2,170 acre Jewel in California’s Gold Rush Country Permanently Conserved

March 21, 2013

Project connects to BLM lands creating a 2800-acre bulwark against sprawl to protect wildlife habitats and a vital stretch of the Calaveras River, a major tributary to the Bay Delta.

CALAVERAS COUNTY (March 21, 2013) – In Gold Rush country sometimes the most precious asset isn’t a gold nugget, it’s in the landscape itself—in the rivers and streams, fish and wildlife, and forests. Campstool Ranch is one such gem, now permanently conserved with a working forest and ranch conservation easement.

Located roughly fifty miles east of Sacramento, Campstool Ranch, at 3.4 square miles, is slightly larger than the nearby historic town of Angels Camp, made famous by the writings of Mark Twain. Campstool was first homesteaded in 1919 by Tim Lane’s grandparents, and the family has carefully managed it for timber and cattle, which will remain active uses of the property under the easement. The easement will promote managing the forest for resiliency to fire threats and climate change, prohibit mining, preserve historical sites such as gold mines, and tightly restrict development.

“Pacific Forest Trust is proud to partner with Tim Lane and his family to protect the largest remaining working ranch in western Calaveras County,” says Constance Best, Co-CEO of PFT. “This conservation easement makes it possible for the Lanes to permanently conserve vital water and wildlife resources on their land while supporting the family’s heritage of sustainable timber harvests and cattle ranching.”

Thanks to state grants from Proposition 84 funds through the Wildlife Conservation Board and Sierra Nevada Conservancy, the Lane family and the Pacific Forest Trust (PFT) recently completed the easement for Campstool Ranch, protecting a valuable and threatened place. Beyond the economic value of its forest and grasslands, the property includes an important water supply to Californians and is also home to over 70 wildlife species, including several that are rare or imperiled.

With ranchettes pressing up against the ranch boundaries and mounting pressures from developers eyeing this scenic, easily split and buildable property, the Lanes wanted to find a viable way to ensure the land remained intact for future generations.

“I spent a lot of time soul-searching the propriety of doing the easement, thinking about what my parents would say,” muses Tim Lane. “Mom would have been in favor; Dad would have been resistant, because he didn’t want limits on what to do with his property. But I think, like me, the more involved he was in the process the more he would be proud to keep the ranch beautiful and productive for future generations.”

The majority of the property (1,700 acres) is beautifully maintained natural Sierra mixed-conifer forest and abundant oak woodlands, interspersed with five hundred acres of mountain meadows. The easement ensures the plethora of wild fish, animals and birds who inhabit this area have a lasting home – such as the Railroad Flat deer herd and native rainbow trout.

Management under the easement will also assist in the rehabilitation of multiple rare or endangered species, such as the California Spotted Owl, sharp-shinned hawk, Sierra Nevada red fox, and Western pond turtle. As Campstool is adjacent to a 645-acre Bureau of Land Management tract its value is amplified by creating 2800 contiguous acres of protected land.

Three miles of the North fork of the Calaveras River—a key tributary to the San Joaquin River Delta—winds through the Campstool property, which is also blessed with eight major springs and six miles of other streams. Terms of the easement ensure lasting protection of water quality and flows into the San Joaquin basin and Bay Delta, helping stabilize supplies of water for 23 million Californians and millions of acres of farmland.

Grants of $2,751,055 from the Wildlife Conservation Board’s Forest Conservation Program and $350,000 from the Sierra Nevada Conservancy, as well as a generous donation of value by the Lane family allowed the Pacific Forest Trust to purchase the easement.

“We are pleased to contribute to the conservation of this historic ranch,” commented John Donnelly, Executive Director of the Wildlife Conservation Board. “It is the last of its kind and its strategic conservation will not only protect important fish and wildlife habitats, but also help deflect development pressure from all of eastern Calaveras County.”

Further, as Jim Branham, Executive Officer of the Sierra Nevada Conservancy notes, “Conservation of the Campstool Ranch is a significant victory for those seeking to safeguard fresh water supplies to the Delta. Family-owned ranches like Campstool are the back-bone of the economy for rural communities through sustainable forestry and cattle ranching. This project shows that water quality and wildlife habitat can be very effectively conserved through partnerships with families like the Lanes.”

For more information, please contact: Constance Best, Co-CEO, Pacific Forest Trust (415) 561.0700 ext. 19, email cbest@pacificforest.org
or contact: Kim Kowalski, Communications Director, Pacific Forest Trust (415) 561.0700 ext. 13 or email kkowalski@pacificforest.org