Clint Eastwood bought a 134-acre California artichoke ranch in 1995; he and Margaret Eastwood later donated land that now forms a 128-acre floodplain restoration site

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. 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 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.

Get breaking news anytime, anywhere. Download the TOI app now!