THE LAND CONSERVANCY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY

Case Study: The Morgridges, Greenbelt Protection Program

Overview/History The City of San Luis Obispo's Greenbelt Protection Program has been preserving land in and around the City. This Greenbelt program sets priorities based on conservation values to the environment and the community. Serendipitous timing led to two separate Greenbelt conservation projects happening at the same time. The Land Conservancy and the City of SLO decided to team up instead of compete to raise private local funds. The Collaborative Conservation Project was launched to protect Ercole and Naomie Brughelli's 390-acre family ranch on the south side of town and to purchase 315 acres of Union Pacific Railroad Properties along West Cuesta Ridge on the north side of town. Conserving agricultural land in close proximity to downtown and protecting the headwaters that feed into local tributaries are conservation goals both agencies were able to realize through this partnership.

"The City Council wishes to thank the many citizens who contributed to making this fundraising effort a success. We are proud of the work done by City staff and Land Conservancy staff to bring the two projects to a successful conclusion." Mayor David Romero, San Luis Obispo

The Department of Defense then introduced the Army Compatible Use Buffer (ACUB) program, which encourages locating low-intensity use land around the periphery of military installations. This program gave the Land Conservancy $350,000 toward the purchase of Stenner Springs.

Agency & Community Collaboration

• Sierra Club
• Hundreds of private local donors
• U.S. Military-National Guard Bureau, Camp San Luis Obispo
• Neil Havlik, Natural Resources Manager, City of SLO Natural Resource Protection Program

Property Description and Location

The 315-acre property contains the headwaters of Stenner and Chorro Creeks and stunning oak woodlands with two popular mountain bike trails traversing through it. The site also contains serpentine soils that have a very high alkalinity. These soils make the site home to rare plants, such as the San Luis Obispo Mariposa Lily, that are found only in this type of soil.

The 390-acre Brughelli Ranch remains a working agricultural area, with vast oak woodlands, rolling hillsides and scenic views. It also defines the rural character of the area from the developed urban core.

The 315-acre Stenner Springs Property (formally owned by Union Pacific Railroad) is located north of the City of San Luis Obispo on the West Cuesta Grade between Camp San Luis Obispo, Los Padres National Forest and Cal Poly. The 390-acre Brughelli Ranch is located south of the City of San Luis Obispo on the south side of Buckley Road.

Conservation Tools Used

• Land acquisition & conservation easement
• (The Land Conservancy purchased the property outright. After six months, they donated the land to the City of San Luis Obispo while retaining a conservation easement on the deed to the property.)

Our Goal

We wanted to expand the City of San Luis Obispo's Greenbelt while working in collaboration with many local agencies and community conservation supporters.

The Challenge

The Stenner Springs property was appraised at $448,000, and after all expenses (appraisal, legal, etc.) were taken into account the project was projected to cost a total of approximately $500,000. This left the Land Conservancy with a deficit of about $150,000. Around this same time, Neil Havlik, City of San Luis Obispo Natural Resources Manager, was in need of funds for protection of the Brughelli Ranch. Instead of competing for funds, the two parties teamed up on a fundraising campaign to raise $200,000. One of the first contributions came from Dean and Patty Ann Morgridge, who donated $75,000. Next the Hind Foundation made its first ever donation for $30,000. The Morro Bay National Estuary Program was then contacted and subsequently made a $49,000 contribution. The local Sierra Club donated $5,000 and the remaining funds were contributed by more than 200 individuals.

Special Considerations

The successful outcome of protecting more than 700 acres of Greenbelt lands is due to the cooperation and help of Neil Havlik at the City of San Luis Obispo, the partnership with Camp San Luis Obispo-National Guard Bureau and the numerous community contributions. This project is an example of how interagency cooperation can help achieve conservation.

The Land Conservancy's successful completion of this land purchase adjacent to Camp San Luis Obispo also marked the beginning of a powerful partnership with the National Guard Bureau. By proving victorious in its conservation mission, The Land Conservancy earned the right to apply for future funding through the ACUB program.

This unique relationship provides win-win solutions to the land-protection goals of the military and the natural-area conservation goals of local communities, and it promises greater opportunities for major conservation funding to continue in San Luis Obispo.

Actions

• Long-term monitoring
• Planning and research
• Community fundraising
• Site survey and analysis
• Coordinated the appraisal and facilitated tax benefits
• Mapping & site inventory (established baseline report)
• Negotiated the legal conservation easement documents

Results

Working together, the City of San Luis Obispo and The Land Conservancy of San Luis Obispo County preserved more than 700 acres of important landscapes as part of the visionary City Greenbelt Protection Program. This project shows that interagency coordination can go a long way in helping to achieve conservation goals. With astounding community participation and over 200 individual donations, San Luis Obispo strides forward in preserving the quality of natural areas and the local way of life.