Lone Star Ranch. | Photo courtesy Jeffrey Stackhouse
A Kneeland family last week won an international award for the sustainable way they manage livestock, silviculture and vegetation on their Lone Star Ranch. The Society for Range Management, a professional scientific society and conservation organization with more than 4,000 members in 48 countries, bestowed on Lone Star Ranch its “Excellence in Range Management” award for the entire North American region.
From the county:
The seventh generation Lone Star Ranch, owned and operated by the Moore Family from Kneeland, was recognized as the North American winner of the 2016 Society for Range Management’s Excellence in Range Management award.
Mark and Dina Moore of Lone Star Ranch. | Photo courtesy Jeffrey Stackhouse
“We are so incredibly humbled by this recognition and value the opportunities we have to work locally and to represent our colleagues at the national level,” said Dina Moore.
The award was supported by the work of Jeff Stackhouse, UC Cooperative Extension Livestock Advisor. Stackhouse’s nomination of the ranch was recognized regionally by the Society for Range Management for Lone Star’s Excellence in Range Management last fall. The ranch was then advanced to compete in and win the national award last week in Texas.
The award was based upon the positive impacts of the Moore family’s efforts in environmental stewardship, community support, and inter-agency collaboration. For seven generations, the Moore family has demonstrated innovative environmental stewardship, providing collaborative leadership and blazing new trails for private landowners as they navigate the nation’s changing environmental climate. The Lone Star Ranch excels in conservation of California’s working forests and rangelands through social and economic stewardship that benefits water quality, wildlife resources, and their community. As a multi-generational family, diversification and sustainability of the ranch enterprise are the utmost priority. Yet, all family members remain humbly dedicated to community involvement and provide astonishing amounts of local, regional, and national service.
On Lone Star since 1896, the 7th generation has been learning the love of the land and community responsibility. The ranch employs numerous business enterprises, including, but not limited to: sustainable beef grazing and timber harvest, goat grazing for vegetation management, and a heavy equipment business to install restoration projects and improve roads. Sediment reduction in streams from road runoff is one of the greatest successes of the Lone Star Ranch and the Yagger/Van Duzen Environmental Stewards (YES), a landowner non-profit organization, headed by Dina Moore.
In addition, Mark and Dina Moore’s dedication to the community have had astounding impacts for many organizations at the local and national level including their involvement in and support of: Humboldt County Resource Conservation District Board, Northcoast Regional Land Trust Board, Kneeland School Board, Humboldt/Del Norte Cattlemen’s Association Board, Humboldt Cattlewomen’s Board, Humboldt County 4-H, Regional Water Quality Control Board, President of the University of California Advisory Board, and Partners for Conservation, a national network of private landowners, led by ranchers, farmers and silviculturist, with a focus and a vision that public-private conservation efforts are key to sustaining working landscapes for wildlife, agricultural production and rural communities.
“The Moore family personifies innovation, civic engagement, and stewardship,” said Stackhouse. “We encourage everyone to join us in thanking them for all they do in our community and congratulating them for receiving this great honor.”
Lone Star Ranch. | Photo courtesy Jeffrey Stackhouse
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