Conserved for
Jalama Canyon Ranch is protected under a conservation easement held by the Land Trust for Santa Barbara County—conserving 1,000 acres of prime ranch land and wildlife habitat in perpetuity. The successful funding effort included state, local, and private entities, with a first-time grant award of $1,782,500 from the Sustainable Agricultural Lands Conservation Program (SALC) for the Land Trust easement. This new SALC funding is the first time the program has funded a land project in this region, unlocking new opportunities for many more Santa Barbara County farmers, ranchers, and agricultural landowners, translating to big preservation gains throughout the community over the coming years.
The Land Trust’s SALC funding for the conservation easement provided nearly a third of the money needed for the local regenerative agriculture and education nonprofit, White Buffalo Land Trust (WBLT), to purchase the ranch. The sprawling parcel includes significant wildlife habitat and native plant communities like rare Tanoak woodland. Under the terms of the easement, WBLT will use regenerative management practices for ranch and vineyard operations while wildlife moves freely between the ranch and the neighboring Dangermond Preserve and Vandenberg Space Force Base.
