To Ranch or Not to Ranch: Home on the Urban Range?

Abstract

California ranchers in urban Alameda and Contra Costa Counties, and in rural Tehama County, were surveyed to examine effects of increasing development, land use change, and attrition of the ranching community on their commitment to ranching, and to assess land conservation program acceptability. Questions were about practices, reasons for ranching, and what influences ranching's future. Ranchers share much in common. Most enjoy ranching, "feeling close to the earth," living in a "good place for family life," and the camaraderie in the ranching community. They regularly carry out range improvements. Most believe that society is becoming "hostile to ranching." A dislike for outsider intervention and land use control prevails. Urban ranchers cared significantly less about the fate of their ranch if sold, and feared local land use planning much more. Rural ranchers overwhelmingly wanted their ranch to remain a productive ranch even if sold. No new ranchers appeared in the urban sample for the last 10 years. As urbanization proceeds, we suggest that a point is reached where ranchers recognize the social, ecological, and economic landscape as urban and see it as no longer suitable for ranching. Expecting to sell for development, and/or expecting zoning to change to allow it, becomes the rational view. Land conservation efforts, including relatively acceptable though as yet not widespread conservation easement programs, should begin before that happens.

Ecosystem Services are Social–ecological Services in a Traditional Pastoral System: the Case of California’s Mediterranean Rangelands

“…Instead, reduced cutting was linked to contact with an advisory service like the University of California Cooperative Extension Services or a conservation NGO, and also to having sold or donated, or being interested in selling or donating, the right to change land use out of ranching or farming to a land trust or agency (a "conservation easement"). This was termed a "permanence syndrome," where the long-term outlook of the landowner led to greater investment in the environment and consequently, ecosystem services, as opposed to the "impermanence syndrome" where the opposite occurs (Heimlich and Anderson 1987, Liffmann et al 2000, Huntsinger et al 2010b. emphasized the values of retaining oaks rather than cutting them to increase forage production (Huntsinger et al 2010b).…”

“…Maintaining contiguous ranches benefits available habitat, and synergistically benefits the ranching community by providing a "critical mass" of ranches that can support ranching and marketing infrastructure and reduce conflicts with other land uses (Liffmann et al 2000). A feedback loop has been posited in which the development of one ranch leads to the loss of the next ranch by incrementally changing environmental and social conditions, eventually shifting the landscape to a different land use (Huntsinger 2009 Research has shown that the frogs and salamanders are more common in grazed ponds, and disappear or decline in fenced ponds (DiDonato 2007).…”

“…Many of the amenities ranchers consume from the land, such as enjoyment of the natural beauty of rangelands, recreational opportunities, or living in the country (Liffmann et al 2000) can be seen as ecosystem services. The public enjoys the natural beauty of rangelands as well, and many such ecosystem services are in fact shared with the public, a synergy that can help gain public support for supporting ecosystem services from ranch lands (Huntsinger et al 2010b).…”

“…Likewise, regulations protecting endangered species, water quality, air quality, and wildlife in general can have important impacts on pasture management practices. They also interact with the ranch scale, sometimes conferring costs and a sense of social disapproval that affects ranch sustainability (Liffmann et al 2000). At a still higher level, the configuration of the landscape, the livestock market, weather, and other processes may constrain the choices of the ranch manager.…”

Ranching motivations in 2 Colorado counties

“…Drawing on questionnaires of Liffman et al (2000), Gentner (1999), Smith and Martin (1972), and Bartlett et al (1989), the authors constructed a survey exploring motivations for staying in ranching versus leaving ranching. The survey was pre-tested on ranchers in Larimer County, Colo.…”