Almost 10,000 acres of California’s Big Sur, encompassing mountains, old-growth redwood forests, and dramatic vistas on the coast, will be protected in perpetuity thanks to a land purchase sealed yesterday by the Nature Conservancy and the Big Sur Land Trust. The land connects 13 wilderness areas and parks, and was the missing link in a 70-mile-long wildlife corridor for mountain lions, bobcats, and other animals. The two organizations paid about $38 million to buy the land from Craig McCaw, founder of McCaw Cellular, primary shareholder of Nextel Communications, and a long-time conservationist. (In 1998, he and his then-wife paid to fly “Free Willy” star Keiko to Iceland for his release.) The land will be sold to the state and a regional park district; Gov. Gray Davis (D) pledged $32 million toward the purchase from a parks bond measure approved by voters in March.
