Conservation Easement: Ridgewood Ranch

Ridgewood Ranch near Willits is the final resting place of the famous racehorse Seabiscuit, and is home to two of MLT’s conservation easements. The 16,000-acre property has been owned by the Church of the Golden Rule since 1962, and starting in 2005 church members have worked with conservation organizations to ensure that ecologically important parts of the ranch will be forever protected. Initially, with the assistance of Save the Redwoods League, 33 acres of old-growth and large second-growth redwoods were placed into a conservation easement. Two years later, a conservation easement was put in place to permanently protect 1,689 acres of oak woodland habitat.