The Board of Supervisors voted unanimously today to accept 20,000 acres from the Irvine Co., a gift that increases Orange County's parklands by 50 percent.
Board Chairwoman Janet Nguyen deemed it "a perfect public-private partnership," while county Parks Commissioner Bert Ashland called it an "historic day in the life of the county of Orange."
"It's the culmination of years of effort by the Irvine Co.," Ashland said of the county's acceptance of the acreage in the Santa Ana Mountain foothills along Santiago Canyon Road.
"I look forward to the next 30 years, should I live that long, of being a part of the stewardship of this valuable land," he said.
The county has nearly 40,000 acres of parkland, including Santiago Oaks Regional Park, Irvine Regional Park, Limestone Canyon and Whiting Ranch Wilderness Park, all of which more or less surrounds the 20,000 acres the Irvine Co. handed over to the county today.
Last year, when county and Irvine Co. officials began negotiating the transfer of the property, environmentalists had some concern about the county's ability to maintain the land.
"We don't feel the county's endowment for this land is going to be enough, and their assessment of the costs seems to be low, but there's no way to know until a few years go by," said Jean Watt, president of Friends of Harbors, Beaches and Parks.
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Several environmentalists who attended today's supervisors' meeting said they want the county to establish a foundation to oversee the money set aside for maintaining the land and, as a nonprofit, effectively raise money to oversee the property in perpetuity.
OC Parks Director Mark Denny said he believes the county can maintain the property despite the troubled economy that has led to deep cuts in county spending.
"We're certainly confident we can go forward, and about the county's stewardship of these lands," Denny said.
The land transfer includes 1,988 acres east of Irvine Lake that will be Orange County's newest wilderness park, which will be called Black Star Canyon Wilderness Park.
