Attilio Genasci, rancher, conservationist and spokesman for the rural way of life, died at the end of January on the Sierra Valley ranch his parents had bought on the day of his birth. He was 98.



Genasci was known as a community leader who pioneered the use of conservation easements to protect the land from development and to ensure its preservation for future generations.

In a series of recordings produced by Saving the Sierra, Genasci said, "The land does not belong to me. The land belongs to future generations, and the land also belongs to the general public. They drive through this valley. They enjoy it. It doesn't cost them a penny and it doesn't cost me a penny. It's one of the natural wonders. It's there for humanity. And we dare not destroy it anymore than we'd cap the geysers in Yellowstone ..."

In 2005, Genasci and his son, Jim, who is currently working the family ranch, completed a land preservation agreement with the California Rangeland Trust. The Sierra Business Council and the California Wildlife Conservation Board were also involved in the 500-acre project that required several years of discussions between the entities and Genasci family members.

Sierra Valley is composed of approximately 130,000 acres and is the largest alpine valley in California and one of the largest alpine valleys in the United States. It is a critical point in the Pacific Flyway, and the Genasci Ranch provides habitat for migratory birds and waterfowl as well as resident mule deer, black bear, other wildlife and plant species. Currently, more than 30,000 acres of Sierra Valley is protected by various conservation easements.

Paul Hardy of the Feather River Land Trust, who was involved in many of the pre-acquisition meetings that began in 1997, described Genasci as a "rare American who saw conservation as part of his legacy."

Preservation easements are a beneficial tool for sustaining the ranching life and protecting rural land, Hardy believes, but are not to be entered into lightly. The process was quite involved and well deliberated and gave Hardy the opportunity to get to know Genasci over the course of a half-dozen meetings.

"He was a pleasure to know, an incredibly gracious man. It is very rare these days for anyone to have such a relationship to a piece of land as he did to that ranch. He had a romantic and loving relationship with the land that was very European," recalled Hardy.

Hardy also remembered that Genasci spoke frequently of his wife, Angie, who died in 1995, and of the promise he had made to her to never let their land be developed.

Her ashes were scattered over the knoll and surrounding vista she called her "cathedral" and known to other locals as Antelope Valley. Genasci was very happy when two other ranches that formed part of that vista, the Fred Balderston ranch and the Dan Balderston ranch, signed easements with the Feather River Land Trust, thereby protecting an entire landscape.

But Genasci was known for more than conservation easements; he was an articulate and impassioned spokesperson for a rural way of life and his views were quoted in the San Francisco Chronicle, the Sacramento Bee, High Country News and National Public Radio, among other places. In 2004, the Sierra Business Council awarded him a Vision 2020 Lifetime Achievement Award.

"Farming is a way of life. You have to love it," Genasci was fond of saying. "The ranch becomes part of you. It's not a business that you can shut the door and walk away from."

Before he left this world, Genasci took care that the rural way of life would continue for his son and grandsons.

Those who knew Genasci feel the richer for it. Those who never met him, wish that they had.

But even people who never heard of him will benefit. Driving through Sierra Valley, people will enjoy a view, a landscape that is Attilio Genasci's legacy to future generations.