitas Pass and turn right on Carpinteria Avenue. Go about a quarter mile and turn left onto Linden Ave. continue toward the beach. Make a right turn at 3rd St. and continue until the street ends, turn onto Ash Ave. and park. The Carpinteria Salt Marsh Nature Park lies along Ash Avenue. Following the trail to the west will take you to the Land Trust pedestrian bridge, public trail and restoration area.

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, then avocados, on the ranch ever since.

“Our ranch has been in the family since the late 1800s and we expect to pass it on to the next generation. Our forebears would be gratified by the benefit the conservation easement provides to the community,” says Bill Horton.

Rancho Aldea Antigua (Spanish for “ancient hamlet”) 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. In recent years, the Land Trust has secured conservation easements on much of the land in the upper Franklin Creek and Santa Monica Creek watersheds, including Rancho Monte Alegre and the Horton Family Ranch.The ranch is owned by David H. Anderson, a founder, long-time board member and current general counsel of the Land Trust for Santa Barbara County, who has been a leader in voluntary land conservation locally and nationally for over two decades. The ranch is a key part of the open space view looking east from the Franklin Trail, another Land Trust effort. This historic hiking trail route, long closed by litigation involving a prior landowner, will connect from a trailhead near Carpinteria High School through private ranch land and all the way to the Santa Ynez Mountains ridge and East Camino Cielo. The Land Trust worked with the County and The Trust for Public Land to negotiate trail access agreements from the ranch owners.

Driving north or south on Highway 101, you’re sure to have noticed the scenic ocean vista, swaying Eucalyptus lined paths, and fields of coastal sage and wildflowers known as Carpinteria Bluffs, which offers spectacular views of Anacapa, Santa Cruz and Santa Rosa Islands. The property also overlooks a low tide beach and one of the four harbor seal rookeries remaining along the southern California coast. Among this stunning scenery passersby walk their dogs along the tree lined paths, peak at the harbor seals, ride bikes, paint landscapes and stop to capture yet another of the magnificent sunsets melting into the Pacific.

History of the Bluffs
For over 20 years, the citizens in Carpinteria fought against development of the Bluffs. Developers with proposals for hotels, housing tracts, business parks and oil refineries came and went without success. Weary of fighting against projects, local conservationists formed the Citizens for the Carpinteria Bluffs in 1996 to raise money and build support for a permanent solution. In 1997, the Land Trust began meeting with the Citizens, and in 1998 we jointly convinced the newest owner/developer, Shea Homes, to discuss selling 52 acres. Finally, in August 1998, Shea Homes agreed to sell the property to the Land Trust for $3,950,000 – well below the appraised value. The developer would only agree to sell if we could raise the entire purchase price by December 31. Setting aside all fear of failure, the Land Trust and Citizens for the Carpinteria Bluffs agreed to team up and try to make this deal by raising $35,000 per day! With a lead grant from the Wallis Foundation, a $1 million grant and $1 million loan from the State Coastal Conservancy and a non-stop grassroots campaign, our two groups succeeded in raising not only the purchase cost, but an extra $500,000 to fund an endowment to maintain the property after its purchase. Over 3,000 people, many local businesses, 15 foundations and four government grants made this campaign one of the largest conservation land purchases in county history. In October 2000, the Land Trust and Citizens for the Carpinteria Bluffs completed negotiation to turn the property over to the City of Carpinteria to own and manage it as an open space preserve. The Land Trust holds a conservation easement on the property, limiting development on the Bluffs to walking trails, a bikeway and a six-acre area for soccer and baseball fields.

Visiting the Carpinteria Bluffs
The Bluffs are open every day sun up to sundown for walking, hiking, painting and bike trail rides. Approximately once a year, the Land Trust organizes special docent-led hikes and lunches. The Citizens for the Bluffs often sponsor sunrise hikes and other events. For volunteer opportunities or upcoming events, please contact Betty Stein at (805) 684-3712. To find out more about the ball fields and other public improvements underway at the Bluffs, call the City of Carpinteria Parks Department at (805) 684-5405.

To the west, eucalyptus woodlands welcome migrating monarch butterflies while intact coastal dunes to the south provide nesting grounds for the threatened snowy plover. Riparian habitat and willow woodlands spring up to the north and east. The UCSB South Parcel hasn’t always been so welcoming, it was subject first to oil development in the early 1900s, and then to topsoil removal in the mid-1900s when the nearby golf course was created. Invasive species, such as Pampas grass, have invaded since then. Even so, the untouched portions persevered and the 68-acre property still has much to offer. In 2007, as part of an application to the California Coastal Commission to build new faculty and staff housing, the University agreed to permanently protect the South Parcel as natural open space. In 2010, the Land Trust and the University negotiated a conservation easement allowing only the property to be used and improved only for natural resource management, restoration and passive recreational use.
Plans for the South Parcel Nature Park include restoration of native wetland and riparian grassland, coastal scrub habitat, plus improved public trails and interpretive signs.Because the South Parcel is bordered by the Coal Oil Point Reserve, Devereux Slough, and Ellwood Mesa, it serves as a local conservation keystone, connecting various open space areas under different ownership and jurisdictions. By linking all of these properties, protection of the South Parcel will create a continuous open space totaling over 650 acres. The UCSB Cheadle Center for Biodiversity and Ecological Restoration (CCBER) is making plans to revive the natural habitat of degraded areas of the South Parcel. With mitigation funds and other grants, CCBER and the Land Trust will work together to remove invasive species, enhance the existing wetlands, and collaborate with neighboring properties on a long-term management plan. If you are interested in maps and “before” photos of the South Parcel, you can take a look at a PDFof our baseline report.
 
Visiting the South Parcel
The site is located north of Coal Oil Point Reserve and southwest of Ocean Meadows Golf Course and is best accessed by trail from adjacent public open spaces.