Mariano Preserve FAQs

Understanding Mariano Preserve: Find answers to questions about conservation, boundaries, access, funding, and much more

Thank you for your interest in Ventura Land Trust and the Mariano Rancho preserve! We hope you are as excited by the preservation of this open space as we are!

We have developed this Frequently Asked Questions document in order to address the concerns brought forth by community members, and to answer, to the best of our abilities, the questions that are being asked. 

As a conservation organization, Ventura Land Trust is committed to protecting this land in perpetuity. Therefore, the planning process for this new preserve is being undertaken in a deliberative and science-based manner. We understand that community members are eager to know the details of our plans, and we intend to share those details as definite decisions are made. Where we do not yet have definitive answers or timelines, we ask for your patience and understanding. The decisions we make now will impact this preserve and our community for generations, and we want to get it right.

This document is intended to be dynamic and will be updated as VLT’s plans progress, and as new questions arise. Therefore, interested parties should check back for updates over time.

General questions

  • Ventura Land Trust (VLT) acquired Mariano Rancho in early 2020. At the time, VLT was also navigating the acquisition of the property that was to become Harmon Canyon Preserve. So VLT did not publicize the acquisition of the Mariano Rancho property to focus on the fundraising for Harmon Canyon Preserve, which we knew would open as soon as it was acquired.

    The acquisition of Mariano Rancho by Ventura Land Trust was first announced publicly in July 2022.

  • We intend to open the preserve to the public in 2025, but also acknowledge that large projects of this nature can hit unexpected delays. Additionally, it is important to note that preserves of this kind are often developed in phases, and undergo natural change, so the preserve you know in 2025 may be different than the preserve of 2030, and 2050, and 2150, and so forth.

  • Since VLT plans to manage this land in perpetuity, we want to make sure that the decisions we make now ensure long-term sustainability for the preserve and for the land trust.

    Through that lens of perpetuity, the name of the preserve has come into focus.

    We believe that the name of the preserve should be culturally and historically relevant, inclusive, and deserving of a place in perpetuity. Perhaps the community feels that "Mariano" is that name. Being that we are talking about a name that will be spoken in this community forever, we want to give our friends and neighbors a chance to weigh in on it.

    The final say on the name of the preserve goes to the VLT Board of Trustees.

    Click here to submit name suggestions.

  • It’s difficult to predict how many visitors will be drawn to this new preserve, but we can forecast, based on visitation to Harmon Canyon Preserve (HCP). On average, we have approximately 100,000 visitors per year to HCP. That is an average of 274 visitors per day. However, 2023 visitation dropped to 83,000 visitors. We believe the decrease was due to the extended periods of closure early in the year when we had an extraordinarily wet winter.

    We believe that when Mariano Rancho opens to the public, some of those HCP visitors will be drawn over to the new preserve, so overall, we expect to see fewer people at Harmon as a result. However, the two properties are very different - Harmon offers many flat, easy trails, shaded areas, and at certain times of the year, running water. Mariano does not have trees, and the steep terrain may attract new groups of visitors like mountain bikers but might also deter some casual hikers. We do not anticipate that Mariano will be as heavily utilized as Harmon Canyon Preserve.

Conservation, habitat, and wildfire

  • Our first step in preparing a conservation and restoration plan is to study the preserve to determine what’s there - the questions we are asking include: What kinds of plants and animals are present on the property? Are there any special status or rare species? Are invasive species present and how should we prioritize their management? Are there sensitive habitats on the property that warrant additional study and enhancement? How can we best balance the interest of public access with supporting the biodiversity and ecological function of this special property?

  • Not yet! We have documented several special status species, like San Diegan tiger whiptail lizard (Aspidoscelis tigris stejnegeri), slender mariposa lily (Calochortus clavatus subsp. gracilis), and Santa Paula buckwheat (Eriogonum parvifolium var. paynei). So far, species with formal threatened and endangered legal protections have not yet been documented. VLT is engaging in biological surveys of the preserve to identify and document the types of plants and animals that live there, and this work is ongoing.

