California Rangeland Trust Partners with National, State, and Local Organizations to Meet the Needs of Infrastructure and Conservation

SACRAMENTO COUNTY – September 22, 2021

California Rangeland Trust is pleased to announce the permanent conservation of 419.5 acres in South Sacramento in conjunction with the Van Vleck Family, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), and South Sacramento Conservation Agency.

The 419 acres are a part of the Van Vleck Ranch in Rancho Murieta, California. Stan Van Vleck, owner of the ranch, is a longtime California Rangeland Trust ranching partner who has conserved over 1,000 acres through the Rangeland Trust. The conserved landscape has rolling hills teeming with trees, vernal pools, wetlands, and uplands – all vital habitats for various endangered and protected wildlife species.

“We are very pleased to be a part of the South Sacramento Habitat Conservation Plan; this project greatly benefits the local community,” Michael Delbar, California Rangeland Trust CEO, said. “We all need places to live – humans, plants, and animals –  and society needs infrastructure to survive, this plan is finding responsible ways to accomplish that.”

The South Sacramento Habitat Conservation Plan (SSHCP) encompasses a 317,000-acre landscape that aims to responsibly build needed infrastructure while conserving natural habitat simultaneously. The goal is to conserve 36,000 acres that are home to 28 different plant and wildlife species.

“Grazing and wildlife conservation can go hand-in-hand,” said Michael Fris, field supervisor of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Sacramento Fish and Wildlife Office. “We are grateful to be working with ranchers who use good land management practices and are helping the Sacramento region achieve its vision for open space and conservation.”  

The project has united organizations at the forefront of conservation and natural resource protection for the greater good of South Sacramento County.

Dylan Wood, CDFW Environmentalist Scientist, said, “CDFW greatly appreciates the valuable partnership between the Van Vleck Ranch, California Rangeland Trust, and South Sacramento Conservation Agency during their work on this project. Such partnerships have a profound positive impact on the success of the SSHCP.”

The California Rangeland Trust, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, was created to serve the land, people, and wildlife by conserving California’s working rangelands. To date, the Rangeland Trust has protected nearly 345,000 acres of productive grazing lands across the state through the use of conservation easements. For more information, visit www.rangelandtrust.org.