1,741 acre ranch preserved in Bridgeport Valley

A conservation easement preserving 1,741 acres and more than five miles of rivers and streams in Mono County’s Bridgeport Valley has been agreed to by the property owners.

The Eastern Sierra Land Trust announced Wednesday that it has secured a conservation easement with Centennial Point ranchers John Lacey, Mark Lacey, and David Wood.

South of the town of Bridgeport, in the heart of Bridgeport Valley, this working ranch is now permanently preserved for water, wildlife, and sustainable ranching.

Bridgeport Valley is one of the largest intact mountain meadows in California. The property supports a diversity of wildlife in tandem with agricultural production and economic benefits for the region, according to the Trust.

“Among other conservation values, the easement ensures that the water and wildlife habitat on the ranch are protected,” officials said. “This land will continue to serve as a haven for species such as the mule deer, American badger, bald eagle, and Bi-State sage-grouse.”

Centennial Point Ranch has been in agricultural production since the 1860s. The original scale house, built prior to 1905, is still in use and includes the first livestock scale in Mono County history. The voluntary conservation easement restricts development on the 1,741-acre ranch, ensuring that sustainable ranching practices on the ranch are maintained for generations to come.

“The Lacey and Wood families are pleased to have once again worked with our trusted partners at the Eastern Sierra Land Trust to permanently protect the last of the Centennial Livestock holdings in Bridgeport Valley,” said co-owner John Lacey.

The Point Ranch conservation easement fulfills a promise John and Mark Lacey made to Kenneth and Carolyn Strosnider (the original owners) that the ranch would never be developed.

The East Walker River and three of its tributaries meander through the meadows of Centennial Point Ranch. These wet meadows provide important habitat for birds in the Sierra Nevada. For the bi-state sagegrouse, the meadows serve as critical broodrearing habitat, allowing the birds to raise their chicks in the grass of the pasturelands.

On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley on Monday vacated the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s 2020 withdrawal of the bird from the proposed listing, reinstated the 2013 proposal to list the birds as threatened and ordered the Fish and Wildlife Service to issue a new final listing decision.

In 2003, the Lacey and Wood families pioneered the use of conservation easements in Bridgeport Valley by protecting their 6,350-acre Centennial-Dressler Ranch. In 2011, they worked with the trust to protect an additional 718 acres.

The new agreement to protect the 1,741-acre Centennial Point Ranch brings the total land in Bridgeport Valley that these conservation-minded landowners have conserved to over 8,800 acres.

“We are so pleased to have worked with Mark, John, and David on this important project,” said Land Trust Executive Director and CEO Kay Ogden. “Their dedication and perseverance to complete this complicated conservation project were inspiring. Because of their vision, this working ranch will remain undeveloped, protected forever for the wildlife that rely on its flowing waters and wide-open meadows.”

Eastern Sierra Land Trust worked with the owners to craft the conservation easement, and secure the state funding needed to complete the project. Funders include the California Strategic Growth Council’s Sustainable Agricultural Lands Conservation Program and the California Wildlife Conservation Board. Crucial technical support was provided by the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service.