Land Preservers Declare Success

Irvine Co. and the Nature Conservancy, which formed an alliance in 1992 to protect 17,000 acres of undeveloped land, have declared the 3-year-old partnership a success.

“There has been a lot of eyebrow-raising over this,” said Joanne Derbort, a spokeswoman for the California headquarters of the Nature Conservancy in San Francisco. “A lot of people across the political spectrum are saying, ‘Whoa, it’s really working.’ ”

The agreement requires the conservancy to manage Irvine Co. Open Space Preserve, to be dedicated to the public by the real estate development company over the next 20 to 25 years. In exchange, Irvine Co. earns environmental mitigation credits that could be used to satisfy the requirements of future developments.

The three portions of the preserve are the 7,600-acre Northern Reserve, east of the cities of Tustin and Orange, including Limestone Canyon, a steep-walled ravine some have called a mini-Grand Canyon; the 6,600-acre Southern Reserve, which includes wooded areas, such as Emerald Canyon and Boat Canyon and shaded meadows between Laguna Beach and Irvine, and the 2,800-acre Weir and Gypsum Canyons Reserve in remote areas south and east of Anaheim.

“It has surpassed our expectations as to what could be achieved from this kind of relationship,” said Monica Florian, Irvine Co. senior vice president of corporate affairs. “I would certainly hope it would be a model of what can be accomplished when developers and environmentalists are working toward mutual objectives.”

Tours of the Northern and Southern reserves are offered most weekends, depending on weather and fire safety concerns. Tours have not yet begun for the Weir and Gypsum Canyons Reserve. Information: (714) 832-7478.