When actor Clint Eastwood bought a 134-acre former artichoke farm near California’s Carmel River in 1995, the property came with development potential, water rights and a history rooted in agriculture. The story was first reported by the Los Angeles Times in December 1997, when the newspaper reported that the Eastwoods were donating the $6-million Coast Ranch to the Big Sur Land Trust. The property, formerly known as the Odello Artichoke Fields, had been purchased by the Eastwoods in 1995.
Two years later, Eastwood and his then-wife Maggie announced plans to transfer the ranch to the Big Sur Land Trust. Nearly three decades on, part of that land is at the centre of an ambitious project designed not for houses, but for wetlands, wildlife and flood protection.
The Odello property sits near the mouth of the Carmel River, east of Highway 1 in Monterey County. The 1997 Los Angeles Times report said the 134-acre property was valued at about $6 million and that 67 of 73 planned subdivision lots would be retained as open space. Monterey County currently lists the remaining project cost at roughly $57.5 million, with about $27.1 million in pending CalOES/FEMA funding. Big Sur Land Trust says the project had about $25 million in grant funding and was awaiting the FEMA award to become fully funded for construction.
Because of its conservation work in the community, eastwood said at the time that he was enthusiastic about working with the Big Sur Land Trust.
The trust’s current project information says the project is in the final stages of design and pre-construction coordination. Before Eastwood’s ownership, the land was known for growing artichokes. The restoration is a major undertaking. Once completed, the former artichoke fields will look very different from the subdivision that could have occupied them.