Diablo Trust

Core Purpose & Mission

Our History & Work 

Founded in 1993 amid conflict over public lands grazing in northern Arizona, Diablo Trust emerged when two neighboring ranches separated by Diablo Canyon - the Bar T Bar and Flying M - chose collaboration over conflict. By inviting ranchers, agencies, scientists, and communities onto the land, they pioneered a place-based model for collaborative rangeland stewardship rooted in shared learning and trust.

Today, Diablo Trust advances bold, adaptive stewardship that sustains working and open landscapes. We support ranches and partners through applied research, community education, and collaborative stewardship. For over 30 years, our work has served as a proven model for sustainable land management across the region and beyond - learning from the land and sharing our knowledge, so there will always be a West.

Learning from the Land: Science & Monitoring

The Diablo Trust has cultivated a robust culture of inquiry since 1987, building one of the most enduring records of collaborative rangeland research in northern Arizona. At the heart of this work are two collaboratively developed monitoring frameworks: the Forage Resource Study Group, home to the longest continuous utilization monitoring program in Arizona, and Integrated Monitoring for Sustainability, which tracks a broad suite of ecosystem health indicators across the landscape. Together, these frameworks provide the scientific foundation for adaptive management decisions made by ranchers, agency partners, and other collaborators. Over nearly four decades, the Diablo Trust has partnered with universities and agencies on a growing body of innovative research aimed at promoting rangeland health, advancing management practices, and supporting the long-term viability of ranching in northern Arizona.

Sharing Our Knowledge: Education & Outreach

We are committed to bringing people to the land and sharing what has been learned there. Through Days on the Land and a range of educational programming, the organization creates opportunities for partners, community members, and emerging land stewards to engage with trends in ranching and rangeland management, and to contribute to collaborative work. The Annual Meeting and Campout brings partners together each year to connect and learn, while community presentations extend that knowledge-sharing to broader audiences. Equally important is the Trust's investment in the next generation, through field visits, classroom engagement, support for FFA chapters and high school educators, and internship and research opportunities that give young people hands-on experience on working landscapes.

So There Will Always be a West: Collaborative Stewardship & Supporting Long-Term Ranching Viability

At the core of the Diablo Trust's work is the Collaborative Resource Operation Plan (CROP) Model, a structure that brings ranchers and local, state, and federal agency partners together twice each year to share information, co-develop projects, and problem-solve across the landscape. These convenings foster the trust and coordination that make long-term stewardship possible. Through this collaborative approach, we have developed a Rural Planning Area, Range Management Plan, and Recreation Management Plan, along with numerous shared projects that support sustainable management and responsible development practices. The results speak for themselves: to date, the Diablo Trust and its partners have restored more than 100,000 acres of grasslands and wildlife habitat, a testament to what sustained, relationship-driven collaboration can accomplish across a working landscape.

Testimonials 

"What about the Diablo Trust made the biggest personal impact on me? I learned that people - coming together, building trust, working hard, taking risks, dreaming big -- can light up their little corner of the world. They don't always, but they can." - Steve Calish

"I worked with a collaborative group named the Diablo Trust that is an example of ranchers and environmentalists . . . working together. That group is still together and still serving as a model of the effectiveness of diverse people working toward shared goals." - Dan Dagget

"My involvement in the Diablo Trust for the past twenty years has convinced me that it is a model for saving what we all profess to value about the West." - Norm Wallen