Factors Contributing to Land-Use Change in the Hardwood Rangelands of Two Central Sierra Nevadan Counties1

In many parts of California, the rate and progression of land use change in the hardwood rangeland depend upon the decisions of ranchers. As major landowners in these regions, a rancher’s decision to subdivide or sell for development are significant moves toward land use change. In many instances, a single landowner decision may effect the disposition of thousands of acres of hardwood rangeland. This study seeks to identify factors that contribute to the sales or subdivisions of ranches in two rapidly developing counties in the Central Sierra Nevada: El Dorado and Amador. Area ranchers were surveyed through personal interviews and questionnaires in an effort to identify and examine factors creating difficulties for ranch operations. Instability factors identified by other land use change researchers were also explored. Research to date has established that the direct loss of woodlands to subdivision remains the greatest, most immediate threat to the viability of California’s oak woodlands and the wildlife nurtured there (Doak and others 1991), (Allen-Diaz and Holzman 1993). Bolsinger (1988), for example, shows that since the 1970’s suburban development has been the primary reason for woodland loss. He also estimates that current pressures for development threaten to claim another quarter million acres by the year 2010. In much of California, the vanguard for new growth and development is largely focused on rangelands. Once characterized by low use and low value, the past 20 years have brought intense pressure for development and rising land values to much of California’s hardwood rangelands. The foothill counties of the Central Sierra Nevada, for example, are among the fastest growing regions of the state. Between 1970 and 1990, the Sierra Nevadan population expanded more than 130 percent—that is over two and a half times as fast as the rest of the state. Most of this growth occurred in the central Sierra Nevadan foothill counties, with El Dorado County alone accounting for more than 28 percent—by far the highest in the region (Griffiths 1992). There is no question that growth must and will continue to occur in many of these areas, but questions as to how and whether traditional land uses, such as agriculture and livestock ranching, can persist in these evolving landscapes are concerns of many resource managers. This study focuses on a fundamental aspect of land use change: the rancher. In many rural parts of California, the rate and progression of land use change in the hardwood rangeland depend upon the decisions of landowning ranchers. As major land holders in these regions, a rancher’s decision to subdivide or sell for development may be a significant move toward regional change. In many instances, a single landowner decision may effect the disposition of thousands of acres of hardwood rangeland. Factors that contribute to rancher decisions to sell, whether they be difficulties in the modern business of livestock ranching or difficulties with increasing suburban neighbors—become the building blocks of change. This research seeks to identify and examine these keystones of change— those factors that contribute to ranchers’ decisions to sell. 1 An abbreviated version of this paper was presented at the Symposium on Oak Woodlands: Ecology, Management, and Urban Interface Issues, March 19-22, 1996, San Luis Obispo, Calif. 2 Ph.D. student, Department of Geography, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720.