What a remarkable year it has been! As we bounced back from the challenges of 2020, we renewed our commitment in 2021 to work harder than ever and closer than ever to continue to fulfill the promises made to our landowner partners, our communities, and our donors who make everything possible. Below is a beautiful snapshot of what can happen when we refuse to let anything hinder progress toward conserving the lands we need and love.
Celebrating Our Ranching Roots at A Western Affair 2021 October 29, 2021 by Alyssa Rolen Earlier this month, friends of the California Rangeland Trust gathered at A Western Affair 2021 to celebrate our state’s ranching roots and the pivotal role ranching plays in the growth of healthy communities. Few know
In the summer of 2013, a fire came through the Sardella Ranch. Where most would see devastation, Michael Sardella, owner of the Sardella Ranch in Tuolumne County, saw an opportunity.
Sardella has been a resident of the Sonora area his whole life. Since his family settled onto the ranch in 1957, he has witnessed firsthand the effects that population growth and development have on small towns in America.
California Rangeland Trust is pleased to announce the permanent conservation of 352 acres of the Apple Road Preserve in Sacramento County. This follows a previous conservation agreement established in 2019, which conserved 239 acres of the Preserve, for a total combined conserved area of 591 acres.
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.
In 2020, the California Rangeland Trust conserved 87 acres of open space in West Roseville, known as the Creekview Northern Preserve. The Rangeland Trust partnered with the land development and homebuilding company Anthem United who funded the conservation easement on the property to mitigate potential environmental impacts associated with the development of the 500-acre Winding Creek Community, a new residential area being constructed nearby.
The Flying M Ranch extends over 24 square miles of the Merced Grasslands, one of the largest and most intact vernal pool-grasslands habitats in the world. In 2021, 845 acres of the ranch were conserved through a conservation agreement in partnership with the Rangeland Trust. The conserved acreage joins an additional 5,000 acres previously conserved by the Myers family in partnership with the Nature Conservancy.
The Alameda County Waste Management Authority (ACWMA) Ranch is a working cattle ranch that contains the perfect habitat for endangered species like the San Joaquin kit fox, burrowing owl, California red-legged frog, California tiger salamander, and many others. The property has been owned by ACWMA since the early 1990’s.
In 2018, California Rangeland Trust partnered with Golden Hills Ecological Preserve to develop a mitigation agreement on the ranch
The Sweet Ranch is a working cattle ranch nestled on low, rolling hills coated in nutrient-rich grasses that are perfect for cattle grazing. The ranch has been owned by the Sweet family since 1915 when they purchased it from Sanford University. Several generations later, the property is still home to the Sweet family, their cattle operation, sheep, and grain crops. The ranch provides critical habitat for federally listed species including the San Joaquin kit fox, California red-legged frog, and tiger salamander, as well as the American badger and the burrowing owl. To mitigate potential negative impacts to these important species, the Sweet family worked with California Rangeland Trust to not only conserve the ranch, but to enhance its wildlife habitat.
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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