FROM THE DIRECTOR / FALL 2025
OVLC recently had the opportunity for an educational field trip to the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing over US-101 in Agoura Hills. That impressive project serves as an inspirational reminder of the importance of thoughtful planning for the needs of wildlife and biodiversity.
In thinking about the landscape context for wildlife in and around the Ojai Valley, it’s safe to say that we are blessed to live in an area with abundant connectivity (despite the recent roadkill of a mountain lion along Santa Ana Road!). In fact, in protecting Rancho Cañada Larga, we are creating the southwestern “anchor” of a linkage of potentially continental proportions. A deer, bear, or lion can move out of Rancho Cañada Larga along the largely private but undeveloped north-facing slopes of Sulphur Mountain, across Highway 150, and up into the vast Los Padres National Forest.
From the national forest, a wandering mammal has many options to the north and east until it hits Interstate 5, which clearly presents an all-too-often lethal barrier to wildlife movement. As with the Annenberg Crossing, there will need to be some enhanced passageways across or under Interstate 5. Once those are in, Tejon Ranch and The Nature Conservancy’s Randall Preserve to the East of Tejon provide largely intact protected habitat into the Southern Sierra and the vast holdings of federal land all the way to the Great Basin and the Cascades.
Thanks to persistent private lands conservation efforts, the situation on either side of Interstate 5 in the Tehachapis is vastly different from the linkage being created across the 101. The Annenberg Crossing is where it is due to the fact that it was the only 1,600 feet of highway north of LA with conserved habitat on both sides of the highway. Luckily, thanks to good planning at the Ventura County and Ojai City levels, our wildlife species are not nearly as restricted in their movements.
Around the world folks are realizing that connectivity matters for the long-term support of biodiversity. The protection of Rancho Cañada Larga creates a strong footing to protect the free movement of our wildlife today and into our shared future. As you learn more about the protection of this historic ranch throughout this newsletter, I hope that you will consider making an end of year gift to our Land + Legacy Campaign to secure this future.
Tom Maloney, Executive Director
