In 2006, more than 37,000 acres of the protected wildlands and parks on The Irvine Ranch was honored for its value to the entire nation through designation as a National Natural Landmark (NNL) by the US Department of Interior.

NNL's are designated by the Secretary of Interior for natural areas in both public and private ownership. They are recognized as outstanding examples of the natural heritage of the country alongside national parks, recreation areas and monuments. Nationwide, fewer than 600 sites have received this special designation. The Irvine Ranch wildlands was the first site designated in California in more than 20 years.

The Irvine Ranch wildlands and parks was designated an NNL for both its globally important ecology and its remarkable geology. Rock formations and fossils found here reveal a sequence of events chronicling earth's history that dates back nearly 80 million years. The landscape also contains large patches of coastal sage scrub, a rare habitat found only in coastal Southern California and northern Baja California. The combination of unusual geological and rare biological characteristics is what gives this land such scientific value and meet the high standards for special designation as a National Natural Landmark.

The 37,000 acres included in the NNL designation are owned by several local governments, agencies and private landowners. These include the County of Orange, the City of Irvine, The Irvine Company, The Nature Conservancy and California State Parks. The Irvine Ranch NNL is one of the few places in Southern California where habitats have been preserved stretching from the mountains to the sea. They protect a wide variety of plants and animals, some endangered and others found nowhere else on earth. Among other special places, the NNL designation recognizes the rare habitats of Crystal Cove State Park, Laguna Coast Wilderness Park, and Bommer, Limestone and Fremont canyons.

Geologists who studied The Irvine Ranch wildlands and parks as part of the NNL evaluation identified a number of unique and rare features, including fossils of hadrosaurs or "duckbilled" dinosaurs in Blind Canyon. On a large scale, the land is an outstanding illustration of the complicated and unique geologic history of the southwestern margin of the continental United States. The exceptionally wide spectrum of rock formations and fossils captures changing landscapes and evolutionary events with remarkable completeness for a span of 80 million years. The terrain consists of picturesque coastline subject to modern erosion and other natural processes as well as rugged, uplifted mountains featuring the geologic history of Southern California from the late Cretaceous period (65 million to 80 million years ago); to the late Pleistocene period (less than one million years ago) all beautifully exposed and largely intact.

According to scientists, rich coastal sage scrub and chaparral natural communities are the primary biological features that make the wildlands worthy of NNL designation. Embedded within the expanses of scrub are natural communities such as grasslands, stream corridors and oak woodlands, as well as important populations of rare and endangered plants and animals. The coastal sage scrub is comparably healthy and undisturbed. It is one of the largest areas of this highly threatened Mediterranean-type shrubland remaining in California.

There have been many scientific studies of the geological and biological resources on The Irvine Ranch in recent decades. And the comprehensive evaluation leading to the NNL designation is the most rigorous, objective and independent scientific study of the land to date. Findings of the scientists who participated in this review confirm and reinforce previous studies that recognized the biological and geological importance of this region.

When the core natural areas of the land were submitted to the National Park Service for consideration, a detailed site proposal was prepared by LSA Associates, Inc. in Irvine, California. The exhaustive review process included detailed onsite evaluations conducted by independent expert biologists and geologists selected by the National Park Service. These experts produced an exhaustive report that was then peer-reviewed by seven additional independent scientists. Based on these evaluations and the recommendations of the Science Advisory Committee of the National Park Service, the National Park Service Advisory Board and theNational Park Service Director, the Secretary of the Interior designated The Irvine Ranch National Natural Landmark.

For more information on the National Natural Landmarks program administered by the National Park Service, visit www.nature.nps.gov/nnl.