Major Land Conservation Deal in Southern California

Superlatives abound in the reports on the historic Tejon Ranch land conservation deal that has set aside an L.A.-sized, ecologically-diverse tract of wilderness for conservation. It's "conservation on a staggering scale," says the San Francisco Chronicle. And according to Joel Reynolds, of the National Resources Defense Council, quoted in The New York Times, nothing short of "the Holy Grail of conservation."

Long negotiations between a coalition of major conservation groups and the publicly traded company that for years sought to develop the ranch has now led to the creation of the 240,000 acre preserve, which will be administered by a new nonprofit. Included is a planned rerouting onto Tejon land of 37 miles the Pacific Coast Trail, and protection of ideal habitat for the California condor.

Though conservationists are hailing the agreement as unprecedented and unrepeatable, the plan still allows for the largest development ever proposed in California, to be built on a little more than 10 percent of the land.

-- Matthew Fishbane