Great place for a great venture

TONY DODERO

I don’t think the setting could have been any better.

Perched on a nearby bluff were two horseback riders, watching the

show.

Pretty much as far as the eye could see, the hills were carpeted

by lush greenery, thanks to last winter’s rain.

A raptor with a tremendous wing span circled overhead, while a

hummingbird darted back and forth between the tree branches as his

fellow friends of a feather chirped a cacophony of tunes.

Yes, it was certainly a good way to start the morning Thursday,

with a stop at the Irvine Regional Park, deeded to the Orange County

by James Irvine in 1897.

Starting the day with me was a crowd of VIPs and dignitaries, and

media types, eager to hear the latest venture by the Irvine Co. to

preserve ranch land for public use in perpetuity.

The morning crowd sat underneath a shady canopy of sycamore trees

as Irvine Co. Chairman Don Bren and U.S. Secretary of the Interior

Gale Norton shared the stage during the announcement of the creation

of the Irvine Ranch Land Reserve Trust.

The trust will provide the needed funds to keep and maintain the

Irvine Ranch Reserve lands that span from the Cleveland National

Forest to the Pacific Ocean.

Norton congratulated Bren on the creation of the trust, which he

pledged $20 million toward, bringing Bren’s total donation to the

land reserve to $50 million.

Norton called the Irvine Co.’s land donations a “shining example

of cooperative conservation” a hallmark of the Bush administration.

“The Irvine Co. has exemplified this vision here in Orange

County,” she said.

OK, let’s be honest. That’s probably hard for many Daily Pilot

readers to swallow.

The Irvine Co. in Newport Beach is often associated with Fashion

Island, Newport Coast and other sprawling developments. Generous land

and cash gifts such as the one announced Thursday are often not what

the company is remembered for.

But getting back to that aforementioned scene setter, we in Orange

County really do have a great gift to be thankful for and that our

kids will be thankful for years to come, all because of Bren and the

Irvine Co.

While Bren’s $20-million endowment to preserve the land is nothing

to scoff at, the real plum coming out of today’s shindig was the

announcement that a 22-mile stretch of biking and hiking,

“mountains-to-sea” trail would now be opened, stretching from Weir

Canyon in Anaheim Hills to the Upper Newport Bay, passing through the

cities of Orange, Tustin, Irvine and Newport Beach.

Bren, who along with his usually business-suited clan dressed down

for the occasion in jeans and a sport coat, told the story about how

he and some of his colleagues personally rode the trail a couple of

weeks back.

He spoke of blooming wildflowers, emerald greens and teeming

wildlife.

“My vision is that the Reserve will set a new standard for

conservation stewardship and recreation that will be understood and

appreciated not just in Orange County, but also throughout the United

States.”

For those Irvine Co. doubters, take the 22-mile trek and see for

yourself. But as one Irvine Co. executive cautioned, start from the

mountains and go down to the sea, not vice versa.

* TONY DODERO is the editor. He may be reached at (714) 966-4608

or by e-mail at tony.dodero@ latimes.com.