One look at the open areas surrounding San Luis Obispo and other parts of the county and one will see decades of conservation efforts.
The Land Conservancy of San Luis Obispo County has been at the forefront of those conservation efforts for 40 years.
Established in 1984, the non-profit conservancy has been solely responsible for 67,000 acres of conserved land throughout the county.
“More than twice the size of the city of San Francisco so we've protected a lot of land," Kaila Dettman, the executive director of the non-profit, explained. "It's not just the acreage that's important. It's the place, the actual places that we're protecting.”
Through land easements or agreements with private owners, outright purchases funded by grants and donations, the conservancy and the City of San Luis Obispo have encircled the area.
“It's nice to see that balance and you can kind of see it interspersed amongst what is designated as the greenbelt, but there's more work to do,” Dettman explained.
The Harold J. Miossi Charitable Trust has been one of their sources of funding and since 2011, has donated over $1.1 million to the Land Conservancy, according to trustee Howard Carroll.
“As development occurs, responsible development that doesn't infringe on these areas is critical to us and our families and our children and their children,” Carroll said.
But it hasn’t just been one entity responsible for the conservation of open spaces.
“The owners recognize the beauty of them and the value of them to the public,” Carroll explained.
Owners like Jeff Buckingham who, as a student at Cal Poly in the 70s, dreamed of owning a 540-acre property off of Turri Road between Morro Bay and Los Osos.
“I stopped in front of a ranch and what is now today, our ranch, and looked around and thought, 'Wow, wouldn't it be great to have a piece of this property and just keep it this way forever?” Buckingham said.
In 1997, Buckingham achieved that dream and later entered into an easement with the Land Conservancy that preserves the natural area of his property.
“For all time. Anybody else who drives on Turri Road, that section of that road will pretty much look that way forever.”
“It's really rewarding work," Dettman added. "There's so much behind the scenes. I think it's pretty incredible what it actually takes to do this.”
Dettman did go on to explain that the Land Conservancy of SLO County is identifying areas in the Edna Valley and Los Osos Valley for possible open space areas.
