Bothwell Ranch Foundation

07/08/2025

07/08/2025

Approximately 1,400 green, fruit bearing trees pulled up by their roots, cut up and thrown into an industrial grade wood chipper. No plans to replace them within the community.

A horrifying scene by any stretch of the imagination and this is the direct result of our duplicitous and incompetent political leadership - namely and - who all decided together to side with their major donors rather than defend and preserve our natural environment.

Shame on them.

06/25/2025

We’ve been given drone footage of Bothwell Ranch and the images are truly horrifying. Over 1,200 mature, green citrus trees have been destroyed, chopped up and are being carted away.

We also see that a beautiful and majestic 100 foot tall century-old pine tree, which was to have been protected per the sales agreement, has been pulled down and also destroyed.

And there are no plans by to replace these trees anywhere in the community.

This is the true legacy of and and it’ll never be forgotten. They promised to save Bothwell Ranch but ultimately turned their backs on it to benefit their corporate donors.

06/24/2025

As you’ll see in the following, first
document clearly shows how, by unanimous consent and signed by leadership, Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy/ voted to engage in a partnership to help save, care for and protect Bothwell Ranch.
The second document, as directed by to the Bothwell Ranch Foundation to create, is a resolution declaring that Bothwell Ranch should be saved, that funds would be allocated to help care for the Ranch, per .newsom’s executive order to save an additional one million acres of green space and that Bothwell Ranch Foundation would be an intregal partner.

And then Stern and dropped out at the last minute leaving us in the lurch and Bothwell Ranch in jeopardy.

Now, Bothwell Ranch has been demolished and is being converted into 21 luxury homes. And this will always be their legacy.

06/20/2025

With the permanent loss of over 1,100 trees, along with the last citrus orchard in the entire San Fernando Valley, you can submit a public comment to and about what you think they have done.

Go to: www.LACouncilComment.com

Council file number is: 25-0310-S1

The meeting is this Tuesday, June 24 @ 2pm.

06/13/2025

We are now lamenting the loss of Bothwell Ranch, where the orange trees are being felled and the entire property demolished and bulldozed to accommodate 21 oversized luxury mansions.

This outcome is a direct consequence of the failure of our political leaders - specifically Councilmember Bob Blumenfield, Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel and Senator Henry Stern - who had all pledged, verbally and in writing, to preserve Lindley Bothwell Ranch,
but who all ultimately sided with real estate developers over the preservation of our vital green space and the last commercial citrus orchard in the San Fernando Valley.

Furthermore, our efforts to save the ranch were met with threats, intimidation, and silencing. Now that the opportunity to preserve the ranch has been lost, our sincere endeavors to save it have been rendered futile.

If possible, we invite you to visit the ranch and bid your farewells.

We invite you to share your comments with us, which we can help share with community at-large. 

05/12/2023

We deeply mourn the loss of our good friend, and Bothwell Ranch Foundation partner, Nat Zappia. His kindness, enthusiasm for sustainable awareness and lust for life will be forever missed.

03/27/2023

The Grateful Film Fund is partnering with the Bothwell Ranch Foundation to create the documentary, "The Last Orchard". Read about it, and how you can get involved, here:

https://mailchi.mp/bothwellranch/the-grateful-film-fund-partners-with-the-bothwell-ranch-foundation

06/16/2022

We are losing Bothwell Ranch.

Please read our most recent email regarding an urgent issue:

10/05/2021

Photograph caption dated August 1, 1963 reads "Small part of Lindley Bothwell's huge car collection stares out of barn." Source: LAPL

Lindley Bothwell was born in L.A. in 1901. He was a USC graduate, prosperous Southern California orange grower, a citrus agriculturalist from his Lindley Bothwell Ranch located at 5300 Oakdale Avenue in Woodland Hills, and an antique automobile collector and racer. His 14-acre orange ranch is the last commercial orange grove in the Valley. Brothwell died in 1986 and his widow, Ann, looked after the ranch and his collections until her death in 2016. The ranch has been passed down to their grandchildren as she outlived her children.

Bothwell collected antique cars and created vintage racing in the US in the 40s & 50s. By 1954, he was the owner of the largest private antique automobiles collection in the country. His impressive collection included the 1911 Rolls-Royce of the last tzar of Russia. At its peak the Bothwell collection numbered 88 cars. He served as the Los Angeles regional executive of the Sports Car Club of America.

With the driving skills of Dario Resta, Brothwell’s 1914 Peugeot won the Indy 500 on May 30,1916. In 1949 he used a 1913 Peugeot to break one of the speed records at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Even though this was a new track record for the car's class, Bothwell failed to qualify for the Indianapolis 500 due to the Peugeot's age.

In addition to the antique cars, he also collected, trains, horse-drawn streetcars and had the only private collection in the world at the time. Bothwell built a rail line and a tram barn on his ranch, to keep them in working order and entertain guests.

On November 11, 2017 An auction of the Bothwell collection brought in over $13 million in sales, including the significant 1914 Peugeot grand prix race car that topped the charts at $7.26 million.

04/26/2021

“Yesterday was Earth Day. It was also our 1st anniversary and the creation of our intent to partner with as we acquire and restore Bothwell Ranch. We would also like to thank , and for their overwhelming support!”