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WILLITS, Calif. – The
race is on to protect Ridgewood Ranch, a
remarkable property that is the final
resting place of legendary racehorse
Seabiscuit, and the Mendocino Land Trust
is out of the gate quickly thanks to a
grant from the California Department of
Conservation.
The Mendocino Land
Trust and Golden Rule Church
Association, which owns Ridgewood Ranch,
hope to establish a permanent
conservation easement on 4,636 acres of
the 5,000-acre property. Their goal is
to raise $6 million through grants and
donations to preserve prime farmland
including irrigated pasture, orchards
and an organic farm; old-growth
redwoods, five miles of fish-bearing
creeks, vernal pools, oak woodlands,
habitat for diverse species of plants
and wildlife, and scenic vistas that
border both sides of California Highway
101 for three miles.
The Department of
Conservation is setting the pace toward
achieving that goal, today signing a
letter of intent to provide up to $1
million through the California Farmland
Conservancy Program toward the
preservation of Ridgewood Ranch. In
exchange for the funds, non-agricultural
development potential on 180 acres of
prime farmland and 340 acres of grazing
land will be permanently off-limits,
ensuring that land will remain in
agricultural use. The ranch is located
between Willits and Ukiah and ultimately
will face development pressure as those
communities grow.
“We’re pleased to be
the first funding agency to step up in
support of this very worthy project,”
DOC Director Darryl Young said. “It’s
gratifying to help preserve the legacy
of Seabiscuit, an American icon. But the
property is worthy of preservation in
its own right. We salute the efforts of
the Mendocino Land Trust and the Golden
Rule Church Association to protect this
ranch. I’m confident that other funding
sources ultimately will support this
project.”
Ranching began at the
site in 1859. From 1921 to 1951, the
Charles Howard family owned the property
and turned it into a thoroughbred
breeding ranch. It’s most famous
resident was Seabiscuit, who is buried
under an oak tree on the ranch.
Tours of the ranch
are conducted by the Willits Chamber of
Commerce and the Golden Rule Church
Association, and the landowners will
donate funds to a permanent endowment to
ensure that public access will allowed
even after the property is under an
agricultural conservation easement. The
University of California, Natural
Resource Conservation Service, and
California Department of Fish and Game
conduct workshops on the ranch because
of the outstanding stream restoration
work that has been done there.
In addition to the
acreage used for grazing and other
agricultural purposes, Ridgewood Ranch
employs a method of intensive organic
farming that has been widely copied and
is planning an organic “pick your own”
cherry orchard.
“This is a unique
property, and the time to conserve it is
now,” said Ridgewood Ranch Project
Manager Roger Sternberg. “Over the
years, the Golden Rule Church
Association has had to sell 11,000 acres
of the original ranch to maintain the
remaining property. It would be a shame
to see the ranch subdivided. It has
agricultural value, conservation value,
educational value, historic value and
aesthetic value.”
California's
agricultural production totaled more
than $29.8 billion in 2001. But
California's population of about 35
million is expected to grow to nearly 50
million by 2025, and many acres of
farmland are being developed to
accommodate that growth.
“While it’s important
to accommodate our growing population,
we must remember that farmland is a
vital and irreplaceable natural
resource,” DOC Director Young said.
The California
Farmland Conservancy Program,
administered by DOC’s Division of Land
Resource Protection, is designed to
ensure that the state's most valuable
farmland will not be developed.
LOCAL CONTACT:
DeeLynn Carpenter, 707-962-0470. For
more information on the Ridgewood Ranch
project, visit
www.MendocinoLandTrust.org.
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