Donald Bren Unveils Long-Range Vision for Expanded Public Access, Wildlands Protection on 50,000-Acre Irvine Ranch Land Reserve.

--  Non-profit Irvine Ranch Land Reserve Trust created to fulfill
    vision for land as world-class natural and recreational resource

--  Additional $20 million donated to expedite expanded public access
    and enhanced conservation resource management; brings to $50
    million amount Bren Foundation has donated to enhance Reserve

--  First of three Mountains-to-Sea Trails is complete, stretching
    from Anaheim Hills to Back Bay of Newport Beach; two more are
    planned

--  U.S. Secretary of the Interior recognizes the joint stewardship
    efforts of landowners on the permanently protected parks and open
    spaces on the IRLR

Vowing to create a "new standard" for conservation stewardship and outdoor recreation, Irvine Company Chairman Donald Bren today unveiled an ambitious vision to enhance the protection, management and expansion of public access to the 50,000-acre Irvine Ranch Land Reserve on the historic Irvine Ranch.

Speaking in Irvine Regional Park to 200 invited environmentalists, city, county, state and federal officials, Reserve landowners, and outdoor and environmental advocates, Bren announced creation of the Irvine Ranch Land Reserve Trust. He said the Bren Foundation would make a $20 million gift to the Trust to support enhanced conservation and recreation on the Reserve. The non-profit organization will encourage far-reaching and cooperative efforts among more than 30 public entities involved with the Reserve.

Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton praised the Reserve as "a model of public-private partnership that will conserve our natural heritage for both people and wildlife."

"I want the Irvine Ranch Land Reserve to set a new standard for conservation stewardship and public access that will be understood and appreciated not just in Orange County, but throughout the United States," Bren told the assembled guests. "To achieve that, we must assure that the globally important natural resources of the Reserve will be managed and cared for in perpetuity, and that the Reserve also will provide a stunning array of outdoor opportunities to experience Southern California as it was many years ago."

Bren said he imagines "a world-renowned park, restored and managed to a standard that inspires other conservation areas and land managers - and a place where people can enjoy nature and open space close to their homes, and where visitors from around the world come to experience the best of Southern California."

The IRLR Trust's goal is to mobilize people and organizations with a special interest in the Reserve; continue a common approach to stewardship; agree to a more ambitious vision for what the Reserve might become, and to focus new financial resources and energy toward restoring, managing and providing access.

Bren also used the historic event to:

--Say the $20 million gift will be used to accelerate public access to more areas of the Reserve, including opening nearly 30 new trails during the next three to five years. The new funds also will be used to maintain and restore the Reserve's many important habitats. The Bren Foundation gift brings to $50 million the amount Bren has donated to fund long-range recreation and conservation activities on the Irvine Ranch Land Reserve. "My hope is that the other organizations with an interest in parts of the Reserve will join us in a permanent and unwavering commitment to ensure that the land protected in the Reserve is managed, improved and enjoyed in perpetuity, regardless of ownership," Bren said.

--Introduce Michael O'Connell as executive director of the IRLR Trust. Before joining the Trust, O'Connell held a number of key positions with The Nature Conservancy in California, including managing director of the South Coast Ecoregion and senior advisor for Science and Policy.

--Invite the public to celebrate completion of a significant hiking, jogging, walking and bicycling trail that now stretches more than 22 miles from one end of The Irvine Ranch to the other. The product of years of cooperative planning and implementation across multiple jurisdictions, the "Mountains-to-Sea Trail" connects the rugged Anaheim Hills above Irvine Regional Park with the Back Bay of Newport Beach. It passes through the sphere of Anaheim, and the cities of Orange, Tustin, Irvine and Newport Beach. Bren said the new donation announced today will help fund his "highest priority and personal passion": The creation of two more mountains-to-sea trails "that allow people to hike, bike or ride from the mountains to the ocean unimpeded as they experience the magnitude, magnificence and diversity of the Irvine Ranch Land Reserve."

