By Neil Farrell

The Land Conservancy of San Luis Obispo County, basking in its success last year at establishing the Pismo Preserve overlooking San Luis Bay, has also been busy on another, smaller conservation effort in Los Osos Valley.
Those efforts came to fruition recently with the establishment of a conservation easement over the Vintage Organics Ranch east of Los Osos.
“For The Land Conservancy, whether 10,000 acres or 200,” reads a news release by Stacey Smith, conservation project manager, “each project the organization adopts has incredible value.”
The Land Conservancy began working with Vintage Organics owner, Lisen Bonnier, in 2014 on an easement over her 226-acre farm, where she produces organic flowers, vegetables, and seeds. The farm also has natural habitat areas including oak woodlands and serpentine rock formations.
The new easement is in keeping with efforts to preserve farmlands in Los Osos Valley, which stretches from San Luis Obispo to Los Osos. Other large farms including Froom Ranch (CostCo., and Home Depot) and the Target shopping center have been built in recent years, along with several housing developments, taking over what used to be farmland.
The Conservancy wants to preserve the rich soils of Los Osos Valley and the Vintage Organics easement comes after the 2012 protection of the 530-acre Highland Ranch using conservation easements.
“The organization chooses these conservation projects,” Smith said, “based on numerous factors including threats analysis, local planning data, and wildlife corridor linkages to name a few.”
The developments that have already occurred, “in many ways are the natural growing pains that occur as population increases,” she added. “Although land conversion is not new, it is something that can be strategically addressed in certain areas, such as Los Osos Valley, where prime farmland soils and steelhead streams grace the valley bottom.”
Money for the easement came from a somewhat unexpected source — the Pentagon.
“The project was made possible through the Department of Defense’s ‘Army Compatible Use Buffer program,’” Smith said. “Locally, this program is implemented through the partnership between The Land Conservancy and Camp San Luis Obispo.
“The program strives to protect the installation’s services and training needs through voluntary conservation easements, which limit development near the base. The program is a win-win for the military and local land conservation.”
It’s a source of money that has been tapped before. Smith said over the years through the Buffer Program and the DOD’s so-called, “Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration,” more than 1,100 acres surrounding San Luis Obispo have been preserved with “additional funding possible for future projects,” Smith said. Though conserved using taxpayer monies, Vintage Organics Farm remains private property and not open to public access.
Smith declined to say how much the easement cost, saying that the landowner “wanted to keep it close to the vest,” but adding that they got it at a “big bargain” price.
Also, the Conservancy staff did an environmental survey as part of its process, identifying and mapping habitats, the farmed acreage for a baseline report and getting a sense of plans for the farm’s future.
“What this does is protect the property from any future subdivision or conversions,” Smith told Tolosa Press. “The uplands are in great shape,” she added when asked if any restoration projects would be needed.
The agreement does have some flexibility with respects to the lower farm fields, she said, giving the owner the ability to do what’s necessary to keep the farm operations viable.
However, the Conservancy will return annually to look the place over and make sure the terms of the agreement are being adhered to, Smith said.