California Rangeland Trust is the largest land trust in California. Our mission is to serve the land, people, and wildlife by conserving California’s working rangelands.
56 of the ranches conserved by the California Rangeland Trust – encompassing 306,781 acres – were included in the recent Ecosystem Service Study. Researchers discovered:
California is an incredible state, rich in beauty, history, and diversity. It’s a place that has captured the national imagination for centuries: The farthest edge of the American West, where the mountains meet the sea.
As one of only five regions in the world with a Mediterranean climate, our state feeds the world. California is home to 5.2 million cattle and calves—fourth in the nation for cattle, with livestock responsible for 27% of all agricultural revenues in the state.
This is a heritage that all Californians share. These natural resources are essential to our way of life. But it faces threats. The working landscapes that characterize the Golden State are at risk. 62% of California’s open space consists of rangeland. And that land is disappearing at an alarming rate.
62% of California’s undeveloped land is rangeland.
67% of endangered species spend part of their lives on private land.
85% of California’s fresh water runs over ranches.
A few generations ago, if you asked someone on the street whether they or their family worked in agriculture, chances are the answer would have been yes. Today, that connection has largely faded. Many people are now generations removed from the land, feeling increasingly disconnected from where their food comes from and from the people who produce it.
Under a nearly full harvest moon at Rancho Santa Barbara, more than 400 guests gathered on October 4 for A Western Affair 2025—an unforgettable evening celebrating California’s working lands and the ranching families who steward them. Set against the historic adobe buildings and rolling hills of this storied ranch, the event reflected the California Rangeland Trust’s enduring mission: to serve the land, people, and wildlife by conserving the Golden State’s working rangelands.
Ranching legacies don’t endure by chance. They’re forged by grit, determination, innovation, and resilience. These operations survive because their caretakers look beyond the present, toward generations they may never meet. And although no crystal ball can predict what lies ahead, ranching families carry forward the hard-earned wisdom of those who came before them while finding the courage to forge new paths of their own.
California Rangeland Trust is a nonprofit, tax-exempt charitable organization (tax identification number 31-1631453) under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Donations are tax-deductible as allowed by law.
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