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Audubon established
the 291-acre Allen
Wildlife Sanctuary on
December 21, 2001. The Carl Allen estate
owns the Allen South Fork Wildlife
Sanctuary on which Audubon
manages a 201.5-acre conservation easement. This
small landlocked piece is at the mouth of the South Fork Kern River
Canyon. In total the 492.5-acre sanctuary
protects the head of the South Fork Valley.
The rugged canyon dashes out
of the Domeland Wilderness onto the relatively
flat plain of the South Fork Valley. The river
here flows all year as is evident by the growth
of white alder. Along the river a small riparian
forest grows, but as this sanctuary is quite
rocky the forest quickly gives way to
rabbitbrush scrub, grassland, interior
chaparral, and gray pine woodland.
Neighbors to the sanctuary
include Sequoia National Forest, Bureau of Land
Management, Canebrake Ecological Reserve, and
White Blanket Allotment - Tubatulabal Indians.
The sanctuary is small yet
has a significant flora with at least 210
species of flowering plants and 11 species of
mosses and liverworts.
Flora of Audubon's Allen Sanctuary |
