Celebrating Open Spaces: Naples and the Land Trust

There’s exciting news from the Land Trust for Santa Barbara County this week. They have launched a campaign to save 1000 acres of the Gaviota Coast and create a preserve open to the public. Known as the Naples/Santa Barbara Ranch the acreage has been under pressure for development. The Trust is in the process of purchasing the property and plans to create a permanent preserve which will be open to the public and serve to support native wildlife as well as a varied landscape of riparian corridors and grasslands.

For years, the lands of the “paper town” of Naples have been under threat of development. In the past, many groups have fended off that threat through protest and litigation, but now the property is again for sale and offers Santa Barbarans a once-in-a-generation chance to purchase the land and preserve it for the people as well as for the natural flora and fauna of the coast.

Naples/SBR is part of the Ancestral homelands of the Chumash people. Dos Pueblos Creek takes its name from the two Chumash villages at its mouth which were noted in the journals of the Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo expedition in 1542. The Chumash communities in Santa Barbara have long understood that all land, including this land, is not something to own, but is something to care for. Protecting Naples/SBR keeps this landscape whole for fostering living relationships.

Rancho Dos Pueblos, Naples, and the Gaviota Coast all have a fascinating history that reaches back to Chumash villages and stretches through the days of Spanish exploration and settlement to the conquest by United States forces. One hundred and seventy-six years later, the original farm and ranch communities of Goleta have grown houses instead of corn, while the Gaviota Coast, being mostly ranchland, has seen much less urban or industrial development (though what there is, is controversial). The entire area is an important geologic zone that should remain lightly touched, and purchasing this vast acreage will provide a nurturing landscape to preserve its integrity.

As of September 2026, $65 million dollars for the acquisition of Naples/SBR have already been secured. What remains to be raised is funding to cover the costs of unraveling the complicated legal status, moving forward as a legal entity, and for the creation of the preserve itself. That figure is $16 million dollars. Wild America Fund is adding its expertise in negotiating the legal steps required. At this point, the Trust also needs help from the public. 

Conserving Naples/SBR would remove the possibility of residential development from this extraordinary coast once and for all,” says Land Trust Executive Meredith Hendricks. “The opportunity to help protect such a special place is one we simply cannot miss and will ensure that one of California’s most remarkable coastal landscapes remains open, connected, and protected forever. 

For additional information and how to donate go to the following links visit 

www.sblandtrust.org/savenaplescampaign

The following link to a 4-minute instagram explains it all: 

Instagram.com/reel/De25x8Nh18U/