To Preserve Up to 100,000 Acres

In 2003, Tejon Ranch announced steps to ensure that significant portions of the ranch’s 270,000 acres would be preserved forever. As a first step, the Ranch formed a partnership with The Trust for Public Land (TPL) to pursue the permanent conservation of up to 100,000 acres of important habitat lands.

TPL is a national, non-profit land conservation organization dedicated to conserving land for people as parks, greenways, wilderness areas and natural, historic and cultural resources for future generations. Founded in 1972, TPL has protected more than 1.5 million acres nationwide.

The proposed preserve, equal to the size of the Yosemite Valley and twice the size of Santa Catalina Island, will contain some of the most highly prized and environmentally sensitive lands in the State of California.

In describing its importance and value, Reed Holderman, executive director of The Trust for Public Land – California, said: “The ranch is home to many rare and endangered species and has one of the largest unspoiled oak woodlands in the state. It is also the connecting point for four distinct regional ecosystems, including a critical wildlife corridor that links the Pacific Coast to the Sequoias in the Sierra Nevada mountains.”

Since the partnership was announced, TPL’s team of experts has been surveying the natural resources of Tejon Ranch to propose the configuration of a 100,000-acre natural preserve.

The team, utilizing state-of-the-art tools like GIS and GPS technology, is now finalizing the mapping of these important habitat areas on the ranch and is identifying key areas for permanent conservation in consultation with environmental and biological experts, non-profit groups, and government agencies and others who express interest and having information important to the creation of the preserve.

Subsequently, TPL will work to appraise the property’s value and seek out public and private sources to fund the purchase, protection and long term conservation of this special place.