Conservation Easement Feature: Valley View Angus Ranch
Protecting a High Sierra Working Landscape for Future Generations

In the 1860s, Arthur Strang’s grandparents were among the first settlers in the high, wide Sierra Valley of northeastern California. Now, 140 years later, the 1,840-acre Valley View Angus Ranch is sure to be around for hundreds more, thanks to a conservation easement granted by "Artie" Strang shortly before his death in 1998.

The property ranges from an elevation of 5,000 feet in the valley to more than 7,000 feet in the surrounding mountains. More than half of it is forested. Stands of white fir, incense cedar, Jeffrey pine and ponderosa pine cover the lower elevations, while red fir, sugar pine and lodgepole pine flourish higher up. The rest of the ranch lies in the rich grasslands of the valley floor and supports several hundred head of cattle from May to November.

At 95, Artie wanted to be sure that the ranch would pass on to his heirs without estate taxes forcing its breakup. He crafted a conservation easement that maintains the property’s historic cattle ranching and timber management while protecting its diverse forest habitats. With increasing recreational and residential development in the Sierra Valley, the Strang ranch would have been lost without Artie’s far-sighted gift.

The provisions of the easement limit the number of head per acre to a number Artie believed could be sustainably raised. Harvests of young conifers for Christmas trees continue, as do timber harvests that help return the forests to old-growth structures and protect against wildfire.

The forests on the Valley View Angus Ranch play a key role in protecting watersheds and wildlife habitats. Sierra Valley’s wetlands are famous for their migrating bird populations. The ranch lies within the watersheds of Hamlin Creek and Berry Creek, which descend to the floor of Sierra Valley and eventually flow into the Middle Fork of the Feather River, a federally-designated Wild and Scenic River. Beaver dams have created ponds along the course of Hamlin Creek, which supports populations of brook, rainbow and brown trout.