Once again the City of San Luis Obispo’s Natural Resources Protection Program has teamed up with The Land Conservancy of San Luis Obispo County to create Froom Ranch Open Space; a 310 acre property that offers new recreational opportunities and wildlife viewing among dense chaparral, oak woodlands and open grasslands.

Adjacent to the existing Irish Hills Reserve, the successful conservation of Froom Ranch will expand the Reserve to over 1,000 acres and allow for a series of new recreation trails and linkages. 

Froom Ranch Open Space will significantly enhance the existing 6,000 acre greenbelt of conserved lands around the City of San Luis Obispo.

Not only does open space make San Luis Obispo more healthy and livable, but it also attracts important tourist dollars and protects our critical resources and municipal infrastructure. 

Neil Havlik, the City’s Natural Resources Manager, has secured over 90% of the funding required to purchase Froom Ranch from local Measure Y funds, the Land & Water Conservation Fund (federal) and The Nature Conservancy, a global private foundation.

As the direct beneficiaries of this open space project, the local community is asked to contribute $50,000 to complete the deal.  However, a generous and forward thinking couple, Donald & Mary Smith, has already covered a fifth of the bill by donating an astounding $10,000 towards the protection of Froom Ranch. 

In total, the Smiths donated $20,000 with half going to the City’s Froom Ranch Open Space purchase and the other half to The Land Conservancy of San Luis Obispo County.

"We are doing this for future generations, not for ourselves. We want to set an example and make sure there is something left for them to see," affirms Don Smith with a big smile of satisfaction.

The Smiths, who live in San Luis Obispo, have long fought to improve and expand the conservation lands in San Luis Obispo County.  Their recent gift is a tangible reminder of the 37 years the Smiths have spent educating, advocating and engaging our local community in protecting local lands.    

Since moving here in 1973, Donald & Mary Smith have supported conservation by helping elect environmentally-friendly City & County representatives and by speaking out at nearly a thousand public hearings.

"I think I've attended more meetings than most of the City and County staff members," jokes Donald Smith.  With his hearing and eyesight deteriorating, today Smith regrets not being able to stay active in local politics.  Instead, he says "Mary and I chose to do what we could by contributing a little to The Land Conservancy and the City Greenbelt."