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Big Sur Land Trust and The Nature Conservancy Protect Palo Corona Ranch

Critical Coastal Property Links Carmel to Los Padres National Forest

Carmel, CA — February 7, 2002 — The Big Sur Land Trust and The Nature Conservancy announced today their joint acquisition of the 9,898-acre Palo Corona Ranch in Monterey County, California. The ten-mile-long property extends southward from Carmel to the Los Padres National Forest and ranges from near sea level to over 3,000 feet in elevation.

“The Palo Corona Ranch is the gateway to Big Sur,” said Corey Brown, Executive Director of The Big Sur Land Trust. “Millions of people from throughout the world travel alongside this property each year when they visit the internationally renowned Big Sur Coast."

“Acquiring the Palo Corona Ranch enhances California’s wildlands and provides recreational opportunities for millions of Californians, not only for our generation but for all generations to come,” commented Graham Chisholm, Director of The Nature Conservancy of California. “The Palo Corona Ranch contains superb examples of redwood and Monterey pine forests, as well as mountain lions, eagles, and steelhead trout, natural treasures all protected in one special place forever.”

Along with its native plants and wildlife, the Palo Corona Ranch’s strategic location made it a prime target for conservation groups. The ranch links up 13 other ecologically important properties that have already been protected, including Point Lobos State Reserve, Carmel River State Beach, Garrapata State Park, Hatton Canyon State Park, Joshua Creek Canyon Ecological Reserve, Los Padres National Forest, the Ventana Wilderness, and several additional properties that were protected by The Big Sur Land Trust. Biologists favor connecting protected areas to allow wildlife to migrate.

“This outstanding conservation purchase means that internationally significant natural resources will be preserved, including vital wildlife corridors and a tremendous diversity of wildlife habitats,” said Al Wright, Executive Officer of the California Wildlife Conservation Board.

“In the future, the Palo Corona Ranch will be a recreational jewel for hikers and nature lovers,” commented Joe Donofrio, General Manager of the Monterey Peninsula Regional Park District. “The ranch fills the ten-mile gap in a protected Big Sur wildland corridor from Carmel to San Luis Obispo County.”

The Palo Corona Ranch includes most of the former Fish Ranch and seven other properties acquired since 1996 by former landowner Craig McCaw. When Mr. McCaw decided not to build a home on the ranch, he chose to sell the property to a buyer who would not develop it and would manage it to preserve its outstanding ecological features.

“I am thrilled that The Big Sur Land Trust and The Nature Conservancy have acquired the Palo Corona Ranch,” said McCaw. “I worked to assemble this majestic resource with the hope that it would be protected forever.”

Commitments from the state government of $32 million from Proposition 40, the big conservation bond passed by California voters in March, and from the Monterey Regional Parks District of $5 million will enable the Conservancy and The Big Sur Land Trust to repay the interim loans they took out for the purchase. The two non-profits will raise public and private funds for an endowment to cover the costs of managing these lands.

“The Palo Corona Ranch is the most important link in the preservation of Big Sur. The property is an ideal candidate for acquisition funding from Proposition 40, the conservation bond that voters approved last March,” stated Assembly Speaker Pro Tem Fred Keeley (D-Boulder Creek).

“We must act now to protect this international treasure forever. The Palo Corona Ranch is the gateway to America’s most beautiful coast,” commented Congressman Sam Farr (D-Carmel).

The Big Sur Land Trust, a Carmel-based non-profit organization, has protected several thousand acres of scenic and wildlife areas next to Palo Corona Ranch, including the Point Lobos Ranch, Mitteldorf Preserve, Glen Deven Ranch, Joshua Creek Canyon Ecological Reserve, and the Coast Ranch (Odello-East). Since it was founded in 1978, The Big Sur Land Trust has protected more than 30,000 acres of spectacular landscapes along the Big Sur Coast, Monterey Bay shoreline, and other special places in Monterey County.

The Nature Conservancy, the world’s largest conservation organization, has helped safeguard more than 12 million acres of natural habitat in the U.S. and over a million acres in California. The Conservancy, which launched its Monterey Project last year and bought the Arroyo Seco (Mueller) Ranch in March 2002, has been active in Monterey County in the past as well. In the late 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, the organization helped acquire property for the creation of Jacks Peak Regional Park, Garrapata and Andrew Molera State Parks, and the Elkhorn Slough Reserve.

“Working collaboratively with partners from the local community in Monterey County is a critical aspect of our work at The Nature Conservancy,” said Bill Leahy of the Conservancy’s Monterey Project. “The Nature Conservancy and The Big Sur Land Trust have formed a unique partnership to safeguard this national treasure by leveraging public and private investments in the Palo Corona Ranch’s long-term protection. Now, our critical task is raising the funds to repay the loan we took out to buy the ranch."