Program areas at California Rangeland Trust
In 2023, California Rangeland Trust partnered with 9 families to conserve 16,911 acres of working rangelands. By conserving these lands, approximately 14.5 miles of freshwater streams, plus habitat for 15 special status animals and 14 special status plants were protected under Rangeland management. In addition to having these lands conserved for future generations, the natural services provided by this management have an estimated value of more than 14 million.
Nearly 800 people from many backgrounds engaged in a variety of community- building events throughout California. These events raise awareness for the work we do, help connect people to people, and create opportunities for ranchers to meet one another and learn from one another.
The Rangeland Trust ensures the upholding of our completed easements by conducting an annual monitoring visit on each of the 89 ranches in our portfolio. A monitoring report, prepared after each visit, notes any changes to the resources or compliance issues, and recommends corrective action if necessary. Monitoring is performed by staff, directors, or contractors supervised by the Rangeland Trust. Biologists and other experts are added to the monitoring team when necessary to assess the health of the habitat of any specific plant or animal species included in the easement. This process is made possible by stewardship endowments created for each property at the time the easement transaction closes, thereby ensuring permanent funding is available to conduct these activities in perpetuity.
We launched a new programs department in 2023. The purpose is to improve our services to the ranching community in California by connecting them to resources that can help them keep ranching, learn new tools, and access funding toward advancing their agricultural operations. Activities began with a survey conducted by the new programs manager to learn from our partner community what resources and services were most important for the Rangeland Trust to focus on in our inaugural activities.