About Us

The Ojai Valley is blessed with ideal living conditions and its stunning beauty inspires comparison to the mythical land of Shangri-La. Without responsible stewardship of the land, our valley will not endure encroaching development.

Because Ojai is a small valley surrounded by mountains with limited water and air resources, the need to preserve our remaining open space is acute. While regulations governing development presently exist and a great deal of work has gone into protecting the valley environment over the years, these regulations are vulnerable to the changing political landscape and growing development pressures. There is still an additional need to permanently protect our vanishing open spaces from further development through the efforts of the Land Conservancy.

As a nonprofit, tax exempt corporation, we acquire, hold and manage land in the public interest. We also preserve open space by working with landowners to acquire conservation easements, which convey the development rights of a parcel of land to the Conservancy, while the title and daily management remains with the landowner. The Conservancy also works in partnership with local governments, provides education programs, and pursues habitat restoration and enhancement projects.