--Accept on behalf of the Reserve's landowners/stewardship partners, a 2004 Award of Excellence from the Joint Venture Partners in Stewardship Program sponsored by the U.S. Department of Interior to encourage public/private cooperation to improve parks and wildlands. U.S. Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton presented the award. The Nature Conservancy's California Program, which manages The Irvine Company's wilderness land on the Reserve, also received an Award of Excellence from Secretary Norton. "Through its far-sighted conservation ethic and public-mindedness, The Irvine Company has given the people of Orange County and California a treasure for all generations to enjoy," Norton said in presenting the awards. "I commend the company, The Nature Conservancy and the many other partners involved in the Irvine Ranch Land Reserve for creating a model of public-private partnership that will conserve our natural heritage for both people and wildlife."

"This award validates the significance of the diverse land protected on the IRLR, and the remarkable cooperation between our company and government, community and environmental organizations whose collective efforts created and sustain the Reserve," Bren said in response. "The Irvine Ranch Land Reserve is gaining national recognition as a spectacular natural and recreational resource unmatched in its variety. This award suggests to me that we are well on the way to creating a national treasure here for all to enjoy."

The Reserve stretches from the mountains to the sea in central Orange County and covers more than 145 square miles. It captures and protects the historic beauty and natural diversity of Southern California. It contains parks, beaches, permanently protected open space, habitats and wildlands set aside over the years for the enjoyment of citizens of Orange County, Southern California and the world. The Reserve includes renowned areas such as Limestone Canyon, Crystal Cove State Park, Fremont Canyon, Round Canyon and Laguna Coast Wilderness Park.

Today's announcements build on Bren's donation in November 2001 of an additional 11,000 acres of pristine wildlands - most of it in the North Ranch in the spheres of the cities of Anaheim and Orange - for permanent protection. That donation increased the amount of protected lands in the Irvine Ranch Land Reserve to more than 50,000 acres - more than half of the historic 93,000-acre Irvine Ranch.

At the time of the 2001 land gift, the Bren Foundation committed $30 million to fund both accelerated public access and the long-term maintenance and restoration of the Reserve's sensitive habitats. Since then, 40 miles of new trails have opened on the Reserve, bringing to more than 200 the miles of trails on the reserve. Meanwhile, more than 1,500 hikes and other outings sponsored by The Nature Conservancy have been enjoyed by in excess of 50,000 people of all ages.

Mark Burget, executive director of The Nature Conservancy in California, praised today's announcements, calling them "a milestone in public-private collaborative efforts" to expand both the protection and public enjoyment of some of Southern California's most significant natural resources.

"From a biological perspective, the Reserve is extraordinarily diverse, with numerous species of wildlife and some of the richest stands of native grasslands, oak woodlands and coastal sage scrub left in Southern California," Burget said. "The Nature Conservancy is looking forward to working closely with the new Irvine Ranch Land Reserve Trust to manage and protect this valuable natural treasure while giving millions of residents the opportunity to experience the great outdoors." O'Connell said the Irvine Ranch Land Reserve Trust will fulfill Bren's vision of the Reserve as a world-class natural and recreational asset by forging strong partnerships with landowners, managers and other Reserve stakeholders.

"Partnerships will form the very heart of the Trust, guiding virtually everything we do," he said. "While the Trust is just beginning to evolve, we are committed to an important principle: We will work with everyone who wants to accomplish this long-term vision for the Reserve. Working together, we will help transform the Reserve into an internationally acclaimed treasure of conservation management and recreation, so it will one day enjoy the level of reverence bestowed on our national parks."

O'Connell said the many tasks of the Irvine Ranch Land Reserve Trust will include:

--Accelerating public access to many new areas of the Reserve, with a focus on outings and access that do not require guides;

--Funding in perpetuity the management, maintenance and improvement of the natural resources on the Irvine Ranch Land Reserve;

--Mobilizing people and organizations with a special interest in the Reserve to help build upon the unified approach to stewardship that The Nature Conservancy and public agencies have developed over the past decade;

--Creating and carrying out an ambitious long-term vision for the Reserve and focusing new financial resources and energy to restoring, managing and providing access to what Bren called "this spectacular place."