RANGELAND TRUST TALK

by Alyssa Rolan for the California Rangeland Trust

The California Rangeland Trust is thrilled to announce the release of a new study conducted by scientists from the University of California, Berkeley, showing the long-term benefits of land conservation. This groundbreaking research could transform the way Californians look at working landscapes in the Golden State.

California’s ranchlands contain intact plant and wildlife communities that provide valuable ecosystem services – such as habitat, carbon sequestration, food, fuelwood, open space, views and watersheds – to communities across the state. These ecosystem services offer myriad benefits to Californians, but their monetary value is often overlooked.

The study found that working lands conserved by the Rangeland Trust provide between $900 million and $1.44 billion in environmental service values annually, and the Rangeland Trust’s conservation efforts return between $3.43 and $3.47 in environmental service values for every dollar invested. “This study demonstrates the importance of caring for and serving California’s land, so that it can serve our communities in return,” says California Rangeland Trust CEO Michael Delbar. “Conserving the state’s open spaces and rangelands isn’t just about ranching. It’s about investing in environmental services that will benefit Californians now and into the future.”

According to the Department of Conservation, over 1.4 million acres of land in California have been converted from agricultural to other uses since 1984. 78 percent of that land has been lost to urban development. This study looked at 306,781 acres of rangeland conserved by the Rangeland Trust in order to better understand what would have been lost if these ranchlands had vanished.

Researchers found that ranches conserved by the Rangeland Trust produce the following ecosystem service values every year: • $236 million in food production • $13.9 million in water for people, plants and wildlife • $250.6 million in biodiversity maintenance • $96.6 in habitat lifecycle production

• $31.6 million in aesthetics and viewsheds • $28.5 million in recreation opportunities • $28.5 million in climate regulation “Our research found there is immense economic value in ecosystem services provided to society through rangeland conservation,” said Lynn Huntsinger, professor of Environmental Science, Policy and Management at UC Berkeley. “The study further underscores how protecting California’s working landscapes provides us with food, clean water, fire protection and many more vital benefits.”

The Rangeland Trust has helped protect over 340,000 acres across the state. Transparent, informed research is at the heart of our mission at the Rangeland Trust. By communicating with our readers, ranchers and supporters the importance of ranching and rangeland, we aspire to change the way California values working landscapes.

To learn more about these incredible findings and to download the report, please visit: https://rangelandtrust. org/ecosystem-service-study/.

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