$600,000 awarded to help turn Randall Preserve into ‘world-class nature park’

State officials awarded a $600,000 grant on Thursday to develop plans for the future preservation of Frank and Joan Randall Preserve.

The 387-acre space just east of the Santa Ana River and north of Pacific Coast Highway is near the borders of Huntington Beach, Newport Beach and Costa Mesa. The former oil-field is considered one of the last undeveloped plots of coastal real estate in Orange County, and is a habitat for burrowing owls, fairy shrimp, peregrine falcons and other wildlife.

“The Preserve is home to more than 18 sensitive, threatened or endangered species, has the significant potential to serve as a buffer for coastal climate-related impacts, and is adjacent to nearby disadvantaged communities ready for passive recreational use on this land,” Melanie Schlotterbeck of the nonprofit Power In Nature’s Southland Regional stated in a news release announcing the award. “This planning grant is a huge win!”

The Banning Ranch property was acquired and set aside for preservation by two nonprofits, the Trust for Public Land and the organization currently known as the Coastal Corridor Alliance, in 2022. The funding awarded by the state’s Wildlife Conservation Board on Thursday will help the Alliance and the preserve’s current title-holder, the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority, plan for the future of the open space.

“It also provides the non-federal match required by the $1 million previously award to the Alliance by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation with support from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration,” according to Schlotterbeck.

The grant contributes to a total of $1.785 million the nonprofits have secured to develop strategies to manage resources, protect beachfront portions of the preserve from erosion and maintain sustainable access to the public.

“Creating a nature preserve in an area with so many rare species requires the best possible plan,” stated Terry Welsh, president of Coastal Corridor Alliance’s board. “The Wildlife Conservation Board grant will help fund the necessary work to design a world-class nature park at Randall Preserve/Genga that allows human access, traditional Tribal practices, and rare and sensitive species to thrive.”