The Dorrance Family Story

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For three generations, the Dorrance family has grazed cattle on their breathtaking 4,300-acre ranch on Mt. Toro’s northern ridge. Dorrance Ranch rises above what John Steinbeck called “Pastures of Heaven,” and with its stunning panoramic views of Big Sur, Monterey Bay and the Salinas and Carmel Valleys, their land was at the doorstep of some of the most expensive and desirable real estate in the county. The Dorrances could easily have sold and subdivided their ranch for development. Instead, in March, 2008, brothers Steve, Billy and Dave Dorrance closed a deal with The Nature Conservancy and The Big Sur Land Trust that placed their ranch in permanent conservation easement, thereby protecting this magnificent ranchland while securing adequate funding for its long-term management and transition to future generations.

The Dorrances’ stewardship decision is an example of how conservation and ranching interests can work together and help both human and natural communities thrive. Sustaining ranches and farms in our community contributes to preserving our region’s air and water quality, wildlife, native plants, and lifestyle benefits we often take for granted. Livestock grazing helps to maintain a healthy ecosystem by mimicking the grazing of elk and pronghorn in centuries past. Significantly, Dorrance Ranch is a superb example of one of our planet’s rarest and most at-risk habitats, known to scientists as “Mediterranean woodlands.” Monterey County is at the heart of one of only five Mediterranean habitat regions in the world. More than 40 percent of the world’s Mediterranean habitat has been lost, but our region has retained significant reserves of chaparral, oak woodlands, scrub, wet coastal forests and other habitats that make up the Mediterranean mosaic. Legal agreements like the conservation easement at Dorrance Ranch provide for the protection and care of these rare and vitally important ecosystems, honor and sustain the stewardship practices of ranchers and farmers, and compensate them for the valuable public benefits they provide.

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For more information about our work on land stewardship, contact Donna Meyers, BSLT Conservation Director, at dmeyers@bigsurlandtrust.org

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