  • A history of extractive use on the property has led to fairly high invasive plant abundance in areas. Our small field crew is working hard to tackle several small populations of invasive plants before they get larger, including onionweed (Asphodelus fistulosus), statice (Limonium sinuatum), and Saharan mustard (Brassica tournefortii). We are also targeting highly invasive species in sensitive areas like artichoke thistle (Cynara cardunculus) in Hall Canyon. Due to the large size of the property, we are working to develop a strategic management plan based on containing high priority invasive species, defending the biodiversity and ecological function of sensitive habitats, and reducing opportunities for invasive plant seed spread along trail and road corridors.

  • Great question! In acquiring the property, VLT inherited several utility easements which allow their respective companies a legal right to travel through the property and maintain their infrastructure. While supporting public safety and providing important resources to our community, these easements create impacts from infrastructure monitoring and maintenance that are sometimes in conflict with the conservation values we are committed to stewarding. We are working closely with these utility stakeholders to evaluate best practices that minimize impacts to the natural resources of Mariano Rancho preserve and still allow them to do this required work.

  • Ventura Land Trust is working in partnership with the Ventura County Fire Department to perform maintenance on the historical fire road that originates at Hall Canyon and runs to the west near Lincoln Drive. The previous owner abandoned maintenance of the fire road, and both VCFD and VLT believe it is in the community’s best interest to have easy access for first responders along this boundary.

    VLT staff and trustees also take VLT’s annual defensible space clearance duties along its residential boundary very seriously. VLT staff and contractors work hard every spring to meet the requirements set forth by the City of Ventura Fire Department and are in close contact with Fire Department officials throughout this process. This is a substantial annual cost to VLT and is an important aspect of our stewardship of the preserve. For more information about these requirements, please visit the City of Ventura Website.

  • No. In fact, the Fire Department has its own locks on the gates to the preserve, so that it has access at all times. Ventura Land Trust works closely with first responders in many instances, including where fire or other hazards are involved, and in the rescue of injured or lost hikers. We count former and current members of the first responder community among our many Advisory Council members and Board members - Ventura Land Trust is committed to the safety of our preserve visitors, neighbors, and community members, and that includes immediate and unfettered access to our preserves for first responders.

  • Item descriptionWhen used judiciously, grazing with small, lightweight ungulates like goats can be a useful tool for managing some types of vegetation. Areas dominated by invasive herbaceous plants like mustards, thistles, and annual grass, often a legacy of prior cattle grazing, can be strategically targeted with goats when timed properly with the growth phase of the plants and the soil moisture. Reducing the cover of this invasive highly flammable biomass at the right time can benefit fire safety and support the recovery of native species. VLT has utilized goat grazing twice in the past for fuel load reduction efforts in Harmon Canyon Preserve, supported by a FEMA grant and the Ventura County Fire Department.

    If determined to be the appropriate tool, and if properly funded, VLT will consider utilizing goat grazing to strategically manage areas of Mariano.

  • Ventura Land Trust only owns one of the two trees at this iconic spot; Rancho Ventura Conservation Trust owns the location of the other. We understand the value of this landmark to our community and appreciate the fact that many community members would like to see two large thriving, healthy (ideally native!) trees back up there again someday. This is a project that is on VLT’s “wish list” for the preserve, once we have the resources available.

  • Mariano Rancho hosts both active and inactive oil and gas pipelines. Throughout the 20th century, Mariano Rancho was crisscrossed with various pipelines to support the burgeoning oil and gas industry in the Ventura Oilfield. Currently, there are active oil and natural gas pipelines that cross the property. Ventura Land Trust continues to engage with the operators of these pipelines to understand their function and the maintenance required to ensure both minimum impact to natural resources and public safety on the preserve. Mariano Rancho is also home to inactive pipelines from now-defunct oil and gas operators. Ventura Land Trust endeavors to map these abandoned pipelines, analyze their impacts, and mitigate them as appropriate.

  • Active towers on the preserve are situated on an inholding of property not owned by VLT and on land leased from VLT - those will remain. Important communications, including cellular service and County emergency communications depend on these towers. A defunct site just below the active towers will be eliminated and the debris will be removed as part of VLT’s management plan to open the property to the public.

