Past, Present, and Future
Since our formation in 2007, our ranches have remained a working cattle operations where scientists and managers work together to address issues important to wildlife management, rangeland health, and ranch productivity. We ensure that ranching and wildlife management collaborate to conserve healthy rangelands.
Past, Present, and Future
Since our formation in 2007, our ranches remain a working cattle operation where scientists and managers work together to address issues important to wildlife management, rangeland health, and ranch productivity. We ensure that ranching and wildlife management work together to conserve healthy rangelands.
Our Heritage
We are stewards of ranchlands once acquired by the East family over a period of about one hundred years. Tom T. East, Sr. (1889-1943) first registered the Diamond Bar brand in 1912. Tom and his wife, Alice Gertrudis Kleberg East (1893-1997), raised their family on the San Antonio Viejo and built a ranching legacy throughout South Texas. Their children included Tom T. East, Jr. (1917-1984), Robert Claude East (1919-2007), and Alice Lica Hattie East (1920-1993). Upon Robert East’s passing in 2007, he bequeathed his estate, including his ranch ownership, for the establishment of a foundation as his beneficiary. This became the East Foundation.
These ranchlands represent some of the best examples of native rangelands across three natural regions of South Texas: The South Texas Sand Sheet, South Texas Brush Country, and Gulf Coast Prairies and Marshes. Due to harsh conditions from recurring droughts and extreme heat, ours is a challenging landscape for ranching, but these lands remain known for rangeland productivity and the quality of habitat for native wildlife.
What’s Happening today
We are dedicated to advancing the well-being of our land and the life it supports. Our team is united in its mission to promote land stewardship through ranching, science, and education. Our land is managed as working cattle ranches, focusing on stewarding natural resources, optimizing asset value, and improving our cattle herd.
To support effective decision-making, our researchers employ three key strategies— discovery, development, and documentation—within the core areas of land stewardship and management, wildlife conservation, and livestock production. We foster the growth of future land stewards and leaders by offering opportunities at every stage, from elementary school through postgraduate studies and early professional careers. Through these efforts, we are shaping the future of land stewardship.
East foundation Tomorrow
As an Agricultural Research Organization, our vision is to be a leading voice for the importance of rangelands, ranching, and land stewardship. Working with like-minded partners, we do this by:
Supporting Conservation through applied research, responsible land management, and informed policy.
Impacting the Future through outreach and engagement, education, and professional development.
Maintaining Our Legacy by upholding our heritage, conserving our resources, and exploring more efficient ways to get things done.
Ranching
Learn More About Ranching
Our cattle operations are based on our rangeland and herd improvement efforts. Check out how we accomplish our goals on the ranches.
Learn How Science Informs Our Decisions
Our science program enhances and enables better decision-making by land stewards, starting with ourselves. We fulfill this purpose using three key strategies.
Purchase Our Book
In Horses to Ride, Cattle to Cut: The San Antonio Viejo Ranch of Texas, acclaimed photographer Wyman Meinzer explored the Foundation’s historic San Antonio Viejo for three years to reveal its story in stunning images. Henry Chappell likewise weaves the ranch’s complex story with a historian’s attention to detail, a novelist’s flair, and an outdoorsman’s keen understanding of the natural world.
