Eagle Ranch near Atascadero to preserve 3,255 acres of open space

The Land Conservancy of San Luis Obispo County has entered into an agreement that permanently protects 3,255 acres of ranchland south of Atascadero — the largest conservation success in the group’s history.

Eagle Ranch LLC has agreed to donate an agricultural easement over the property to The Land Conservancy. Such easements allow the owners to retain ownership of the property and continue its agricultural operations, but housing and other development on the property are prohibited.

The easement was announced Thursday at a celebration at Santa Margarita Ranch.

Eagle Ranch is owned by the Smith family with brothers Greg and Jeff Smith being the principal owners. The property, on the western side of Highway 101 south of Atascadero and adjacent to Los Padres National Forest, has been in the family for more than 50 years. Used for cattle ranching, the property contains oak woodlands, chaparral and rangeland.

“Eagle Ranch is a very special place for our family,” Greg Smith said. “This agreement has been more than 10 years in the making, and it is so gratifying to finally realize our longtime dream of permanent preservation.”

The easement is not on the northern part of the ranch property that is proposed for the development of as many as 500 homes and annexation into the city of Atascadero.

San Luis Obispo County Supervisor Debbie Arnold, whose district includes Eagle Ranch, said the easement means a good balance on the ranch between development and open-space conservation.

“I am really excited by the conservation easement,” she said.

Conserving the ranch will achieve a number of goals, said Kaila Dettman, the Land Conservancy’s executive director. Those include supporting sustainable agriculture, protecting wildlife habitat and limiting development and water extraction in south Atascadero.

The easement also protects Eagle Lake, a man-made body of water created in 1972 for agricultural use. It also protects numerous tributaries of the Salinas River, including Atascadero, Hale, Paloma and Santa Margarita creeks.

“The Smith family has made a visionary and meaningful contribution to our community by voluntarily donating perpetual protections over their pristine and beautiful land,” Dettman said. “It is no small thing to donate an easement over a special place so valuable and worthy of protection.”

The easement allows The Land Conservancy to host one docent-led hike on the ranch per year.

 

This story was originally published March 24, 2016 at 4:27 PM with the headline "Eagle Ranch near Atascadero to preserve 3,255 acres of open space."