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Perhaps nowhere in the country is there a better example of environmental stewardship than The Irvine Ranch. As land-use decisions come under increasing community scrutiny and generate political discussion throughout the nation, The Irvine Ranch shines as a model of thoughtful, self-sustaining community planning. Here, the ambitious dream of meeting human needs is undertaken with an equally passionate commitment to nurturing and protecting the community's physical environment. The merging of these efforts has produced exceptional and widely praised results.
On The Irvine Ranch, first-of-their-kind water-quality programs prevent urban runoff from reaching sensitive ocean waters… surface transportation flows freely because of sophisticated planning… a major landowner collaborates with a local city to create a highly successful traffic-reduction program at a regional job center… wastewater is highly treated and reused to irrigate community landscaping, agricultural fields and golf courses… homes are built with conservation in mind, from energy-efficient air conditioning and heating units to low-flow shower heads and dual-paned windows… and more than 50,000 permanently protected acres form one of the largest park and open space reserves within easy reach of millions of urban residents.
 The far-sighted actions taken on the Ranch over the last 40 years have nurtured natural resources of international significance in an area that has been named one of 25 biodiversity hotspots in the world for the importance and breadth of its plant and animal species and range of habitats.
These achievements are the product of innovative collaborations between governments at all levels, private landowners, non-profits, environmental organizations and concerned neighbors. Much of this collaboration has been initiated, organized and nurtured by The Irvine Company and its visionary chairman, Donald Bren. The approach taken by Orange County's public and private leaders has been mostly voluntary.Initiatives have not relied upon massive taxpayer-funded acquisitions of land. And they stand as models that show other communities how to effectively integrate environmental stewardship and public use as equal public policy goals and achieve important results.
A great experiment is occurring here: a model of adaptive land management to preserve, protect, restore and enhance natural resources that include priceless environmental treasures of international significance.
Examples of environmental stewardship within The Irvine Ranch include:
 A 30-year effort to maintain water quality in the Upper Newport Bay Nature Preserve and State Ecological Reserve, perhaps Southern California's most significant saltwater estuary.
The nation's first Natural Community Conservation Plan (NCCP), a voluntary collaboration between private landowners; county, state and federal agencies; and local environmental/conservation organizations that resulted in the 37,000-acre Nature Reserve of Orange County.
The restoration and revitalization of the San Joaquin Marsh Preserve, the most significant freshwater marsh in coastal Southern California and a major West Coast stopping point for migrating birds.
The creation of the Laguna Coast Wilderness Park/Laguna Greenbelt, a magnificent swath of land that rings Laguna Beach.
Why is all of this significant? Throughout the nation, there is growing tension over land use that too often results in a pitched battle between forces with competing views of what is best for people and what is best for nature. On The Irvine Ranch, the energy and emotion behind these competing visions often have been channeled into voluntary and constructive problem-solving that honors and integrates both views.
The Orange County experience is a lesson for the rest of us-in government, in the private sector and in our communities.
From capturing and reusing water to the preservation of vast areas of biologically sensitive land, the following pages take a closer look at the significant environmental strides that have been made-and continue to be made-on The Irvine Ranch®.
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