Tejon Ranch
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Tejon Ranch Company is the largest landowner in California. It was incorporated in 1936 to organise the ownership of a large tract of land originally comprised of four Mexican land grants, and began ranching in the 1840's. It now controls over 270,000 acres (1100 km²) in the southern San Joaquin Valley, Tehachapi Mountains, and Antelope Valley. Tejon Ranch grows almonds, pistachios, walnuts, wine grapes, and several varieties of row crops. Depending on the season, up to 12,000 head of cattle can be found grazing on the Ranch. Cattle leases cover about 250,000 acres (1000 km²).
Its principle activity is land development and agribusiness, increasing the value of real estate and resource holding on this land. The company operates in four segments of the economy:
- Real estate, including development, investments, and leases of prime farmland and oil fields.
- Livestock, mainly feedlot beef cattle.
- Farming, including farm consulting. Main crops are wine grapes and several varieties of nuts.
- Resource management, which involves game management and location filming.
[edit] Tejon Ranch's Future
In 2003, Tejon Ranch Company announced it's intentions for the future of the Ranch. As outlined by Ranch leaders, Tejon Ranch's stated vision begins with a commitment to conservation, including the permanent preservation of up to 100,000 acres (400 km²) of Ranch land - the largest conservation effort in California in many decades.
The company's plans include what the company characterizes as the limited, environmentally-sensitive development of just a small portion of the Ranch. Those plans include an expansion of the Tejon Industrial Complex– a commercial/industrial business park– and the development of two new communities: Centennial, a carefully planned sustainable town near Interstate 5 and Highway 138 in Los Angeles County, and Tejon Mountain Village, a low-density mountain residential/resort community. Tejon Ranch is also donating 500 acres (2 km²) in the northern portion of the Ranch for a National Veteran's Cemetery. Tejon Ranch's plan includes the continuation of its historic ranching and farming operations.
Some environmental groups have objected to the proposed developments, claiming they would impede wildlife corridors. Several environmental groups sued Kern County, contending the planned construction of the Tejon Industrial Complex-East would destroy over 1,000 acres (4 km²) of farmland and wild grassland in one of the planet's ecological hotspots, the California Floristic Province. However, the project was approved by the Kern County Board of Supervisors and the legal challenges to the Environmental Impact Report were ultimately dismissed by a superior court judge in March, 2006.
Many conservationists also say the Company's plans will affect the high biodiversity in some areas, and are concerned with the fate of such endangered and rare species living as the Tehachapi slender salamander, California Condor, Bald Eagle, and Heermann's kangaroo rat.
In June, 2005, the Tejon Ranch Company offered to sell roughly a third of its land holdings to either public or private agencies for the preservation of these ecosystems. Several state and federal agencies have expressed the desire to purchase the land, but their ability to do so depends on budgetary factors, including whether California voters will approve bonds.
