[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 10]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 14808-14809]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   IN HONOR OF THE BIG SUR LAND TRUST

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. SAM FARR

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, September 30, 2013

  Mr. FARR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the Big Sur Land 
Trust on the occasion of its thirty-fifth anniversary. I have a deep 
personal history with and love for Big Sur's land and people. So it is 
a true personal honor to share the tribute with the House.
   In 1978, seven families came together to ensure that Big Sur, 
California's beauty and quality of life would be preserved for later 
generations. Around kitchen tables and over potluck dinners, they 
decided that a land trust would enable their vision, and so was born 
the Big Sur Land Trust. These visionaries included Zad and Laela Leavy, 
Sherna and Kipp Stewart, Roger and Beverly Newell, Nancy Hopkins, Lloyd 
and Pat Addleman, Martin and Suzanne Forster, and Peter Harding. The 
Land Trust's first president was Nancy Hopkins, and Zad Leavy later 
served as its first executive director, devoting 25 years to the cause 
of conservation.
   They thought big from the start. The Trust's first acquisition 
encompassed over 3,000 acres now known as the Circle M Ranch on the 
southern Big Sur Coast. It was a pioneering example of how to connect a 
conservation buyer, in this case David Packard,

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with the principles of stewardship and community collaboration in order 
to protect natural resources. This transaction even attracted national 
attention.
   For the last thirty-five years, the Big Sur Land Trust has continued 
in this tradition by working with private landowners and conservation 
partners to ensure the conservation of more than 40,000 acres in 
Monterey County. Thanks to many generous donors and members, an 
interconnected network of parks, natural landscapes, trails, ranch- and 
farmlands, wildlife corridors, and coastal rivers and streams has been 
set aside for community benefit. Some of the most notable of these 
projects include 9,980 acres of the Palo Corona Ranch, 1,312 acres of 
the Point Lobos Ranch, 89 acres at the Odello Fields, and the 316 acres 
Whisler-Wilson Ranch. The Land Trust has also supported several 
conservation projects in the Salinas Valley as part of its effort to 
expand its conservation mission county wide. Some of these projects 
include conservation easements the Violini Ranch, the Dorrance Ranch, 
and the Arroyo Seco Ranch.
   In an effort to broaden its impact and be in greater service to 
communities across Monterey County and the Salinas Valley, in 2007 the 
Land Trust acquired the 816-acre Marks Ranch near Salinas where the 
Land Trust partners with ranchers, artists, biologists, youth groups, 
and others to give urban youth the opportunity to experience the 
natural world. It is also using Glen Deven above the Big Sur Coast for 
more sustained and intimate wilderness experiences.
   The Land Trust's journey over the past thirty-five years built 
accomplishments and inspired dreams that its founders could not have 
imagined: more than 40,000 acres conserved; a membership of 1,200 
active community leaders, and a permanent home in an historic Monterey 
adobe. Its new strategic plan lays out the Land Trust's vision: To 
inspire love of the land and conservation of our treasured landscapes.
   Mr. Speaker, Big Sur is truly one of our national treasures and the 
Big Sur Land Trust has played an instrumental role in keeping it safe. 
I know I speak for the whole House in celebrating the Big Sur Land 
Trust's many achievements and wish it many more years of success.

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