The first true sign of Tejon’s natural splendor is Monte Field,
a 500-acre grove of valley oaks rising out of pale-green
grasslands. With branches stretching skyward from trunks more
than five feet in diameter, these trees are gracious and
dignified native Californians, some as old as 400 years. They
are among the nine oak species found on the ranch—more than a
third of all oak species in California. The beauty of Tejon’s
oak savannahs has attracted filmmakers, who have used them to
shoot scenes for Seabiscuit and Star Trek. This valley oak grove
also appealed to Tejon Ranch’s owners, who established their
original offices in the basin that surrounds it. White, 49, is a
compact, affable man who spent months as a conservation
biologist studying the ranch’s flora and fauna through the
scientific record before he ever set foot on the property. He
was working with other scientists to evaluate Tejon’s
conservation significance as part of a project that preceded the
2008 agreement. Like most scientists before them,