San Lucas Ranch

The San Lucas Ranch, located in Santa Barbara County, will forever remain a working cattle ranch as the result of a conservation easement agreement placed on December 27, 2007, between the owners of the ranch and California Rangeland Trust. Originally part of the historic Spanish land grant, Rancho La Canada de Los Pinos, the owners purchased San Lucas Ranch in 1924. This donated easement on 1,534 acres of their working ranch preserves a piece of California’s western heritage, tremendous habitat resources and spectacular viewsheds in perpetuity. The remarkable vistas of this rangeland can be seen by the public from State Highways 246 and 154, as well as from Armour Ranch Road. It is part of a much larger unified ecological landscape which includes scenic mountain and riparian views of the Santa Ynez Valley and the surrounding mountain ranges. A primary value of this property is the exceptional Valley Oak savanna and grasslands that once covered most of the valley. Additionally, the current management practices and stewardship of this working landscape provide notable benefit to adjacent riparian corridors and wild habitats, while also serving to help maintain the natural function of these nearby landscapes. This conservation easement was a donated transaction which demonstrates the owner’s commitment to conservation and is a tremendous way to establish a legacy of good land stewardship.