ENVIRONMENT
tan Van Vleck , owner of the 13,000-acre Van Vleck Ranch in Rancho Murieta , is incrementally placing 30 percent of his ranch under conservation easements , with nearly
1,800 acres conserved to date .
“ We ’ re going to be one of the largest private dedications of land in our region ,” says Van Vleck , whose cattle ranch accounts for 5 percent of all agricultural land in Sacramento County .
Positioned between Deer Creek Hills Preserve and Gill Ranch — both working ranches with land under conservation easements — Van Vleck ’ s conserved land creates a vast corridor of preserved habitat among the three properties .
Ranchers and those in the conservation industry know there ’ s an inherent value to working lands , such as cattle ranches that are a signature of California ’ s landscape with rolling hills , grazing herds and oak woodlands . But how does one monetize that inherent value ?
That ’ s the question California Rangeland Trust , a Sacramento-based nonprofit land trust , asked UC Berkeley scientists to answer . The yearlong study , which began in 2018 and was released in August 2020 , was funded by donations from the Resources Legacy Fund , a nonprofit dedicated to conserving natural resources , and an anonymous donor . The study calculated the fiscal value of environmental benefits ( called ecosystem services ) from 56 of 82 ranches throughout the state under conservation easements with California Rangeland Trust , totaling 306,718 acres .
The value of the ecosystem services to all Californians provided by those working lands — such as clean air , carbon sequestration , groundwater recharge , clean water , recreation , wildlife habitat , biodiversity and climate regulation — were monetized at $ 346 million to $ 1.44 billion a year . Scientists used two methods found in the available scientific data valuing ecosystem services , accounting for the wide range in financial benefits , and found the method used to derive the value of $ 1.44 billion the most transferable to California rangeland .
“ When ( working lands ) return $ 1.44 billion just for these 306,000 acres to constituencies in California , that ’ s an amazing return ,” says Michael Delbar , CEO of California Rangeland Trust . Between 1984 and 2014 , more than 1.4 million acres of California ’ s agricultural lands were lost — nearly three-quarters of that was prime
“ We ’ re going to be one of the largest private dedications of land in our region .”
STAN VAN VLECK Owner , Van Vleck Ranch
farmland with the best soil for agriculture — primarily due to urbanization , according to the California Department of Conservation . But in recent years , funding for conservation easements has declined . That ’ s created a competitive market for limited public funds .
“ We actually have another 200,000 acres of willing landowners , 75 families , that have taken this step to apply to us for a conservation easement … while we try to locate the funding necessary to permanently protect those ranches ,” Delbar says .
Voter-approved state bonds concentrated on agricultural land conservation used to be a primary source of funding easements when California
Rangeland Trust opened its doors in 1998 but are no longer a focus of recent bonds , he says . “ So now when we meet with a policymaker , we ( can ) say , ‘ Hey , this is really important to support more conservation funding for ag land conservation , and this is how important it is ,’” says Delbar .
Under conservation easements , ranchers sell or donate the development rights of their land ( or a portion of it ) to a land trust while retaining ownership of the land and managing it as a working ranch . The easement remains with the title of the property , restricting development and ensuring the land and its ecosystems are preserved in perpetuity .
At the Van Vleck Ranch in Rancho Murieta , the land and its rich biodiversity , with oak woodlands , vernal pools , wetlands and habitat for protected species such as Swainson ’ s Hawk , fairy shrimp and burrowing owl , is used for mitigating sensitive habitat or protected species affected during development elsewhere in the region , which can earn a higher easement compensation .
Van Vleck is using that compensation innovatively to diversify the 164-yearold family business . “ Expecting someone in each generation to come back and say I want to be in the cattle business is highly speculative … ( and it puts ) undue pressure on your family ,” he says .
Van Vleck launched an investment company with the mitigation easement funds , creating myriad business opportunities across sectors for future generations . His approach may serve as a model for others who are looking to preserve their land , ranch and family business .
But California Rangeland Trust isn ’ t looking to monopolize all of California ’ s working land and recognizes the balance that must be struck to provide homes for people , wildlife and livestock and the infrastructure society needs to thrive .
50 comstocksmag . com | November 2020