Arnold Schwarzenegger helped protect 240,000 acres of California ranchland; the vast habitat is home to rare species and condors

On May 8, 2008, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger joined Tejon Ranch Company and five major environmental organisations to announce a landmark conservation and land-use agreement covering the 270,000-acre Tejon Ranch. The agreement was designed to permanently protect up to 240,000 acres, roughly 90% of the ranch, while allowing limited development and continued ranching and other historical activities on the remaining land. The deal followed about two years of negotiations between Tejon Ranch Company and Audubon California, the Endangered Habitats League, the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Planning and Conservation League and the Sierra Club. Schwarzenegger supported and publicly announced the agreement, but the negotiations themselves were conducted between the company and the environmental organisations. The agreement created the independent Tejon Ranch Conservancy and established a framework for conservation, management and public access across the enormous property. Tejon Ranch Company has described the pact as the largest private conservation agreement in California history.A meeting point of four ecological regionsTejon Ranch stretches across parts of Kern and Los Angeles counties and occupies an unusual position where several major ecological regions meet. The agreement documents describe the property as lying at the confluence of the Sierra Nevada, Mojave Desert, Coastal Range and San Joaquin Valley, creating a landscape with an unusually broad range of habitats and plant communities. The ranch contains native grasslands, oak woodlands, Joshua tree woodlands and conifer forests, as well as intact watersheds and habitat corridors.The property's ecological importance was one of the central reasons for the conservation negotiations. The joint statement announcing the agreement described Tejon Ranch as habitat for the California condor and more than two dozen other rare plant and animal species. Species specifically identified in conservation materials include the San Joaquin kit fox, blunt-nosed leopard lizard and Tehachapi slender salamander. The Tejon Ranch Conservancy now says more than 60 at-risk plant and animal species are protected on the ranch. The size of the property also mattered. At about 422 square miles, Tejon Ranch is the largest contiguous private landholding in California, according to the Conservancy. Its large, relatively unfragmented landscape allows habitats to remain connected across mountains, grasslands, forests and desert environments.The agreement protected 178,000 acres firstThe headline figure of 240,000 acres requires some explanation. Under the agreement signed on June 17, 2008, Tejon Ranch Company committed to the phased dedication of conservation easements covering approximately 178,000 acres. The environmental organisations were also given options to acquire conservation easements over five additional areas totalling approximately 62,000 acres. If those options were exercised, the conserved area would reach about 240,000 acres.The agreement therefore did not simply transfer 240,000 acres to a conservation organisation in 2008. Instead, it established a long-term legal and financial framework for conserving the ranch while allowing the company to continue certain activities. The company's SEC filing said existing revenue-producing activities, including farming, ranching and oil and mineral extraction, could continue on conserved lands where permitted under the agreement. At the same time, the arrangement allowed the company to pursue entitlement and development processes for specified projects on the remainder of the ranch. The structure was intended to replace years of potential conflict between conservation and development interests with a negotiated framework. In return for the conservation commitments, the participating environmental organisations agreed not to oppose certain specified development projects, including Tejon Mountain Village and Centennial, subject to the applicable regulatory processes.The Tejon Ranch Conservancy became the land's independent stewardThe agreement also created the Tejon Ranch Conservancy, an independent nonprofit organisation responsible for conservation planning and management of the conserved lands. Its mission is to preserve, enhance and restore the ranch's native biodiversity and ecosystem values. The Conservancy says it now oversees conservation planning, protection and management across the 240,000 acres of conserved Tejon Ranch land.Public access was another component of the agreement. The SEC filing says the pact guaranteed significant public access to conserved areas through a public access plan developed by the Conservancy. One provision called for the realignment of 37 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail across approximately 10,000 acres through the heart of the ranch. The agreement also called for docent-led tours of Bear Trap Canyon and cooperation with state officials on the possibility of creating a major state park covering nearly 50,000 acres. The Conservancy's present-day work includes research, habitat protection, restoration, grazing management, invasive-species control and public education. It also facilitates opportunities for visitors to experience parts of the ranch through organised public-access programmes.Schwarzenegger announced the deal, but did not negotiate itSchwarzenegger's role in the agreement was significant but should be described accurately. His own environmental record says that on May 8, 2008, he announced a historic agreement between the Tejon Ranch landowners and conservation and environmental groups that would give California its largest-ever privately conserved parcel. At the announcement, he praised the agreement as an example of environmental protection being pursued alongside economic development.The negotiations, however, were conducted by Tejon Ranch Company and the five participating environmental organisations. Tejon's own announcement said the discussions had evolved into about two years of formal negotiations, while the company's later Governor's Environmental and Economic Leadership Award announcement specifically recognised Tejon executives for their leadership in negotiating the agreement. The agreement was formally signed on June 17, 2008, and the Tejon Ranch Conservancy was established as part of the arrangement. The result was a long-term conservation framework covering roughly 90% of one of California's largest private landscapes, while leaving the company with defined opportunities for development and continued working-ranch activities on other parts of the property.Catch the latest World News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.