Boundaries

  • No. Mariano Rancho has been grazed for over a century. The various barbed wire fences on the property are not indicative of the property boundary. Rather, these fences were installed to create pastures for ranching operations.

  • To determine exactly where the property boundary is, Ventura Land Trust retained a licensed surveyor to survey, monument, and record the exact property boundary. This formal survey is recorded with the County.

  • VLT will mark its property boundary with fences. Delineating the property boundary is important, as we are in the business of managing this land in perpetuity. By putting a fence exactly on the property boundary, we will have a physical demarcation of the boundary for staff, neighbors, and preserve visitors to reference. Mariano Rancho will support free public access for our community and delineating these boundaries with fencing is an effective way to prevent trespass onto our neighbors’ properties. Lastly, Ventura Land Trust is responsible for annual fuel clearance on the residential boundary of the Mariano Rancho property. By delineating the property boundaries with fencing, Ventura Land Trust and its contractors can confidently perform fuel clearance without the concern of accidentally clearing something on our neighbor's property.

  • We want to be good neighbors and make sure that everyone understands where the boundary is so that we know where each of our rights and obligations start and stop. For example, VLT will handle fuel clearances on its side of this line, but it also expects neighbors to keep their activities, plantings, etc. to their side of the boundary.

    VLT has several specific obligations as an accredited nonprofit land trust and as the recipient of state and county grants that funded acquisition of the property. Those include protecting the open space, habitat, vegetation, and other conservation values on the property over the long term and preventing trespass, encroachment, or other unpermitted uses of the property. VLT also must address and minimize its exposure to lawsuits just like any other property owner.

    All of these concerns mean that VLT can no longer allow the encroachments that the prior owners permitted along the boundary. We will work with encroaching neighbors on a case-by-case basis to the greatest extent possible. There are a series of steps we will follow in each case of encroachment, following a clear encroachment policy to assure that this process is consistent. To learn more, please refer to the organization’s encroachment policy.

    We aim to discuss each individual circumstance with each property owner and come up with a solution for every encroachment that works for both VLT and the owner. We can and have cooperated on several successful resolutions of encroachments already. Unfortunately, we aren’t able to work through every circumstance, however.

    Ventura Land Trust has paid to have the property boundary professionally surveyed so there is no confusion as to where that boundary lies. Both the previous owners and, more recently, VLT have notified neighbors who have encroachments that they are crossing the boundary. Since VLT can no longer allow those encroachments, it is fencing the property boundary to prevent any confusion on the part of current and future neighbors.

  • If infrastructure, landscaping, or other modifications have been made on the Mariano Rancho property, this is known as an encroachment. VLT has conducted a boundary survey, and the boundary has been noted with monuments, and has been recorded with the County. Please see the other questions in this section that address issues with encroachments.

  • No. As a nonprofit organization, VLT cannot provide a private benefit to an individual. That would threaten both our status as a nonprofit organization and our accreditation by the Land Trust Alliance.

  • No. VLT is not allowed to sell or otherwise dispose of any portion of the Mariano Rancho property for a period of at least 25 years.

  • The previous property owners did not address encroachments upon their land, other than sending a legal letter to encroaching neighbors to acknowledge the encroachment and permit its temporary existence. VLT is now preparing to open the property as a nature preserve. Clearly delineating the property boundary and ensuring the safety of our residential neighbors are important to us as we move forward in this process.

  • VLT understands that many of the neighboring homeowners to Mariano Rancho have historically enjoyed access to the preserve directly from their backyards. VLT also understands that within Ventura County, other open space agencies have allowed gates to be installed in their fencing so that neighbors can access the adjacent open space freely. VLT is considering (but has not yet made a final decision) on whether neighboring landowners who are willing to indemnify VLT and assume liability for trespass by preserve visitors will be allowed a gate from their neighboring properties onto the Mariano Rancho preserve.

  • Mariano Rancho is a nature preserve. Wild animals call this place home and there is a certain level of risk associated with visiting nature preserves. To increase the likelihood of safety for your family and pet, we recommend following these safety tips.

