Preserve Barham Ranch

The Barham Ranch property, near Villa Park, Anaheim Hills and Orange Park Acres, is surrounded by regional parks and is a natural candidate for purchase by the county as part of its set-asides for habitat preservation. County officials obviously thought as much back in 1997 when they allocated $2 million to buy the property from the Serrano Water District and the Orange Unified School District, joint owners of the land.

The water district wants to sell, but with developers hovering, the land’s future is on the table. The water district is entitled to fair compensation, but with such a large public stake in preservation, the question of maximum profit for a public agency should not be the overriding consideration.

These 525 acres include habitat for several endangered species and are host to rare wildlife and plants. They should be part of a regional park system, and Santiago Oaks Regional Park, the Weir Canyon Wilderness Park and Irvine Regional Park sprawl around the perimeter.

After expressing interest in acquiring the park, the county suddenly withdrew support only months after allocating money for the purchase in 1997. We’d like to know more about how and why that happened, but the immediate issue is restoring the county’s intention. The expression of hope at the time officials changed their minds that the property be preserved will be only a hollow expression if the land isn’t set aside.

The county must rekindle its enthusiasm and become an active partner in seeking preservation. Supervisor Todd Spitzer’s recent compromise offer in which Orange County would pay $4 million for the ranch is an important opener and should be a catalyst.

This shouldn’t have to come down to a battle: hikers, picnickers and wildlife lovers versus the developers. The county needs to reaffirm its interest, and the water district, which never has had to pay taxes on this land, needs to take a public-spirited approach.

If ecosystems are to mean anything, this is an exhibit of the need to build connecting links within the Natural Communities Conservation Plan. Like every proposal for the NCCP, there always are going to be threats from encroaching development. It is time now to lock this land up in perpetuity.

The region’s commitment to open space would be violated if the Barham Ranch, which sits as a triangle in the center of regional parks, were lost. Development would break the connecting land needed to preserve wildlife corridors. The county holds the key to preserving this land for future generations.