One reason why hiking on The Irvine Ranch is so rewarding is due to the good work of the Irvine Ranch Conservancy, which last year hosted over 1,700 guided hikes and activities.
That’s far from all it does, however. For the past 19 years, the conservancy has quietly been building trails, planting trees, restoring habitat, harvesting native seeds and more – all to enhance your experience on these urban wildlands.
Last year, some 538 volunteers pitched in 30,468 hours of help.
“I am thrilled and grateful for the community that has blossomed around the land,” IRC President and CEO Michael O’Connell says. “As we prepare to enter our third decade of existence, the energy of this community and the partnerships it sustains keeps growing.”
To see the good work the conservancy does, look at these highlights from its just-published 2023 annual report:
The Irvine Ranch Conservancy:
- Offered more than 1,740 public activities with nearly 18,000 participants.
- Planted more than 3,600 native trees in restored areas.
- Harvested over 500 pounds of seed from 40 different species at its Native Seed Farm.
- Inspected, maintained and repaired nearly 200 miles of trails.
- Constructed a new staging area in OC Parks’ Gypsum Canyon Wilderness and a new viewing area with natural surface deck and cable railing.
- Operated 79 remote wildlife monitoring cameras, which have recorded over 1,132,000 total images of everything from baby bobcats to great horned owls to families of mule deer.
- Completed 1.2 miles of new single-track trails.
- Provided 23 species of nectar and host plants for native butterfly restoration.
- Maintained and serviced 115 existing gates and installed four new gates.
- Built 4,860 feet of new fencing.
- Inspected and maintained more than 500 trail and interpretive signs.
- Removed more than 665,000 invasive plants from public wildlands.
To learn more, visit irconservancy.org.
