At an unusually cheery San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors hearing on Aug. 26, the board unanimously approved an additional $400,000 to complete the purchase of the Pismo Preserve.
Once the Aug. 26 action is finalized and the state Wildlife Conservation Board comes through with an expected $4 million contribution on Aug. 28, the Land Conservancy of SLO County is expected to officially complete the $12 million purchase of the 900-acre property overlooking Pismo Beach in early September.
At the hearing, the usual droves of green-shirted supporters turned up and voiced their support for the preserve. District 3 Supervisor Adam Hill also donned a green shirt for the hearing.
According to Land Conservancy Executive Director Kaila Dettman, the preserve—which will feature a variety of hiking, biking, and equestrian trails, as well as a specially designed parking lot—should be open to the public sometime next summer.
Dettman also mentioned that Land Conservancy membership has swelled from roughly 750 households to 1,400 households since efforts to purchase the Pismo Preserve started in February of this year.
This article appears in Aug 28 – Sep 4, 2014.