The California State Coastal Conservancy approved a $42 million grant Sept. 17 to help the Wildlands Conservancy acquire 2,060 acres connecting Avila Beach and Diablo Canyon.
Wild Cherry Canyon, a 2,060 acre piece of land north of Avila Beach, is expected to open to the public. The stretch of land was private until now.
The conservation area will provide the public with access to miles of mountain trails and oceanside campsites, while remaining off limits to future development projects.
“Now we can say, at last, that this incredible coastal stretch of land will not be the site of once-proposed, estate-style development of 15,000 units for only the wealthy,” wrote Kara Woodruff, district director and senior policy advisor to State Senator John Laird, in a message to Mustang News. “Instead, everyone will have the opportunity to experience the beauty and wonder of this land.”
Wild Cherry includes coastal prairie, oak woodlands, chaparral, riparian habitat and headwater streams, according to the California State Coastal Conservancy.
“Wild Cherry Canyon is a special and spiritual place to our Tribe. It’s a place we love and in our terms we belong to it,” said Mona Olivas Tucker, chair of yak titʸu titʸu yak tiłhini tiłhini Northern Chumash Tribe San Luis Obispo County and Region in a news release from the California State Coastal Conservancy.
If the acquisition closes as planned, the property will be managed as a Wildlands Conservancy preserve.