Ag Land to Plant Oaks at Ahmanson Ranch
Ag Land Services, a Somis company, has been retained to conduct a reforestation program on the site of the proposed Ahmanson Ranch development in southeastern Ventura County.
The firm will plant and maintain 2,000 young oaks in the development area. The program is designed to offset natural problems affecting trees’ survival.
The project “is possibly the largest on-site acorn-to-oak tree-planting program in Ventura County’s history,” said Stan Roberts, an Ag Land official. In addition to planting and maintaining the trees, the firm will be responsible for installing an irrigation system.
The five-foot-tall trees being planted were grown from acorns taken from existing mature oaks on the Ahmanson Ranch, Roberts reported. “The acorns are obviously adapted to the local environment and genetically stronger,” he said.
The preservation and replenishment program was launched last year when 100 trees were planted as a pilot project. “We learned how to deal with protecting the young tree roots from predatory rodents, and the importance of keeping the soil moist,” said Gil Nielsen, senior vice president of Ahmanson Land Co., owner of the property.
The company hopes to build a large mixed-use development on the site.
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