  • We will be fencing the preserve boundary along the residential interface. We have not yet determined what kind of fencing will be installed there, but it must be robust enough to provide security for our residential neighbors, and it must be sustainable over a long period of time, as well as non-flammable.

  • Depending on where your home is located, hikers may be able to access the preserve boundary adjacent to your home. This is why we believe that fencing the preserve boundary is important to help protect your safety and privacy.

  • Fences placed along the preserve boundary may inhibit the movement of some wild animals onto adjacent residential properties, but most of the wildlife present on the preserve have demonstrated their ability to go over, under, or around fencing if they are determined to enter the urban area. VLT will not fence every linear foot of the property boundary but will fence areas where there are concerns about illegal trespass, encroachment, or threat to human safety.

Access

  • We ask that community members continue to refrain from visiting the preserve until it is officially open.

  • A natural surface trailhead enclosure, like the one installed at Harmon Canyon Preserve, is planned off Hall Canyon Road, east of Ventura High School. This parking area will be similar in size to the one at Harmon Canyon Preserve.

  • The primary trailhead will be at 2807 Hall Canyon Road.

  • VLT hopes to legitimize some of the historical access points at Mariano Rancho and turn them into formal trailheads. However, this continues to be a work in progress, and until such historical points are formalized, VLT will not offer them for public use.

  • VLT understands that the ‘V’ is a historical recreation destination for our community. We intend to provide free public access to this landmark.

  • Currently, the remaining large, standing eucalyptus snag at the Two Trees landmark is located on Mariano Rancho. There is no trail from Hall Canyon up to Two Trees on property owned by VLT. This area is steep, erosive, and crosses an active watercourse. Constructing a trail from Hall Canyon to Two Trees would be very expensive and would also require significant maintenance in the long term. At the present moment, VLT does not have plans to construct a trail in this location.

  • The location of the shooting range adjacent to Grant Park makes the unofficial trail onto Mariano Rancho dangerous. To protect our preserve visitors, we will not consider formalizing this access point until the shooting range is no longer active.

  • Ventura Land Trust has determined that vehicular access and parking at Lincoln Drive poses significant risk. First, Lincoln Drive is very narrow. There are two places between the Hillcrest intersection and our gate that are less than 22' wide. However, Hall Canyon Road is about 35' wide at its narrowest. The road width makes a huge difference for the safety of not only vehicular visitors, but also pedestrian visitors.

    Hall Canyon Road also has a sidewalk on at least one side of the road all the way from Poli to the location at which the road becomes private on VLT property. Multiple sections of Lincoln Drive do not have any sidewalks at all.

    Ventura Land Trust is also disinclined to provide vehicular access to Mariano Rancho preserve at Lincoln Drive because to get from the intersection at Poli and Lincoln to our gate, one would drive past 26 homes. Alternatively, from the intersection at Poli and Hall Canyon, one only must drive past six homes. We have chosen to prioritize Hall Canyon for our vehicular access point because it is safer and less intrusive than Lincoln Drive

  • Ventura Land Trust is working hard with partners to provide multiple access points to Mariano Rancho, including access from the west side of Ventura. At this time, we know that legal public access will definitely be available at Hall Canyon. We hope to bring more access points online in the future.

  • VLT is also concerned about parking in and around the preserve, and we understand that the neighborhoods adjacent to the preserve often have winding, narrow streets with limited parking. To address this, we are working to maximize the space we have available for parking at Hall Canyon, and we are carefully evaluating all the places where the community has traditionally entered this property. VLT has not yet come to final decisions on which of these traditional access points will be appropriate for future trailheads and which will be closed permanently. Over the past few years, we have been meeting with members of the potentially impacted neighborhoods to hear their concerns about traffic and parking. We have also been in frequent dialogue with the City, as solutions proposed by community members, such as limiting parking in hillsides neighborhoods to residents only or addressing traffic pinch points, are beyond our authority.

Trails

  • There is a long history of “social” trail development (meaning non-authorized trails) at Mariano Rancho. Ventura Land Trust is currently analyzing the existing social trails and determining which we will legitimize and maintain for the long term, and which we will decommission and ecologically restore. Not all of the existing trails will stay active.

