Fate of Banning Ranch Hangs in the Balance theepochtimes.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from theepochtimes.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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Conservationists are now at the $72-million mark of their $97-million goal to acquire Banning Ranch, a 384-acre property at the mouth of the Santa Ana River, and turn the oil field into a public park.
The Trust for Public Land announced Monday that state legislators allocated $8 million to be put toward the purchase of the property. Assemblywoman Cottie Petrie-Norris (D-Laguna Beach) said in a Facebook post that she was “thrilled” to have secured the allocation in this year’s upcoming state budget.
The budget is now on its way to Gov. Gavin Newsom to sign prior to the start of the new fiscal year on July 1.
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The dream of turning a 384-acre oil field at the mouth of the Santa Ana River into a public park and nature preserve grows closer to a reality by another $8 million, thanks to a grant from the state’s fish and wildlife department announced earlier this month.
The $8-million grant for the purchase of Banning Ranch, given to the Trust for Public Land, is one of 28 projects and one of three acquisition projects selected to receive a grant this year. State officials say the total amount given across all projects was $39 million.
The grant comes from the Proposition 1 Watershed Restoration Grant program, which finances projects that establish more reliable water supplies; restore species and habitats; and create more resilient, sustainably managed water systems.
The designation would ensure the lands remain free of development, vehicles and commercial activity.
The Banning Ranch project reflects a growing environmental consciousness in Southern California regarding open, natural spaces and what they mean for the health of urban residents and the economy.
Undoing the environmental damage done by what was once a star in Orange County’s oil and gas industry won’t be cheap or easy.
But the currents of change coursing through the seaside property north of Pacific Coast Highway were evident on Tuesday, when Guillermo Rodriguez, the Trust for Public Land’s state director, and Paolo Perrone, its project manager for the Southern California region, led a small group of visitors on a rare tour of the facility.