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Caliente, CA, 7 May 2008
Audubon California is pleased
to announce the acquisition of
a conservation easement (CE)
on the 9,576 acre
Parker Ranch in
the southern Sierra Nevada of
Kern County. Partnering
with The Nature
Conservancy (who will manage
the CE), the California
Wildlife Conservation Board and Audubon
California used
grant money to purchase
protection from
housing development
on this critical piece
of wild ranchland.
“"It was a pleasure to meet the Parker's and help
to preserve their ranch. It didn't take long to
see how deeply they are committed to the land and
ultimately that commitment is why this ranch is
protected,"
says Reed Tollefson, manager of Audubon Kern River Preserve.
A horseshoe of mountains
encircles the southern San Joaquin Valley; these
mountains are the critical link between the Coast
Ranges, Transverse Ranges, Tehachapi Mountains
and the Sierra Nevada. Parker Ranch is one of
several private ranches at the southern
end of the
Sierra Nevada that protect the
biological and genetic diversity of numerous
mammals (black bear, gray fox, mule deer, bighorn
sheep to name a few) that cross through this
corridor.
The significance of the
protection of Parker Ranch in preserving
California’s last wild spaces
cannot be taken for granted in this land of
little rain and burgeoning sprawl.
Neighboring
ranches and parcels of
land are being subdivided and
then sold to prospective developers
effectively destroying native lands and fencing
out wildlife.
Parker Ranch is home to
sycamore canyons, gray pine
forests, juniper/oak woodlands, annual
grasslands, wet meadows,
and
spectacular displays of annual
spring wildflowers. The area supports
wildlife from desert, montane, and grassland
environments and is a vital
migration corridor for animals between
these ecologically distinct regions.
Parker Ranch also supports a
small population of the federally endangered
Bakersfield Cactus and rare species such as the
Piute Mountains navarretia, golden eagle, coast
horned lizard, Cooper’s hawk and Tehachapi
slender salamander.
Owned by the Parker
family for five generations
the ranch is an example of responsible
stewardship of the
land and will remain so for
generations to come.
Bill and Tom Parker's eyes sparkle when they
speak of their love for the land and the ranching
lifestyle. “We consider ourselves land
stewards first and ranchers second,” says Bill
Parker, a family member and fourth generation
rancher. “Knowing that this ranch will remain
just as it is now, for our children, their
children and the generations to come, is a dream
come true.”
This conservation outcome is a
win-win situation that continues the Parker
family legacy and leaves the land in open space
in perpetuity for the benefit of the people of
California and its wild heritage.
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Parker Ranch Conservation
Easement
May 2008
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The
development rights on 9,576-acres
of the Parker Ranch
were acquired
in
early May
2008.
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Parker Ranch is a critical
link for wildlife in the coast to the Sierra
Nevada.
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