  • Ventura Land Trust is currently carrying out robust biological monitoring at Mariano Rancho to better understand the biological resources present on the property. At the same time, VLT has engaged trail development experts to study the property and assess slope severity, soil composition, precipitation patterns, and access points to determine where and how to build trails on the property. While providing free public access to the community is an important component of VLT’s work, conserving natural resources is our primary goal. VLT will build new trials at Mariano Rancho, but it needs a comprehensive understanding of current conditions on the property first.

  • Many factors go into deciding when, where, and how to build trails. Biological resources, slope severity, soil composition, precipitation patterns, areas of interest, historical land use, and preserve visitor data all factor into the decision of when, where, and how to build trails.

  • Where appropriate, VLT will build multi-use, natural surface trails at Mariano Rancho.

  • There are very few areas of Mariano Rancho that are flat. One of these areas is Hall Canyon Road. Ventura Land Trust will provide public access on Hall Canyon Road for people who wish to hike, run, cycle, or otherwise enjoy flatter surfaces.

  • The protection of natural resources is a major challenge to trail development at Mariano Rancho. Some of the most intact habitat at Mariano Rancho occurs in areas where trail connectivity is needed. Minimizing the impact to these resources is the top priority for VLT. Slope severity at Mariano Rancho is also a major challenge to trail development. Simply put, building sustainable trails on steep slopes is very challenging. In addition to steep slopes, the soil composition at Mariano Rancho is erosive, meaning that once trails are built, they are likely to require significant maintenance to keep them in good shape. All of these considerations factor into trail development at Mariano.

  • Completely avoiding erosion on trails is impossible. To minimize erosion, VLT will target an average trail slope of 5-7%. This is extremely difficult in an area with such steep natural slopes, but the lower the average trail slope, the less erosion there will be on the trail tread. In addition to managing the average slope of the trail, VLT will implement trail-building techniques that actively move water off of the trail tread so it is less likely to be eroded, including rolling grade reversals, knicks, and drains. Erosion is inevitable, but VLT is committed to building trails that will be long lasting and low maintenance.

  • VLT has not yet come to its final decisions on trails within the preserve. Currently, we are still evaluating existing trails, and learning about the biological resources and soil composition of the preserve. These factors will all come into play when we determine the placement of trails in the preserve.

    One important point to remember is that VLT is making decisions through the twin lenses of science and “forever,” meaning that we intend to safeguard this preserve and its biological resources in perpetuity. Therefore, our process is as comprehensive and deliberative as possible, to ensure that our decisions are wise in both the short and long term and are sustainable over the very long term. While we understand that the public is eager to know our plans, we have not fully developed them yet.

    Another point to remember is that the preserve is likely to change over time. Trails conceived of now may be built much later. Social trails that exist right now might be decommissioned and discontinued. As we evaluate human use of the preserve, and natural conditions such as heavy rain, wildfire, and geologic change alter the preserve, we will need to adapt our management of the preserve accordingly.

  • Dogs will be allowed on trails at Mariano but may be limited to certain areas of the preserve. The presence of dogs, their urine and feces, and their behavior significantly impact wildlife and may be limited to certain frontcountry areas for this reason. For the safety of the dogs, preserve visitors, and wildlife, dogs must always be on a leash no longer than 6 feet in length.

  • Analog, non-electric bicycles will be allowed on certain trails at Mariano Rancho. E-bikes will not be allowed at Mariano Rancho Preserve.

  • Mariano Rancho cannot accommodate horses because our trailhead enclosure is not large enough to accommodate horse trailers.

  • Yes. Hall Canyon is currently utilized by numerous easement holders who have legal right to use the road to access the oilfield. However, this vehicular access can pose a safety hazard to preserve visitors. VLT is committed to working with all easement holders to ensure safe public access in this beautiful area. This will be an ongoing process, but Hall Canyon Road is a key component of providing equitable public access to Mariano Rancho.

  • See the above answer.

