Ranching | Rewilding

Owner JL Ranch: 

 A conservation legacy. San Francisco is a long way from the River Knobs of Central Appalachia, but the golden hills, tall conifers, and California black and tan bark oaks aren’t too dissimilar to the bluestem grasslands, shortleaf pine and chestnut oaks of the great valley. While much of the bay area is protected through land trusts and public ownership, much of the south is succumbing to weak agricultural and forestry economies, parcel segmentation, aging rural demographies, and habitat change due to land use changes. This is where Johns conservation legacy began, by buying what became the JL ranch in the river knobs of southwest virginia and not only preserving the handful of habitats present, but starting a team to restore them through active management. John cares as much about people as he does the planet, and he wants to provide people he’ll never meet with the wilderness they wouldn’t know otherwise. 

River Knob Project Lead:

 Due to the size of the River Knob Project Will is currently the only staff on the JL, running the grazing, logging, and gamekeeping operations. Born in Saskatchewan, raised in Alberta and the southern US, Will had an early fascination with the wooded grasslands of the mountains, and plains of the US. After attending college Will began working in regenerative agriculture, studying how livestock can be used to promote native vegetation, and how landscapes with a native character benefit livestock production. Since taking over as lead of the River Knob Project Will’s learned how to balance timber management, grazing for wildlife, and the basics of gamekeeping. Since the beginning of the River Knob Project Will has organized regenerative grazing and timber harvests, as well as implementing a 10 acre native agroforestry system on the cropland of the JL to restore the native woody vegetation and retain an equal acreage of farmland for winter feeding.

Security Lead: 

Martin has shaped into a very good guardian dog. He was a rescue, brought in in an emergency to replace a dog that passed on. We’re lucky to have him and he’d love to meet you!