Big Sur Land Trust seeks state funds for a 5,105-acre acquisition near Arroyo Seco.

It’s a scenic area in the rolling foothills of the Santa Lucia Mountains, one mile north of Carmel Valley Road near where it hits Arroyo Seco Road. There are grasslands, oak woodlands with at least six species of oak trees, and chaparral – classic Central California.

These 5,015 acres of land are made up of 19 irregularly shaped parcels with different owners. There are potentially very different futures for this property: One is development into “upscale residential and hobby vineyard development,” according to a report by the California Wildlife Conservation Board. An alternative is that the land is preserved as open space with access for recreational and cultural purposes.

And depending on how members of the Wildlife Conservation Board vote on Thursday, Aug. 24, this land – known as Basin Ranch – is headed for the conservation option.

The board will consider granting $8.6 million to the Big Sur Land Trust to acquire Basin Ranch. The funds would come from Senate Bill 170, California’s 2021 budget, which allocated $31 million for increasing resilience to climate impacts, including natural disasters.

If awarded, the state funding would cover most of the $8.68 million purchase price; BSLT would be responsible for the remaining $86,800 gap.

BSLT plans to work out details of a co-management relationship with another nonprofit, the Esselen Tribe of Monterey County. The details of access and uses for Indigenous cultural purposes, as well as public access, remain to be determined.

BSLT’s director of conservation, Rachel Saunders, expects the deal can close by November, after about three-and-a-half years of talks. “Land acquisition usually takes time,” she says. “Now we are at a place where we are on the doorstep of having it happen. We’re excited and hopeful.”

Saunders will be in Sacramento to present to the Wildlife Conservation Board at their meeting at 10am on Aug. 24; public comment is welcome in-person or virtually.