Bud Gates Memorial Fund

Bud Gates once said, “before you train kids, you should train a horse.” You see, Bud understood that there are many ways that the ranching lifestyle – hard work, discipline, and care for the animals and landscape that you depend upon – creates better people.

Bud went on to raise four generations of ranchers on the Gates Ranch. In 2007, he made a promise to the world. By placing his ranch under a conservation easement with the Land Trust, Bud made sure that his ranch and its water rights would remain intact – never to be subdivided and its fields never dried out for diversion to water-hungry cities.

“… I don’t want to look out at my land and see nothing but cement and houses. That would be worse than cancer. It would eat at you every day.” – Bud Gates

We lost Bud this past year, but his passion for the land lives on in his great grandchildren, being raised today on the Gates Ranch.

As a supporter of EVLT, we hope you will be inspired to make an additional donation to EVLT this year in honor of Bud to help accomplish his conservation vision.

Please help us reach our goal of raising $40,000 to conserve more of our community’s vital agricultural land!