The Big Sur Land Trust is a private 501(c)(3) non-profit located in Monterey, California, that has played an instrumental role in preserving land in California's Big Sur and Central Coast regions. The trust was the first to conceive of and use the "conservation buyer" method in 1989 by partnering with government and developers to offer tax benefits as an inducement to sell land at below-market rates. Since 1978, with the support of donors, funders and partners, it has conserved over 40,000 acres (16,187 ha) through conservation easements, acquisition and transfer of land to state, county and city agencies. It has placed conservation easements on 7,000 acres (6,880 ha) and has retained ownership of over 4,000 acres (1,620 ha).
The trust was founded in 1978 by a small group of local Big Sur residents who were members of the Big Sur Citizens' Advisory Committee. Four of the residents visited the San Francisco offices of The Trust for Public Land in 1977 where they learned about land-trust finance and management. They decided to form an organization that could promote environmental protection in keeping with the Coast Master Plan and the California Coastal Act. In February 1978 the community members incorporated The Big Sur Land Trust as a nonprofit California corporation. Their original aim was to protect Big Sur's natural beauty "from over development without recourse to government control while recognizing a property owners' right to sell to whomever they wish". The trust has partnered with many public and private agencies and organizations to protect land.
History
Before Big Sur Land Trust was incorporated, a small group of local Big Sur residents were appointed in 1977 by Monterey County to the Big Sur Citizens' Advisory Committee. They were assisting the county in developing a Coast Master Plan for Big Sur. Retired oil company executive Earl Moser, who helped lead an effort to prevent building a refinery at Moss Landing near Monterey, chaired the effort.
The diverse group shared a common mistrust held by Big Sur residents of added government. They knew local groups were already upset by what they viewed as the California state park's lack of responsiveness to local concerns. The Coast Master Plan and the laws enforced by the California Coastal Commission published new rules for clean air and water, protecting land and sea, endangered species, disposing of hazardous waste and procedures for evaluating new development along the coast with environmental impact reports. A group of Big Sur residents decided to form their own organization that could promote environmental protection reflecting the desires of the people who lived there.
The Big Sur Land Trust is well-regarded and ranked alongside notable trusts like Washington's San Juan Preservation Trust, Wyoming's Jackson Hole Land Trust, New York's Adirondacks Land Trust, and Maine Coast Heritage Trust.
Founders
In 1978, seven families formed the Big Sur Land Trust. They envisioned preserving the iconic Big Sur landscape for the benefit of future generations. The founding members were Zad Leavy, an experienced attorney and his wife Laela, Sherna and Kipp Stewart, Roger and Beverly Newell, Nancy Hopkins, Lloyd and Pat Addleman, Martin and Suzanne Forster and Peter Harding. Hopkins, daughter-in-law of Hewlett Packard founder David Packard, became the trust's first president. Attorney Zad Leavy became its first executive director and served for 25 years.
Board of trustees
The Big Sur Land Trust is governed by a board of trustees including 12 trustees and four administrators: board chair, co-chair, treasurer and secretary. Board members represent local and regional community members. The board is supported by a 15-member advisory council and an 11-member science and land management council. Donors include local philanthropists and community members from all backgrounds. The trust is operated by a professional staff and supported by hundreds of members and volunteers. Volunteers play a significant role by contributing their time and talents to stewardship projects, guided hikes, events and many other aspects of Big Sur Land Trust's work.
Shifts mission
When it was founded in 1978, the trust's mission was to conserve important waters and lands along California's Central Coast and focus on purchasing property for conservation in perpetuity. In 2012, their mission was, "to conserve the significant lands and waters of California's Central Coast for all generations."About Us It emphasized conserving unique landscapes on California's central coast including stream spawning beds for threatened steelhead trout, coastal redwoods, grasslands and oak woodlands. In 2009, it added environmental education and a youth outdoor program.Youth and Education
In 2013, as land values increased and public agency budgets shrank, the trust shifted from purchasing additional land holdings to focus on the well-being of people and land stewardship on the Central Coast. Its mission is "to inspire love of land across generations, conservation of our unique Monterey County landscapes, and access to outdoor experiences for all."About Us
While it formerly stated it was striving to allow more people to gain access to the land it has protected, in 2013 it stated that the land it owned was not open to the public due to limited infrastructure and the need to maintain the quality of the environment. , the trust had no plans to add infrastructure, but only "maintain the trail systems, roads, and infrastructure."Caring for the lands you love for the long term
The trust manages several properties within Monterey County. The most southern property is the Circle M Ranch near Lucia, California and the most northern properties are the Vierra Ranch and Rancho Colinas in the Gabilan Mountain foothills.
