According to USDA’s Weekly Weather and Crop Bulletin, the greater Sacramento area saw an average of roughly five inches of rainfall during the early winter and spring months this year, which is down 40% compared to other years. For ranchers like Bret Ellis, owner of the East Sheridan Vernal Pool Preserve, their management of the land relies heavily on the rain season.
Ranchers who spend their lives caring for rangeland are a resource as valuable as watersheds and viewsheds. Elizabeth Marshall calls it
“heritageshed”: the invisible but tangible sacrifice of generational ranchers who see stewardship as a calling beyond financial return.
Earth Day falls on April 22nd, but for the ranching community, every day is Earth Day.
This could not ring truer for Darrel and Karen Sweet, owners of the Sweet Ranch in Alameda County and proud California Rangeland Trust ranching partners. “As you enter our property, we have a sign that says, ‘Every day is Earth Day on our ranch,'” Darrel explained. The couple received the sign from friends and fellow California Rangeland Trust ranching partners, Tim and Melinda Koopmann from the Koopmann Ranch, many years ago. Today, the Sweets remain committed to carrying out this mantra both in their words and actions every day.
An engineer decides to pick up his family and move from Los Angeles to Napa County to buy some open land. Some may call that crazy, but for John Ahmann, it was his way of fulfilling a dream passed down to him by his father.
Through all the challenges of 2020, you—our ranching partners and loyal supporters—inspired us with your resilience. From the coronavirus lockdown demonstrating the necessity of reliable food sources to statewide wildfires proving the importance of managed grasslands, this year showcased, as never before, the value of California’s rangelands. Protecting our open spaces and those who steward them is vital to a safe and vibrant future. Despite the bumps in the road, this has been a remarkable year for the working landscapes of our state. Here are just a few of the highlights we were able to achieve in 2020 because of you:
Jessica had a childhood that many of us may only dream of – growing up on the family ranch with wide-open spaces as her endless playground, doing her homework in a special spot of the old hay barn near her horse, and being called home for dinner each night by the ringing of the metal triangle. Family history and natural beauty surrounded her every day, and she saw them all as special gifts in her life.
Imagine a project that would perfectly balance meeting the infrastructure demands of a growing community while protecting a valuable working landscape in the process. A new community in West Roseville, a suburb located 25 miles east of Sacramento, California, is seeking to accomplish just that by serving as a model for thoughtful development, innovative land management, and responsible stewardship.
We are thrilled to announce the release of new ecosystem services research showing the long-term benefits of land conservation. The study has found that working lands conserved by the Rangeland Trust provides $1 billion in environmental benefits annually, and Rangeland Trust conservation easements return $3.47 for every dollar invested.
Sierra County is filled with majestic mountain tops, fertile valleys, and vast working lands. Considered one of the most scenic ranches in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, the Maddalena Ranch consists of 743-acres of working rangeland. The ranch is located in the southwestern part of the Sierra Valley where the California Rangeland Trust has conserved over 29,000 acres of open space.
Big changes are happening at the California Rangeland Trust. After twenty years of service, CEO Nita Vail will leave her position at the end of April, passing the reins to Michael Delbar, who has been with the Rangeland Trust for ten years and currently serves as its chief operating officer.
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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