On May 17, the Land Trust of Santa Barbara County held its annual spring picnic fundraiser at one of its most visited and beloved properties, the Arroyo Hondo Preserve on the Gaviota Coast. The event was in part a 25th anniversary celebration of the Land Trust’s stewardship of this awe-inspiring, 910-acre canyon preserve.
Upon arrival at the midday event, guests socialized and perused experience stations set up by the Land Trust and partner nonprofits. Then guests were seated under an enormous open-air tent for a tasty lunch, remarks by Executive Director Meredith Hendricks and Board President Laurel Fisher Perez, and a spirited auction and paddle raise led by Geoff Green.
Hendricks reflected on the importance of Arroyo Hondo — “a gem of biodiversity” that has been enjoyed by more than 50,000 visitors, and also on the magnitude of the responsibility of caring for it. She related the complicated nature of the Land Trust’s work of finding willing landowners and securing funding to conserve property where there is a public benefit. That our county is one of the most high-profile, in-demand places on planet Earth, according to Hendricks, makes the Land Trust’s work especially challenging.
At the event and in an interview, Hendricks explained that the Land Trust has moved from its more reactive posture of the past, waiting for opportunities to arise, to a more active position now of pursuing conservation deals with landowners.
While upcoming deals are still being worked out and thus confidential, the Land Trust expects to close on seven transactions totaling more than 6,000 acres in the next 12 months. The properties are in high biodiversity and agricultural areas, including in the Santa Maria Valley, Happy Canyon, Purisima Hills, and Lompoc Valley. More than $17 million in federal and state funds, some private funds, and landowner donations and mitigation have enabled this incredible level of transactions to take place.
On a separate front, the Land Trust has secured the necessary funding to redo its conservation blueprint data mapping tool. The project, which involves partner organizations and the county, aims to provide an accessible, open-source tool, which all parties can use in decision making on land use and protection of the natural world.
Hendricks acknowledged the need for more housing and the value of agriculture in the county, but maintained that neither is incompatible with conservation being front and center. In appealing to donors, Hendricks noted the Land Trust has a strategic and collaborative approach and that its work involves “thinking so far beyond ourselves. This is not about any of us as individuals. It’s about what are the most thoughtful decisions we can make now for what we hope to be the best possible outcomes for the future.”
Since its founding in 1985, the Land Trust has protected more than 58,000 acres.
It had to temporarily close public access to Arroyo Hondo Preserve after last winter’s storms caused significant flooding, landslides, and damage to trails, roads, and infrastructure. Earlier this month, the preserve reopened for guided tours, by reservation, while restoration work continues in other parts of the preserve.
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