Beginning in 1991, detailed scientific studies have been conducted in partnership with state and federal wildlife agencies and shaped by public input. The O'Neill/Avery/Moiso family created a balanced plan for the remaining 23,000 acres of Rancho Mission Viejo based on these studies.

The Ranch Plan:

• Perpetuates ranching and farming
• Preserves open space
• Protects quality of life
• Promotes phased planning over the next 20 to 25 years

A Science-Based Framework
The family's comprehensive approach to open space preservation and land use planning is founded on more than 13 years of scientific data collected via two fundamental processes: NCCP/HCP and SAMP/MSA. Both study programs serve as logical, science-based environmental blueprints for establishing The Ranch Plan as the best framework for protecting sensitive habitat by preserving and managing Rancho Mission Viejo's thousands of acres ranch and lease lands.

NCCP/HCP
In 1991, the family entered into a process with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, California Department of Fish and Game and the County of Orange to study and inventory ranch land containing native habitat of threatened and endangered species. Today this scientific study is known as the Southern Subregion Natural Communities Conservation Plan/Habitat Conservation Plan (NCCP/HCP).

SAMP/MSAA
In 1999, the scope of biological study on the Ranch was expanded to include a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' program to preserve and enhance wetlands, manage water runoff and protect the water quality in the San Juan Creek and San Mateo Creek watersheds. Today, this watershed study is known as the Special Area Management Plan/Master Streambed Alteration Agreement (SAMP/MSAA).

Timeline
2005 - In August 2005, a settlement was reached with five conservation organizations to increase the protected open space and habitat from 66 percent to almost 75 percent, decrease development area on the Ranch by 25 percent, help ensure the protection of key watersheds and retain our family's cattle ranching and farming operations.

2007 - The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service added the Ranch's open space to its 32,818-acre Habitat Conservation Plan. Long review and approval process for each of the different land use areas identified in the Ranch Plan currently in motion.