Founded in 1951, the Upper Salinas-Las Tablas Resource Conservation District (US-LT RCD) provides technical assistance to land managers in northern San Luis Obispo County and portions of Kern and Monterey counties. As a non-regulatory public agency, our mission is to help preserve natural resources while supporting robust land productivity.
The Land
The Willow Creek Conservancy is 358 acres of unique coastal ranchland in northern San Luis Obispo County. Nestled in the Santa Lucia foothills, eight miles west of Paso Robles, the land is home to oak-studded rolling hills, a creek corridor and diverse wildlife and ecology.
In 2023, Justin Vineyards & Winery gifted the property to the Upper Salinas-Las Tablas Resource Conservation District (US-LT RCD) to restore the land and transform it into a community space. Today, the Willow Creek Conservancy is a public resource, offering living demonstrations of sustainable farming practices, educational workshops, event spaces, trails and more.
The property is located at the headwaters of Sheepcamp Creek, a tributary to Willow Creek, within the Salinas River Watershed. Historically, the property served as grazing lands and then as an animal refuge prior to plans to develop for vineyard production. USLTRCD is working with the local indigenous tribes to learn more about how the property may have been used by Chumash and/or Salinan tribes, with the goal of incorporating their perspective into future work at the property.
