2,300-acre Napa Ranch bought for $24M after 17-year vineyard battle
A 2,300-acre property in Napa Valley, formerly known as Walt Ranch, has been purchased by the Land Trust of Napa County for $24 million to be converted into a public nature preserve. This acquisition ends a 17-year legal battle between developers and conservationists.
Why it matters
The deal represents a significant victory for environmental conservation and wildlife corridor protection in a region historically pressured by commercial vineyard development.
For years the fate of a large swath of Napa Valley wilderness has been tied up in competing visions: neat rows of vineyards or a continuous landscape for wildlife to roam. Now, after a long legal and environmental fight, the 2,300-acre property is headed for a very different future: a public nature preserve. The former Walt Ranch is now the Osos Ridge Preserve, a nod to the black bears that regularly roam the rugged landscape. The Land Trust of Napa County bought the property in 2023 for $24 million, and will forever safeguard it and make it available to the public in spring 2027, states the Napal and Trust website.Vineyard to conservation planThe property, along the Atlas Peak ridgeline in the eastern hills of Napa County, was the focus of a years-long fight over plans to develop commercial vineyards.
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