The River Ranch VELB Conservation Bank (Bank) is a 211-acre valley elderberry longhorn beetle (VELB) conservation bank approved by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) in 2005. The Bank is located on the larger Sacramento River Ranch property near the confluence of the Sacramento and Feather Rivers in Yolo County. Sacramento River Ranch is an approximately 4,000 acre ranch dedicated to environmentally friendly agriculture. The ranch also includes a fisheries conservation bank, a wetland mitigation bank, and Swainson’s hawk preserves.

The Bank is approved to sell conservation credits for the loss of VELB habitat within the approved service area. The service area corresponds with the range of the VELB throughout the Central Valley and associated foothills, which includes all or portions of 31 counties within California.

The Bank was developed in three phases, planted with blue elderberry and associated native riparian species. The overall goal of the Bank is to establish and manage a riparian habitat site adjacent to the Sacramento River that maximizes habitat benefits and recovery efforts for the VELB, a federally threatened species. The VELB is a moderate-sized, brightly colored and sexually dichromatic beetle that is dependent on its host plant, the blue elderberry. Many VELB have been observed and documented on the Bank site over the years.

Elderberry Shrub Transplant Services

• Transplant services include the preparation (shrub pruning and clearing in the immediate vicinity of the elderberry shrubs), removal, transport, and replanting of the previously mapped elderberry shrubs during the season when plants are dormant.
• Transplants may occur in the dormant season, approximately November 1st through the first two weeks in February; transplantation outside of this window must be approved by USFWS.