


Koopmann Ranch, California

Farmers Behind Your Food: Koopmann Ranch, California

Tim Koopmann is a third-generation rancher who owns and manages an 850-acre cow/calf operation in the San Francisco Bay area. Koopmann Ranch is an agricultural gem surrounded by urban development, making for an especially interesting conservation story.

Faced with encroaching development and growing pressure to sell or subdivide his family’s ranch, Koopmann placed conservation easements on two portions to permanently protect them from development. One easement covers a naturally occurring pond and 31 acres of surrounding grassland, and the other set aside 107 acres to block the encroachment of an adjacent golf course. The easements also ensured that the ranch would stay in his family’s hands.

In addition to their efforts on their own ranch, Tim Koopmann and his family have played an important role in broader conservation initiatives that have had a lasting impact on the landscape of the surrounding area. Tim helped form a team of experts to develop a comprehensive watershed management and monitoring plan that has been recognized in California and internationally. The family also played an integral role in developing the California Rangeland Conservation Coalition, bringing together environmentalists, ranchers and natural resource professionals from state and federal agencies to advocate for preservation of working ranches.


Tim Koopmann was recognized by the Sand County Foundation as the 2011 Leopold Conservation Award winner in California.
