UNITED STATES: CALIFORNIA
A Ranching Family's Gift
Hidden in the Gabilan Mountains of central California is an ecological treasure: the Gabilan Ranch, a stunning 11,190-acre expanse of rolling hills covered with wildflowers, oak woodlands and maritime chaparral. Just an hour’s drive from Silicon Valley, this working cattle ranch is a time capsule of Old California. The Nature Conservancy recently acquired a conservation easement on the property from the Reeves-Baldocchi-Boyle family.
“With an easement, we can protect habitat while enabling the family to continue ranching as they have for three generations,” explains Conservancy project director Chris Fischer. Rich in marshes and springs, the Gabilan Ranch is an oasis in an otherwise arid region. Elk, bobcat, foxes and the endangered California red-legged frog live on the ranch. Its streams feed the Salinas and San Benito rivers, providing drinking water and enriching valley farmlands.
The ranch’s location within an important watershed and regional wildlife corridor led the State of California Wildlife Conservation Board to grant $2 million in public funds for the easement. The Reeves family donated $800,000 of the value of the easement to the Conservancy. The Conservancy provided $2.2 million toward the purchase, $1 million of which came from the David and Lucille Packard Foundation.
“Our family chose to work with the Conservancy because we share a belief that conservation-oriented ranchers are among the best keepers of the land,” says Darrell Boyle. “This agreement will protect the ranch and our family heritage.”
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