  • The development of bike jumps negatively impacts the biological resources VLT is committed to stewarding. This illegal activity on Mariano Rancho has denuded extensive areas of native vegetation, increased the distribution and abundance of invasive plants, and exacerbated erosion issues that our small staff must regularly address. Bike jumps pose a level of risk to VLT that our Board of Trustees is not willing to assume.

Funding

  • VLT’s general operations are largely funded by private donations from individuals, foundations, earned and special event revenue, and corporate partners. However, for large acquisitions and capital improvement projects, taxpayer-funded programs often provide large grants that allow for conservation of open space and making that open space publicly accessible. For example, the State of California has provided $7.2 million to VLT in part to complete the acquisition of Mariano and open it to the public.

    To date, VLT has conducted five public meetings to seek input from community members. Three of these meetings had a format easy to film and can be viewed on VLT’s Mariano Rancho page.

    We encourage you to participate in future meetings -- please join our mailing list and follow us on social media to stay informed of these. Additionally, if you have further questions that have not been answered in this document, please submit them through the form embedded in the Mariano Rancho page so that we can answer them for you.

  • Initially, VLT purchased the property thanks to the help of a major donor and a loan from a local bank. Ventura Land Trust then mounted a capital campaign to fundraise to pay off the loan, while also conducting the final stages of the Harmon Canyon Preserve capital campaign. Thanks to the support of Assemblymember Steve Bennett and Senator Monique Limon, Ventura Land Trust was awarded a grant of $7.2 million to close out these two hillside capital campaigns (for Harmon Canyon Preserve and Mariano Rancho), and the final loan balance was paid off in October 2023.

  • The funding mentioned above is being used for the capital improvements needed to prepare the preserve for opening to the public.

  • VLT has stewardship endowment funds that produce interest that it then utilizes to fund stewardship of its preserves. Additionally, ongoing efforts to raise funds through “naming opportunities” (such as naming benches, trees, trails, etc) provide funding for stewardship. Grants, especially for conservation projects within the preserve, will assist us with ongoing conservation needs.

  • While the $7.2 million state grant mentioned above is being passed through the County, the funding is originating with the state. Over time, other grant opportunities will arise through the County and the City and when those opportunities align with our work, VLT will apply for them. If awarded, VLT will utilize this funding for the specific projects outlined in the grant applications. Examples of the types of grant projects VLT has implemented with City or County funds in the past include native plant and tree planting, installation of fencing at Harmon Canyon Preserve, and developing a native plant nursery at Hayden Preserve.

  • Foundations, corporate entities, and government agencies make grants available to nonprofit organizations through a variety of methods. A grant is a gift of funding that is not paid back to the funder. Usually, the nonprofit organization responds to an RFP (or request for proposals), providing information about the project they would like to have funded, including a descriptive narrative and a budget. The granting agency then reviews the applications it receives, selects its awardees and the amount of funding to be provided to each, and notifies awardees. Some grant funders provide all of the funds upfront; some require proof of expenditures first and then award funds on a reimbursement basis; some will advance a portion of funds until proof of expenditures against those funds has been provided, and then they will advance another portion. Some grantors require that the nonprofit raise or otherwise provide “matching funds” towards their grant. In almost all cases, organizations must complete their projects within a certain timeframe, and they must provide a report on how funds were spent.

  • Grants made through private foundations are not always part of the public record, but you often can pull a 990 tax document for a foundation and see how much that foundation has granted and to which organizations, although the 990 will not reveal details about the specific projects that received the support. Grants made through government agencies are part of the public record. For example, the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act (FFATA) requires information about Federal awards to be posted on a single, searchable website that is open for public access.

Community input and involvement

  • Ventura Land Trust has hosted a series of Community Meetings intended to both provide information to our community and solicit feedback on the Mariano Rancho project. All of the meetings described below were very well-attended by members of the community.

    The first meeting was held at a private residence in the hillside neighborhood adjacent to Mariano Rancho; the residents who hosted the meeting hand-delivered flyers directly to residents and mailboxes throughout the neighborhood.

