On February 21, about 200 guests, many of them ranchers from Santa Barbara and surrounding counties, gathered at the Santa Barbara Club to celebrate and learn more about the California Rangeland Trust (CRT). This Sacramento-based nonprofit has preserved more than 500 square miles of California’s open landscapes by obtaining conservation easements from ranchers. The easements allow ranchers to continue their operations, but limit specified development rights in perpetuity. Agricultural open space is preserved and along with it, California heritage, wildlife habitat, clean water, clean air, and healthy foods. According to CRT, private rangeland accounts for almost 63 percent of California’s undeveloped land, making its protection of paramount importance.
After a lively, extended reception hour, guests were welcomed by event cohost Marianne Partridge (Santa Barbara Independent editor in chief), whose husband, Jim Poett, is a member of a longtime Santa Barbara ranching family.
CEO Nita Vail related how she was raised on a Santa Rosa Island ranch in a family with a strong land ethic. She shared her optimism, which is based on now having ranchers, conservationists, and scientists working together on the goals of healthy food, clean water, clean air, open space, sequestration of carbon, and quality of life. Vail noted that CRT has protected more than 17,000 acres in Santa Barbara County, 123,000 acres in San Luis Obispo County, and 330,000 acres statewide. She lauded the work of the Land Trust of Santa Barbara County and other nonprofits with which CRT has alliances.