Aaron Huey © TNC

Lightning Creek Ranch: A Win-Win Climate Solution for Ranchers

  • Water
  • Soil
  • Biodiversity
  • Livelihoods

Learn about a win-win climate solution for ranchers.

Growing up on a ranch in Eastern Oregon, Dan Probert did all of the things other ranching kids did, such as joining 4H and the Future Farmers of America, to learn about the livestock business.  However, when he first started ranching on his own, he had a sense that to be profitable and sustainable, he needed to question traditional methods of ranching. This eventually led him to The Nature Conservancy (TNC).  In 2017, Dan and his wife Suzy agreed to, in effect, sell the carbon in the soil on their Lightning Creek Ranch to TNC with a conservation easement. 

Aaron Huey © TNC

Native grasslands store significant amounts of carbon in the soil.  The Probert family is keeping 55,000 tons of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere by improving grazing management practices and preventing the conversion of native grasslands to residential, cropland or energy development improving grazing management. Not only are the Proberts contributing to the fight against climate change, they have improved water quality, prevented soil erosion, and created a new source of revenue for their ranch.

Protecting the soil carbon in grasslands is both an important natural climate solution and a good business opportunity for ranchers. Lightning Creek Ranch is serving as valuable a case study for utilizing carbon offsets to fund grassland protection efforts.

“Because of this conservation easement, Lightning Creek Ranch will always remain a working ranch while also protecting some of the most beautiful and ecologically important lands in the country.” said Dan Probert.  Thanks to the Proberts’ innovative leap of faith, their neighbors are also considering carbon easements as a way to protect their land, preserve ecosystems and generate income.

To learn more about grassland carbon storage potential:  Can Grasslands, The Ecosystem Underdog, Play an Underground Role in Climate Solutions?

Did You Know? Avoiding the conversion of grasslands to cropland can help reduce carbon emissions by up to 107 million metric tons a year – the amount of carbon emitted by 23 million cars in a year.