SFC Announces 10, 361 acres of Newly Protected Lands with the Closing of the Waltz-Turner Ranch Conservation Easement

Sierra Foothill Conservancy (SFC) is excited to announce our largest acquisition to date, the 10,361- acre Waltz-Turner Ranch Conservation Easement! Spanning both Merced and Mariposa Counties, this expansive property begins in the vernal pool wetlands of the San Joaquin Valley and traverses over rolling annual grasslands and blue oak savannah to meet the oak woodlands and streams of the Sierra Nevada foothills. This newest acquisition brings SFC’s total acres conserved to 64,520!

The journey to conserve the Waltz-Turner Ranch began in the summer of 2021. The Morrison Family faced generational shifts and challenging family dynamics that placed the Ranch in a precarious position. With less than a year to resolve the threat of sale on the open market, SFC began its effort to ensure that the Ranch and its habitats remained intact, conserved and stewarded by the portion of the family that wished to continue its legacy and care for this land. To safeguard the ability to conserve the Ranch and keep it in the family, SFC first had to find a conservation buyer with the capacity to prevent the Ranch from entering the open market, likely leading to subdivision and development of the land.

SFC and partners developed an innovative strategy in which The Nature Conservancy (TNC) rose to the occasion to purchase the property and hold it while SFC and the Morrison Family developed the conservation easement project and funding needed to save the Ranch. TNC engaged as part of a highly leveraged bid to protect two properties under the stewardship of two branches of the Morrison family simultaneously, working with both SFC and The Land Conservancy of San Luis Obispo County (LCSLO). Over an eighteen-month period SFC, LCSLO, and TNC collectively raised over $1 million in private philanthropy and $20 million in state funding to facilitate the buy-out of corporate interests and protection of Camatta Ranch in San Luis Obispo County (27,513-acre conservation easement) and the protection of Waltz-Turner Ranch and return to its long-standing stewards. Completion of both projects through this innovative public-private partnership protects nearly 38,000 acres in high-priority conservation regions of central California! TNC Project Director Abigail Whittaker said of the effort: “Waltz-Turner Ranch was identified in TNC’s Resilient Connected Network as one of the largest, most connected, climate-resilient, and biodiverse properties in the state. The opportunity to protect the vernal pool complexes, oak woodlands, and riparian areas here was compelling since these habitats are imperiled across California. It has been a pleasure to collaborate with SFC and the Morrison family to see this complex process to a successful conclusion, and to know that the property is in good hands for long-term stewardship of these conservation values.”

After developing support for the Waltz-Turner CE in early 2023, SFC was awarded competitive grant funding by the California Department of Conservation’s (DOC) Sustainable Agricultural Lands Conservation Program (SALC). The Director of the California Department of Conservation, David Shabazian, shared these thoughts on the project. “Funds for the Waltz-Turner Ranch Conservation Easement were made available through the California Strategic Growth Council’s Sustainable Agricultural Lands Conservation Program (SALC) in collaboration with the Department of Conservation (DOC). SALC is part of California Climate Investments, a statewide initiative that puts billions of Cap-and-Trade dollars to work reducing greenhouse gas emissions, strengthening the economy, and improving public health and the environment – particularly in disadvantaged communities. The Waltz-Turner Project is a great example of the high impact of this program.”

DOC, SFC, the Morrison Family, and TNC worked collaboratively to develop the perpetual conservation easement deed, accompanying long-term adaptive management plan, and other documents required to ensure the protection and management of the abundant conservation values present on this incredible ranch, culminating in the purchase of the Waltz-Turner Conservation Easement on June 18th, 2024.

For the Morrison Family, protection of the Ranch means the ability to continue their way of life, love of the land, carry on their ranching legacy, and pass the land onto their 4^th generation.

“The importance of keeping this working cattle ranch intact goes beyond our family and its heritage. This land is rich in history and wildlife, and there are not many like it. Our family realizes how unique this ranch is and has always worked it with love and respect” – Landowners, Ken and Adela Morrison

“As stewards of this land, we recognize our duty to use and appreciate it’s natural resources in a responsible manner so that we are able to conserve them for the generations to come” – Landowner, Ted Dallas

Conservation values at the Waltz-Turner Ranch are immense and diverse, including working rangeland, diversity of native plants, open space and viewshed for Hwy 140 and Cunningham Road, cultural and historical resources (bedrock mortars, Gold Rush era stone houses, stone walls, and more), high quality critical wildlife habitat for native terrestrial and aquatic species, including numerous pollinators and special status species, including California tiger salamander, vernal pool fairy shrimp, San Joaquin Orcutt grass, and more. Water resources on the Ranch include 1,084 acres of vernal pool and seasonal wetlands, 140 miles of streams (important surface waters that contribute to downstream public residential and agricultural water supplies), 16 ponds, dozens of springs, the Bear Dam and Reservoir, and the headwaters of Burns Creek above Burns Creek Dam, both of which are important federal and state flood control projects and sources of local domestic and agricultural water supplies. The protection of these collective conservation values not only benefit the Ranch but its surrounding and downstream designated disadvantaged communities, who rely on the water supply and protection provided by the Ranch’s conservation easement.

The Waltz-Turner Ranch contains the ideal natural resource characteristics for a sustainable cattle ranch, while maintaining its rich conservation values, many of which rely on grazing to thrive. The Waltz-Turner Ranch and adjacent properties have been utilized as working rangeland by Ken and Adela Morrison for more than 60 years, as part of their family cattle operation. The Ranch’s long-term, sustainable, adaptive management, implemented by the Morrisons has been critical to maintaining its intact, large, high-quality vernal pool ecosystems, which are some of the richest and most threatened in California. By placing the Ranch in a conservation easement, the Morrison family’s ranching legacy is saved from future fragmentation, conversion, and development.

The Waltz-Turner Ranch CE is the largest link in SFC’s landscape-level strategy to forever protect the 50,000-acre Merced River and vernal pool grasslands conservation corridor. In 2019, SFC kicked off this suite of corridor projects with the landmark conservation of the almost 7,000-acre Hornitos Ranch CE, which is adjacent to the Waltz Turner Ranch. Together these conserved properties establish connectivity between the eastern Merced vernal pool grasslands and the Wild and Scenic Merced River/Lake McClure Public Recreation Area. The completion of this project creates a 50,000-acre corridor of conserved lands that will now stretch from the San Joaquin Valley to the Sierra Crest, providing ample space for the survival and adaptation of terrestrial, aquatic, migratory, and pollinator species over time, while ensuring the integrity of working ranches benefitting the regions agricultural economy.

Bridget Fithian, SFC’s Executive Director said of the project: “The Waltz-Turner Conservation Easement is a historic achievement for conservation, locally and statewide. It is also an excellent example of what is possible when partners work collaboratively and creatively to reach a common goal. We extend our gratitude to our many project partners, the Morrison Family, and SFC’s donors for their commitment to the conservation and care of this land for generations to come.” We look forward to celebrating this landmark acquisition with the Morrison Family, project partners, and SFC supporters soon!

A special thank you to the Region 4 California Department of Fish and Wildlife that provided early support for conservation funding, the Morrison Family, DOC, California Wildlife Foundation/Oaks Foundation, LCSLO, and TNC for your dedication and partnership in conserving this land and legacy now and forever.

SFC is currently launching our annual fundraising campaign to raise $135,000 needed to ensure the successful programming and operations that are essential to the establishment and forever protection of this and other critical conservation corridors throughout the region. Donors who make a gift of $500 or more will receive an invitation to the Waltz-Turner Ranch Dedication Ceremony! Make your donation today by scrolling to the fields below.