Michelle Cox grew up in Monrovia, California, with endless memories of enjoying life in the great outdoors. Visiting the San Gabriel River, hiking in the mountains, riding horseback, and playing in nature strengthened both her connection to the land and her spirit of adventure. More
Jessica Schley had a childhood that many of us may only dream of—growing up on the family ranch with wide open spaces as her endless playground, doing her homework in a special spot of the old hay barn near her horse, and being called home each night by the ringing of the metal dinner triangle. More
In 2020, Sheila conserved her 600-acre coastal ranch with the California Rangeland Trust. Cows and their calves also roam the hills of the Sheila Head Ranch, helping maintain the beauty of this special place. With the peace of mind that her ranch would forever remain rolling green hills for livestock, she furthered her commitment by leaving the land to the Rangeland Trust as an irrevocable gift in her estate plan. More
Anyone who has seen Herb Barthels’ tall frame and broad shoulders would not be surprised to hear of his history as an open ocean roughwater swimmer, triathlete, sports fisherman and diver. And Mareva’s sunny disposition may well have come from growing up on a lagoon in French Tahiti, where she spent her youth fishing and exploring her oceanside home. More
When Lynn Kirst, a fourth-generation Californian, drives the I-210 Foothill Freeway in Los Angeles County, she passes through solid suburbia. The landscape looks nothing like it did when her pioneer great-grandfather, Nicholas Kirst, purchased several hundred acres of the Spanish land grant known as Rancho de La Cañada at the turn of the last century. More
Keith Mautino Moore grew up with ranchland as his playground. He recalls bicycling through the fields on his family's farm with childhood friends, picking truckloads of sweet peas and being engulfed in their fragrant aroma. Later, as he learned about his family history on California's lands, he began to truly appreciate and value their importance in his life. More
As he is driving along the highway that runs through the Cuyama Valley in Central California, Erik Gregersen takes a moment to reflect on what rangeland means to him. Erik has firsthand experience of how development pressures have affected ranches and contributed to the loss of the open range in California over his lifetime. "I want to try to do whatever I can to keep some part of California like the California I loved when I was young." More
Stories of the land are inextricably woven with the people who care for it. Each generation carries forward familial values of stewardship and an ingrained desire to leave the land in better condition than when they found it. Read More
