History
Looking Back, Looking Forward
For three decades, the work of The Big Sur Land Trust has told a story about vision, action, and results.
The Big Sur Land Trust began in 1978 with the decision of a handful of Big Sur families to come together to help preserve the extraordinary landscape and way of life that we call Big Sur. The Central Coast was growing, and these founders wanted to ensure that Big Sur’s incomparable beauty and quality of life would be preserved for future generations. Starting with informal conversations around kitchen tables and pot-luck dinners, these families—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—conceived the notion of a land trust to preserve and protect what they loved about their community: its unique culture and its natural beauty.
Among those families, individuals stand out. Nancy Hopkins was a guiding force and became the first BSLT President. Zad Leavy devoted more than 25 years to the work of the Land Trust, first as a founder and board member, and later as its Executive Director. People like Nancy, Zad and his wife Laela have made a visible difference to our community through a lifetime dedicated to conservation work.
The Big Sur Land Trust thought big from the start. Our first acquisition, a transaction that was reported nation-wide, concerned over 3,000 acres now known as the Gamboa Ranch. It was an early and pioneering example of how to connect a conservation buyer, in this case David Packard, with the principles of stewardship and community collaboration in order to protect the natural resources of the land.
Since then, The Big Sur Land Trust has continued to apply practical and innovative approaches to the work of conservation. We now protect more than 30,000 acres of significant lands and waters in Monterey County. For the Land Trust, the guiding concept for protecting these lands and waterways is stewardship. Stewardship is best described as caring for a place in a comprehensive way, optimizing the land for all of the life forms that interact with it. In many cases, this stewardship involves restoring altered habitats to ensure the survival of native plant and animal species. Stewardship is time-intensive, involves financial investment and requires a long-term commitment. This investment and commitment is critical to truly preserve these precious treasures for future generations.
As one of the first and most successful land trusts in the nation, The Big Sur Land Trust is recognized for pioneering and perfecting innovative conservation acquisition approaches and for building effective public and private partnerships to maximize results. Working with willing landowners and fellow conservation partners and backed by a diverse community of members, the Land Trust has a proud history of protecting unique habitats for rare and endangered wildlife and conserving thousands of acres of working ranches and farmlands. Building on our past successes, we look forward to continuing our legacy of creating new opportunities for all generations to enjoy the natural wonders that are the essence of California’s Central Coast.
Today, The Big Sur Land Trust is a private non-profit 501(c)(3) governed by a board of 17 trustees, operated by a staff of 14, and supported by hundreds of volunteers and members. Generous donations and public conservation funds finance the Land Trust’s conservation work.
The Big Sur Land Trust was founded during a time of change and growth in our region; the reality of change is no less true today. To continue our mission, now and into the future, the work of the Land Trust calls for new approaches to complement our traditional methods of preservation and conservation. In 2006, BSLT conducted a retreat facilitated by the Center for Whole Communities with the goal of examining our future direction, our role in the community, and the many forces of change affecting our land and water conservation. As we move forward into our next thirty years, we are committed to pursing land and water conservation work that strengthens our communities and inspires a stewardship ethic so that Monterey County can maintain its unique and special place in the world. Through our efforts, we will continue to create opportunities for people and communities to connect to our work and to experience the relevance of our mission to our region’s shared quality of life.
You can help The Big Sur Land Trust protect our lands and waters for future generations.
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