[IMGCAP(2)]The agreement comes after years of sometimes friendlyand sometimes not-so-friendly jostling between Tejon Ranch Co. andenvironmental groups over the future of the Tejon Ranch, one of thelargest and most pristine landholdings in California and possiblythe US. As reported on GlobeSt.com in 2006, Tejon won a lawsuitfiled by environmental groups regarding its plans to for a1,109-acre expansion of the Tejon Industrial Complex. Among theplaintiffs in that suit was the Sierra Club, which is one of thegroups that has signed the new agreement.

The new agreement provides that the Tejon Ranch Co. willpermanently protect approximately 178,000 acres through acombination of dedicated conservation easements, either initiallydedicated or tied to project approvals, and designated as projectopen space areas. The agreement also lays the groundwork for thepurchase, at a price determined by a state appraisal process, of anadditional 62,000 acres of ranch land, resulting in a total of240,000 acres of conserved land.

The agreement is between Tejon Ranch Co. and a group oforganizations including the Sierra Club, the Natural ResourcesDefense Council, Audubon California, the Planning and ConservationLeague and the Endangered Habitats League. The planned developmentson the 30,000 acres specified in the agreement would include thecommunities of Centennial and Tejon MountainVillage, and a development project at the base of the Grapevinein the area adjacent to Tejon IndustrialComplex.