First land deal
In February 1978, as the trust was being formed, it received an undivided half-interest in just north of the Esalen Institute from its co-founder Michael Murphy. The national Trust for Public Land held the half-interest in the Esalen land until the Big Sur trust's federal tax-exempt status was approved by the Internal Revenue Service. Founding member Peter Harding donated the $1,250 filing fee. The mother of one of Murphy's neighbors gave the trust leaders about $2,000 to help start the land fund. , the trust owned at that site.Big Sur Land Trust: Protected Lands
Big Sur Coastal Land Use Plan
The first master plan for the Big Sur coast was written in 1962 by architect and part- time local resident Nathaniel Owings. The members of the Big Sur Citizens' Advisory Committee, who later founded the trust, met with Big Sur residents and county administrators to draft a new land use plan. The new Big Sur Local Coastal Program was approved after four years of work and several months of public hearings and discussion, including input from the residents of Big Sur. It is one of the most restrictive in the state because of efforts to conserve scenic views and the unparalleled beauty of the area. The Coastal Commission approved the plan in April 1986. It remains the primary document used to determine what kind of development is allowed. The plan states: "The overall direction for the future of the Big Sur Coast is based around the theme of preserving the outstanding natural environment.... The County's basic policy is to prohibit all future public or private development visible from Highway 1".
Financing
The trust is supported through memberships fees, private donations, and public conservation funding. Some of its funding comes from California Proposition 70. It generated $776 million in funding for parks, wildlife, and coast conservation. The trust contributed $300,000 to help pass the proposition, one of the largest donations to the effort. Many of the individuals and groups active in the Big Sur land use planning project lent their support to the campaign in support of Proposition 70. County Supervisor Karin Strasser Kauffman, a strong supporter of conservation efforts, supported the effort and the trust. The trust distributed petitions across the state. The initiative passed by a wide margin of 65 percent in June 1988. Proposition 70 funds are distributed to and allocated by county governments.
It also receives specialized grants, including a grant in 2016 for the Carmel River Floodplain Restoration and Environmental Enhancement project and the Carr Lake Project.
As of the reporting period ending in June 2016, the trust had revenue of $6,088,077, income totaling $6,533,045, and assets of $35,452,353. The assets included land worth $19,973,147 and an endowment totaling $6,934,068. It paid its officers a total of $278,759 in compensation and spent $112,000 for lobbying.
Partnerships
As property values continue to rise in California's Central Coast, the trust has partnered with Monterey Peninsula Regional Park District, The Nature Conservancy, and the California Natural Resources Agency in land acquisition and conservation projects.
Pioneer conservation buyer method
In 1989, Zad Leavy, a founder of the trust and long-time attorney, conceived of the idea of inducing landowners to sell property through a process later called the "conservation buyer method". It allows a landowner who permanently gives up their developmental rights to the non-profit trust to deduct from their income taxes the difference between the fair market value before the restrictions are in place with the value afterward. The sellers receive a substantial one-time tax reduction, and the new buyers continually benefit permanently from the lowered property taxes.
Controversial deals
Some opponents have criticized the actions of conservation groups like the trust as having "turned the buyout of Big Sur into a business, making millions of dollars buying private land and selling it to government agencies."
Gamboa Ranch
In its second land deal in 1979, the trust edged out buyers from Oklahoma for of land known as the Gamboa Ranch near Lucia, California. The owners of the land, 19 New York lawyers, had foreclosed on the $1 million mortgage in 1971 and in early 1979 were seeking to sell the land. Potential buyers from Oklahoma consulted with California Coastal Commissioner Zad Leavy about allowed usage for the land. After receiving his input, they were confident enough about their plan for a retreat-like development to skip a planned 60-day escrow and made a $1.6 million offer to buy the land from the New York attorneys, which they verbally accepted.
A few days later Commissioner Leavy, without informing the Oklahoma purchasers, switched roles. Acting in his capacity as the attorney for the Big Sur Land Trust, he interrupted the attorneys' meeting during which they were planning to conclude the sale. Leavy offered them $1.2 million in cash and $800,000 in tax credits, the difference between the land's market value and selling price. The tax credit almost completely offset their capital-gains tax payments on the sale.
The six Oklahoma buyers, who had meanwhile flown to California to tour the property for a second time, were "flabbergasted" to learn their agreement had been turned down for a deal that Coastal Commissioner Leavy had arranged acting as attorney for the trust. They were completely unaware that he was acting in any other capacity than as a public official.