LEBEC, Calif. -- A group of environmentalists and the owners of a large expanse of wilderness have hammered out a deal that will conserve 90 percent of California’s Tejon Ranch.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger met with the Tejon Ranch Company and environmental groups Thursday morning to unveil future plans for the Tejon Ranch.

The deal would result in California's largest parcel of land designated for conservation that could rival Yosemite National Park in its diversity of wildlife. The preserve would be the rough equivalent of Los Angeles.

The Tejon Ranch, located in the Tehachapi Mountains 60 miles north of Los Angeles and includes, mountains, woodlands, grasslands and desert terrain. Wildlife includes elk, wild turkeys, coyotes, bears, eagles and a crucial condor habitat.

View: LA Times Map Of Ranchland

Conservationists have agreed not to challenge proposed development on Tejon Ranch in exchange for close to 240,000 acres.

Past agreements failed, including a deal that sought in 2005 to sell a third of the ranch as a nature preserve. That agreement fell through, failing to serve the vision of the Tejon Natural Heritage Park Committee, a coalition of 12 conservation groups.

In 2006 another deal fell through as environmentalists sought more than double the acres that developers offered for a preserve.

The Tejon Ranch is dedicating 178,000 acres, while an additional 62,000 will be purchased with state bond funds.

An independent conservancy will be set up to manage the land. The developer has agreed to donate some money for its upkeep. The agreement also seeks to establish a large state park for public use.

The agreement guarantees Tejon Ranch to move forward with plans to build three urban centers, including more than 26,000 homes as well as hotels, condominiums and golf courses at designated areas or the ranch. One of the massive development projects will be near Interstate 5.

Centennial is a planned community of 23,000 homes in northern Los Angeles County, while Tejon Mountain Village in southern Kern County, will include a resort featuring spas, boutique hotels, commercial space, golf courses and 3,400 estate homes.

There’s already a large IKEA 2-million-square-foot facility within the Kern County portion of the ranch.

In the past, groups threatened to file law suits against development, saying it would extend Southern California's suburban sprawl to the central valley, add to regional traffic and air pollution problems, and harm endangered species.

There won't be any development any time soon. Next there will have to be environmental impact reports filed.

In about four to five years some people could call Tejon Ranch home, officials said.

Recently, the Department of Veterans Affairs announced Kern County as the new home to a national cemetery located off of Highway 58 on a 500-acre site donated by Tejon Ranch. The new cemetery will serve close to 200,000 veterans in Central California who are currently not provided burial space. Construction of the first phase is set to begin in summer 2008.