Biological Resource

The Irvine Ranch lands contain some of California's most beautiful wilderness, and are home to hundreds of species of plants and animals, including raptors, mountain lions, Tecate cypress and California sycamore. The region has been recognized by conservation scientists as one of the world's ecological "hot spots" -- an area with large concentrations of species found nowhere else.

"This is the largest remaining patch of relatively undisturbed sage scrub immediately adjacent to the coast remaining in Southern California. The Irvine Ranch National Natural Landmark contains a broad diversity of geological features, biological communities, and species. All of these other features are either associated with coastal sage scrub or chaparral communities or affected by them." - David Lawhead, Associate Park and Recreation Specialist, Colorado Desert District, California Department of Parks and Recreation

From an environmental perspective, The Irvine Ranch's California and National Natural Landmark lands include everything from riparian forests and coastal sage scrub, to oak woodlands and grasslands. Rare and threatened species like the California gnatcatcher, cactus wren, acorn woodpecker, Coast horned lizard, Western spade-foot toad and the American badger live here.

The Irvine Ranch's permanently protected open space is home to hundreds of species of native plants and animals and offers every form of public recreation imaginable. The lands in the California and National Natural Landmarks are part of a 50,000-acre network of parks, trails and open space. Stretching from the shores of the Pacific Ocean to the Cleveland National Forest, the land is a rarity in California: tens of thousands of acres of open space in the heart of urban Orange County, easily accessible by millions of residents.