LAND + LEGACY

THE CAMPAIGN: LAND + LEGACY

Ojai Valley Land Conservancy’s campaign is both about saving and restoring Rancho Cañada Larga and ensuring the organization has the capacity to steward it—protecting this once-in-a-generation landscape while growing the organization to meet the challenge of maintaining our exemplary level of stewardship across all our preserves while nearly tripling OVLC’s land holdings.

Our goal is to raise $7.5 million in start-up, endowment, and capacity building funds from private donations to ensure the long-term stewardship of Rancho Cañada Larga. And we are almost there!

Will you help us reach our goal today?

Rancho Cañada Larga

Rancho Cañada Larga is a 6,500-acre historic rangeland in Western Ventura County, virtually untouched since the 1800s. This expansive landscape—one of the last large, near-coastal open spaces in Southern California—supports vital habitats for mountain lions, California Condors, and other wildlife.

With over 800 acres within a key wildlife corridor, this ranch plays a critical role in regional biodiversity and climate resilience. Protecting Rancho Cañada Larga ensures its beauty and ecological value are preserved for future generations.

EXPANDING CAPACITY

Acquiring the 6,500 acre Rancho Cañada Larga is an accomplishment that is the start of a generational opportunity to restore the ecology and heal the land. This acquisition more than triples OVLC’s current land holdings, and provides the opportunity for OVLC to do even more in securing our collective future through science-based restoration, stewardship and recreational programs. To meet this responsibility, our campaign includes critical investments in OVLC’s long-term capacity including additional staff and expertise, and the resources to ensure this landscape is protected, restored, and cared for in perpetuity.

A Key Piece in Southern California’s Conservation Puzzle

Protecting Rancho Cañada Larga is about more than one landscape—it’s about securing the future of a region. Located within the Transverse Ranges, this ranch forms a critical part of a larger ecological network, with over 800 acres in the Sierra Madre-Castaic Linkage, a vital wildlife corridor connecting major mountain ranges.

The Transverse Ranges span 5.4 million acres and support nearly 500 threatened species. These lands stabilize ecosystems, mitigate wildfires, and ensure clean air and water for millions. With 19 million people living within an hour’s drive, conserving these lands is essential not just for the environment, but for public health, equity, and climate resilience.

An Anchor for
Conservation & Restoration

Rancho Cañada Larga is one of the largest remaining near-coastal tracts of land, offering a rare opportunity to secure vital wildlife habitat and advance climate resilience. Its expansive landscape serves as a natural refuge, with north- and northeast-facing slopes providing sanctuary from the hotter, drier conditions on the south-facing slopes. This makes the ranch a key piece in climate adaptation strategies.

The ranch’s size enhances efforts to create a critical wildlife corridor, connecting Ventura to the Topatopa, Tehachapi, and Southern Sierra ranges. This connectivity is vital for sustaining large mammals like mule deer, cougar, and the California Condor.

More locally, Rancho Cañada Larga strengthens important wildlife corridors. Nearly adjoining Ventura Land Trust’s Harmon Canyon and Ventura Hills Nature Preserve, this land extends connectivity into Upper Ojai, linking directly to our valley and tying into many of OVLC’s river corridor preserves. By securing this piece, we’re stitching together a continuous landscape that supports wildlife movement, climate resilience, and the health of our communities.

Building a Vision for Restoration & Recreation

Protecting Rancho Cañada Larga is just the first step. As long-term stewards, OVLC will implement a comprehensive restoration strategy to transform the landscape into a thriving, resilient ecosystem. The ranch provides critical habitat for over 20 special-status species, including the California red-legged frog and steelhead trout.

Our initial focus will be restoring riparian areas and wetlands—vital habitats that support native species, improve water quality, reduce runoff pollution, and recharge groundwater supplies. Managed grazing will also control invasive species and foster native plant recovery, allowing wildlife to return and ecosystems to thrive.

And OVLC knows how to deliver. In just the past five years our restoration team has raised over $11M dollars for restoration projects across the valley—including the necessary funds for our vision of an arundo-free watershed. This fall, we started three arundo-removal projects in San Antonio Creek. Every dollar you give to our campaign is multiplied many times over in restoration funding and impact across our valley.

With 25+ years of restoration experience, OVLC is ready to ensure this landscape, and landscapes across our valley, remain a vital resource for wildlife and people alike, now and for future generations.

Connecting Communities to Nature & Expanding Access to California’s Great Outdoors

Protecting and restoring Rancho Cañada Larga expands outdoor access, strengthens community resilience, and preserves vital landscapes for future generations. The ranch is a lifeline for Ventura’s Westside, where 100,000 residents—many from low-income households—live within 3.5 miles of the land. This conservation effort ensures that everyone has access to the benefits of nature.

Just minutes from Ventura and Ojai, and less than an hour from Santa Barbara, the ranch offers green space for hiking, biking, birdwatching, and family recreation. Research shows that access to nature improves physical and mental health, builds social connections, and supports local economies through sustainable recreation.

OVLC’s Stewardship staff are outstanding in their field. Stewardship means both caring for the land and providing singular recreation opportunities. The ranch is already home to a three-mile segment of the Sulphur Mountain Trail, with panoramic views of the Pacific Ocean and Ojai Valley. Its network of dirt roads can be transformed into trails that link to the Ojai Valley/Ventura River Trail, connecting communities from Ventura to Ojai.

By protecting Rancho Cañada Larga, we can create new outdoor experiences that enhance the health, well-being, and connections of thousands of residents.

While getting to know the land and recreation planning will take time, our first priority is stewardship—keeping the land clear of dumping, trespass and encroachments, and other threats, and building a deep knowledge of the property, just as we do on all our preserves.

Today, OVLC manages more than 27 miles of trails on 2,600 acres. Adding Rancho Cañada Larga more than triples that responsibility. We plan to integrate opportunities for hiking, biking, horseback riding, and nature-based activities in the future—but this year, this campaign gives us the capacity to meet this challenge and keep delivering the stewardship across all our lands that our community expects.

Community Partnerships

Protecting Rancho Cañada Larga is a collaborative effort led by Trust for Public Land, Patagonia’s Holdfast Collective, and the Ojai Valley Land Conservancy. We’re working with partners like the Barbareño-Ventureño Band of Mission Indians, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, and other stakeholders to protect this vital landscape for all Californians.

Together, we can ensure that Rancho Cañada Larga remains protected and continues to benefit future generations.

Holdfast Collective is a nonprofit dedicated to addressing climate change and the biodiversity crisis through nature-based solutions. Holdfast is Patagonia’s nonprofit shareholder, and has distributed over $100 million globally since 2022.

Trust for Public Land is a national nonprofit focused on connecting people to the outdoors. Since 1972, they’ve protected over 4 million acres, created more than 5,400 parks, and developed 3,100 miles of trails. They’ve helped generate over $94 billion in voter-approved funding for parks and conservation.

The Ojai Valley Land Conservancy is a community-driven nonprofit dedicated to protecting and restoring the Ojai Valley’s natural landscapes. With nearly 40 years of conservation leadership, OVLC has protected over 2,600 acres and manages 27+ miles of trails, connecting people to the land.

A Movement You Can Be Part Of

This effort is led by Trust for Public Land, Patagonia’s Holdfast Collective, and the Ojai Valley Land Conservancy, but we need your support. Community involvement has always been vital to California’s conservation success. By joining this movement, you’ll stand with thousands who believe in a future where nature is protected and accessible to all.