A New Approach to Land Preservation : * Joint Effort to Save Open Space Is a Wise Move

Two efforts by conservationists and developers to set aside and manage open space and species habitat are making Orange County something of a pacesetter. These particular steps stand in hopeful contrast with a discouraging historical trend: the county’s regrettable proclivity for bulldozing first and asking questions later about preservation and species.

Two marvelous sets of preserves, the fruits of a commendable national movement to create land conservancies, are in line to be reserved, and some land will be available eventually for public visits. The Irvine Co. and Santa Margarita Co. are to be commended for efforts to put aside rich wilderness areas and to make provisions for such controlled public access.

Sixteen thousand acres of Irvine Co. land are to be protected as nature preserves, some of which will be opened next year for guided tours. Working with the Nature Conservancy, the developer plans to restore coastal sage scrub and woodlands in the hope of renewing habitat as wildlife sanctuaries. The efforts of these key players, who have understood shrewdly where their practical interests intersect, are serving as a kind of model for the state Resources Agency. The state, with the blessing of Gov. Pete Wilson, is trying to find ways to set aside land for preservation, with the goal of preserving species without going through the time-consuming, contentious process of designating species as endangered one at a time.

This local effort puts Orange County on the vanguard of species preservation and open-space management. The Nature Conservancy, which has been frustrated by the time-consuming species designation process, recognizes the value of pursuing mutual areas of interest with developers. It has specialized in managing land for endangered species and brings considerable skill and experience to the task.

These lands include the 5,500-acre valley called Limestone Canyon, near Tustin and Orange, which will be available for access by private tour. Roughly half of the lands are the canyons between Laguna Beach and Irvine.

The idea of “mitigation banks” to restore land to compensate for developing property, represents state-of-the art thinking about doing more than simply setting aside open space. It involves actively managing and restoring it.

In Rancho Mission Viejo, the O’Neill family has preserved 1,200 acres in their natural state, through management by the Rancho Mission Viejo Land Conservancy. This locally based, nonprofit organization will allow limited public access for small study groups to see rare preserves.

In both cases, it perhaps is a sign of what sprawling growth has wrought that people will soon find themselves signing up for guided tours of the land itself. It’s a telling commentary on dwindling open space and on land that in the past has been squeezed for every inch of its development potential.

In Southern California, home of the self-guided tour of the homes of the stars, we are about to embark on a new order of celebrity gawking. Tourists will be hoping to catch a glimpse of an orange-throated whiptail lizard or a red-shouldered Cooper’s hawk on a pristine ranch in South County. To see the land as it once was, people will gaze into the wonders of a steep-walled ravine near Tustin and Orange.

Getting a look at natural treasures is becoming a rare thrill. There’s something lamentable about that. But hats off to the conservationists and developers who have recognized the need to manage some dwindling open space before it’s gone entirely.