Profiles in Preservation

gale

Gale Ranch, Chileno Valley

Agriculture has been a way of life in Chileno Valley for nearly 150 years. One of the pioneer dairymen was Swiss immigrant Carlo Martinoia, who worked his way across Europe and Africa as a bricklayer, ending up in 1852 in northern California.  By 1856, the industrious young man had changed his name to Charles Martin and purchased pastureland in Chileno Valley where he prospered.  Sally Gale, Martin’s great-great granddaughter, now owns his 586-acre ranch, and in spring 2000, that land became the 41st Marin County ranch to be protected by a Marin Agricultural Land Trust conservation easement.

The $580,000 Gale easement purchase was made possible by grants to MALT of $180,000 from the State Coastal Conservancy, $75,000 from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, and $212,652 from the Marin County Open Space Distict, along with $112,348 from MALT’s Land Preservation Fund.

Sally inherited the ranch from her mother Anita Dolcini Googins who grew up on another family ranch in nearby Hicks Valley. Though the Martin property had stayed in the family, its locations six miles west of Petaluma made it subject to substantial development pressures. Land-use conversion in Chileno Valley poses a significant threat to the viability of agriculture in Marin County. Anita’s wish has always been that the land never be broken up. “My love of the land is the same as hers,” Sally said back in 2000. “It gives us great peace of mind that it will be this way forever. Now it will never be divided or developed.”

When they arrived back on the ranch for good, Sally and husband Mike lovingly renovated the original Martin’s Italianate mansion and for years operated a bed and breakfast.  They’ve since removed their innkeepers’ hats and now operate several other enterprises on the ranch.  They expanded their beef herd to 100 Angus cows/calf pairs and sell the humanely raised, grass-fed beef directly to consumers. In addition they run a U-pick apple business on their organic apple orchard and have offered plein air painting workshops during the summer.

Faithful conservationists, they have been committed to the restoration of the riparian area adjacent to Chileno Creek, a tributary of Walker Creek, which runs through the property.  “The public has a right to clean water and healthy streams,” Sally has said and the sentiment is echoed by her husband, “We got this land in trust, and it’s our responsibility to leave it better. “

Though Sally was born into a family with deep agricultural roots, ranching is a second career for her.  She and Mike met and married in 1967 when they were both Peace Corps volunteers.  Mike’s job as the South Pacific head of Action (now the Corporation for National and Community Service) took them to the Hawaiian Islands for 21 years where they raised their three children and Sally was a pediatric social worker. They returned to California in 1993 and began the work that has changed their lives.

Their decision to sell a MALT easement was supported by their now grown children who have formed deep attachments to the ranch in the years since the family returned from Hawaii. “We wanted to follow the good example set by our neighbors who have sold MALT easements,” Sally said. With the addition of the Gale Ranch, 4,286 contiguous acres in Chileno Valley were permanently protected from development.

Sally and Mike Gale aren’t sure when they stopped thinking like people who work in offices and started thinking like ranchers, but, from the outside anyway, the transformation appears complete. “We’ve remade ourselves into something we never thought we’d be,” Mike once said as his wife nodded in agreement.

To see a timeline of MALT easements, download MALT's Land Preservation Report.