It’s the time of year when you may be thinking about finally creating, or updating, your estate plan. Hopefully you are also thinking of the benefits that come along with including support for a cause that’s important to
you.
Before you make a gift in your will, it’s wise to think it through…and to have a conversation. As you shape your long-term plans, find out how they align with organizations you’d like to include by asking these four key questions.
At just 14 years old, Veronica Miller Bowen has already discovered her passion for livestock and the land. Through her 4-H projects, raising sheep, goats, and steers, she has found a deeper appreciation for California’s working lands. Now, she’s using her entrepreneurial spirit to give back and help protect the lands she appreciates.
The land holds stories—stories of resilience, wisdom, and the delicate balance of humans and nature. When we conserve this land, we protect these stories, allowing future generations to experience and learn from
them.
Nick and Karen Guriel own and operate Coles Cattle Company in San Luis Obispo and have been loyal donors to California Rangeland Trust for nearly twenty years.
Ranching is a way of life that demands resilience, adaptability, and an unwavering commitment to the land. It’s a tradition built on long days, hard labor, and a deep respect for nature. For many families, the ultimate goal isn’t just making it through the tough seasons or turning a profit—it’s ensuring that the land remains productive, healthy, and intact for the next generation.
I’m Emily Ehrke, and I recently graduated from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo where I majored in Agricultural Science and double minored in Agricultural Business and Water Policy. I grew up in Arbuckle, CA around the ranching industry. Naturally during my four years at Cal Poly, I spent a lot of time immersing myself in the beef program, which included serving as both the SLO Young Cattlemen’s Association President and the Cal Poly Bull Test and Sale Event Planning Coordinator. These experiences inspired me to continue to explore more career paths within the cattle industry post-graduation, which ultimately landed me here at the California Rangeland Trust for a six-month general internship.
In the Salinas Valley of California, known as the “Salad Bowl of the World”, a local ranching family is helping to ensure that there will always be protein on the plate.
For over 140 years, the Silacci family has called the Valley home – beginning when patriarch Bautista Silacci immigrated to Monterey County. After living in Moss Landing in the early 1880s, he decided to move inland to Salinas to work at a local dairy. In 1887, seizing an opportunity to establish roots on the land and in the industry, he purchased the dairy. Together, he and his family raised dairy cattle and cultivated various crops, contributing to the Valley’s notorious bounty.
Along the Valley floor between Three Sisters Summit and Walker Ridge in Colusa County lies a 10-mile stretch of rangeland, otherwise known as the Bear Valley. This landscape is not visible by freeways or main thoroughfares, yet every spring thousands of people flock to the area to catch a glimpse of some of the best remaining panoramas of Northern California’s wildflowers. These springtime super blooms have been around longer than many even realize thanks in part to the diligent stewardship of local, ranching families, like the Keegan family.
When the Rangeland Trust is able to successfully conserve a piece of California’s working lands, it is cause for a celebration—another win in the fight to keep ranchers ranching and stave off conversion of these lands in the Golden State!
The question of succession weighs heavily on the mind of nearly every rancher: “Who will take over my ranch once I am gone?” According to the USDA, within the next two decades, approximately 70 percent of U.S. farming and ranching operations will confront this issue. While the next generation often assumes responsibility, this isn’t always the case, necessitating careful planning and arrangements to safeguard the operation into the future. For the late Louise Hanson, the original proprietor of the Hanson Ranch, a conservation easement emerged as a cornerstone of her estate planning.
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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