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.
Nearly two centuries apart, two women made the same decision on the same piece of California ground—to hold on.
Because of these choices, the Spanish Ranch remains one of the last intact pieces of the 22,000-acre historic Rancho de Cuyama No. 1 and is now permanently protected through a conservation easement.
Mary Vail’s story begins in the hills of West Hollywood, where her upbringing was shaped by both education and ranching traditions. Her mother, Christine, was a schoolteacher, and her father, Granville, worked for Vail & Vickers Cattle Company—what Mary simply remembers as “the family company.” She can still picture walking into his office as a young girl and seeing the mounted animals decorating the room.
To honor our ranching partners, who represent both the organization’s history and its future, the Rangeland Trust hosted a Landowner Appreciation Dinner on Tuesday, June 2, in Esparto, CA.
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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