    Four public meetings were then held where the entire community was invited and encouraged to attend. On October 12, 2022, VLT hosted a public access focused meeting at Poinsettia Pavilion. On November 9, 2022, VLT hosted a trails and recreation focused meeting at De Anza Middle School. On December 7, 2022, VLT hosted a conservation & restoration focused meeting at Ventura Missionary Church. On July 25, 2023, VLT hosted a Community Roundtable at Poinsettia Pavilion. For the four public meetings mentioned above, the public was invited by e-blast, web posting (including posting to third-party calendars), social media, flyers, press releases, outreach to community councils, and word-of-mouth campaigns.

    Across all five of these meetings, Ventura Land Trust has accepted comments and answered questions about the project. Additionally, Ventura Land Trust regularly answers phone calls, emails, and inbound social media queries about the Mariano Rancho project. Lastly, VLT has done its best to keep our website up to date with the latest info on the project.

  • Yes – VLT has conducted five community meetings, one of which was held exclusively with neighbors from the hillside neighborhood immediately adjacent to the preserve. Many neighbors from the hillside neighborhoods also attended the other four community meetings hosted by VLT. Additionally, VLT has held dozens of individual meetings with neighbors, and continues to do so. Direct communication has occurred in person, over the phone, in virtual meetings, by email, and by mail.

    VLT has also attended several public meetings over the past several months to provide updates to the community and our neighbors, including presenting to the Ventura City Council twice, to the Ventura Parks and Recreation Department, to the Midtown Community Council, and to the College Area Community Council.

    VLT has invested in outreach this summer, in partnership with CAUSE, to connect with our Spanish-speaking neighbors on the westside of Ventura.

    VLT has also worked to form partnerships with other community organizations in response to neighbors’ concerns, including serious and warranted concerns about wildfires. This includes partnerships with the Ventura Fire Department, Ventura County Fire Department, and the Ventura County Regional Fire Safe Council (VCRFSC), working to promote free programs available through VCRFSC to help residents harden their homes against wildfires.

  • Join our mailing list - the form to do so is included at the bottom of every page on our website. Follow us on social media - we are active on Facebook and Instagram.

  • For the 2022 community meetings, Ventura Land Trust retained an interpreter, and all of the slides were translated into Spanish and provided afterward in pdf form. An interpreter was also present for the 2023 meeting. This summer, VLT will be performing outreach to the Spanish-speaking Westside community, in partnership with CAUSE.

  • Thank you for asking! You can visit the Volunteer page on the Ventura Land Trust website to learn more about the various volunteer opportunities available, and sign up for those that interest you.

  • We are! Docents help us maintain a clean and friendly environment at the preserve. We have not yet launched a docent program at Mariano; when we do, it will be very similar to the programs we host at Harmon Canyon Preserve and Big Rock Preserve. If you think you might be interested in becoming a docent for the Mariano Rancho preserve when it opens, we suggest that you get involved with the existing programs so you understand how they work and can be a part of the team that launches the program at Mariano. To learn more, please visit the Volunteer Docent page on the Ventura Land Trust website.

  • We appreciate your commitment to conservation and recreation! There are so many ways you can support our work, whether through one-time one-time donations, monthly contributions, sponsoring events and programs, connecting us with grants, becoming a member, donating land, donating needed supplies and materials in-kind, claiming a naming opportunity on one of the preserves, making a planned gift in your estate plan, and more. Please peruse some of the opportunities linked within this answer, and reach out to the Ventura Land Trust Development Department at devo-ops@venturalandtrust.org or call 805-643-8044 x 1 to learn more or to discuss the gift you’d like to make.

  • Should you wish to learn more about the project, or express concerns, please address your outreach to the following VLT staff:

    If you have a question that was not answered in this document, use the form embedded in the Mariano Rancho page, or reach out to one of the following staff members:

    Melissa Baffa, Executive Director, melissa@venturalandtrust.org

    Dan Hulst, Deputy Director, dan@venturalandtrust.org

    Bryan Gonzales, Preserve Manager, bryan@venturalandtrust.org

If you have any additional questions that haven’t been answered in the FAQs, we invite you to submit them using the link below.

Mariano Preserve: Landmarks and Points of Interest Map