In Big Sur, a Big Win for Fish, Wildlife and the Esselen People

Home , Esselen, Little Sur River, Santa Lucia Range

Big Sur and depend on ridgetop grasslands and habitat link between protected U.S. Forest old-growth redwoods for feeding and nesting. Service land on the coast and the main body of Los Padres National Forest inland. Located just beyond earshot With the completion of the project, the Esselen people now have nearly two square of Big Sur’s crashing waves, miles of Big Sur, at the heart of the tribe’s ODFW and with sweeping views ancestral homeland, to call their own. Although this is a fraction of the tribe’s former territory, of the sea, the property is it is enough to allow the Esselen to rebuild SUMMER 2020 NEWS FROM WESTERN RIVERS CONSERVANCY ISSUE 46 SUCCESS! the fi rst land returned to a traditional village site, reinvigorate tribal the Esselen people since culture, conduct traditional ceremonies, provide South Fork educational opportunities to tribal members, the Spanish displaced their and host events to teach visitors about tribal In Big Sur, a Big Win for Fish, Antelope Creek culture and history. The property faces Pico ancestors 250 years ago. Blanco, a mountain in the Santa Lucia Range GREAT AMERICAN On the western fl anks of Mount Lassen, that the tribe holds sacred. Wildlife and the Esselen People OUTDOORS ACT WRC has notched a key victory for native As throughout Big Sur, the redwoods on the In this magnifi cent place, where condors fi sh in California’s Sacramento River system. property are some of the southernmost stands on soar over ancient redwoods and some of the In June, we conveyed 1,150 acres to the Earth. These resilient trees are uniquely adapted last pristine steelhead streams still fl ow freely to Here to Stay! Lassen National Forest and preserved two to Big Sur’s warmer, arid climate and, in the face the sea, WRC’s and the Esselen’s partnership is In August, the Great vulnerable miles of South Fork Antelope of climate change, may hold the genetic key to a landmark accomplishment. The completion of American Outdoors Act Creek, a top-tier nursery for wild salmon sustaining groves up north, where redwoods are this project will benefi t wild steelhead, Big Sur’s and steelhead. more vulnerable to hotter, drier weather. At the imperiled wildlife and the tribe’s own cultural was signed into law! This Flowing from Mount Lassen, the landscape scale, the property fi lls a signifi cant resurgence for generations to come. g permanently authorizes near-pristine South Fork feeds Antelope the Land and Water Creek, which joins the Sacramento River Conservation Fund at its near the city of Red Blu . Antelope Creek full funding level—$900 is one of six streams designated within the million annually—for Sacramento Salmon Stronghold, a suite the fi rst time ever. This of rivers that o er the best hope for the is great news for WRC survival of spring Chinook, winter steelhead and our rivers. LWCF is (both threatened) and fall Chinook within a critical funding source the Sacramento system. for many WRC projects, Located near the Ishi Wilderness, the including McDonald’s newly conserved property supports more species of wildlife than just about any Ferry Ranch (p3) and area of the Lassen National Forest, and its South Fork Antelope habitats range from old-growth ponderosa Creek (p4). pine woodlands to live oak savannas and STEAKLEY DOUG grasslands. As a testament to the proper- This summer, Western Rivers Conservancy and the Esselen Tribe of Monterey County permanently protected the 1,199-acre Adler ty’s habitat, a wolf called OR-7 (above)— Ranch and a mile of the Little Sur River, a pristine steelhead stream on California’s Central Coast, in the heart of Big Sur. the fi rst wolf documented in California in decades—foraged for an entire winter Little Sur River there. Along with the Tehama Wildlife Area California downstream, the property also provides a home for the giant Tehama herd of migratory black-tailed deer, black bear, pere- he majestic Big Sur Coast has a new sanc- Our e orts protected a critical stretch of the grine falcon, western pond turtle and many tuary for fi sh and wildlife along a mile of Little Sur River, which is considered one of the most other animals. Tthe Little Sur River, the result of our recent important summer steelhead streams remaining on An accomplishment four years in the accomplishment in partnership with the Esselen California’s Central Coast. Historically, steelhead making, the project will help ensure that Tribe of Monterey County. returns on the Central Coast numbered in the tens South Fork Antelope Creek continues to In July, Western Rivers Conservancy transferred of thousands, but today it is likely that fewer than give new life to native fi sh runs. There may 1,199 acres of old-growth redwoods, rolling oak 100 fi sh return to the Little Sur River each year. even be an opportunity to extend a trail STEAKLEY DOUG woodlands, chaparral forest and redwood-shaded Protecting healthy, functioning streams like the riverbanks to the Esselen Tribe. Located just beyond Little Sur, which are the last real refuges for these from the Tehama Wildlife Area and improve The Little Sur River is considered the Central Coast’s most important spawning stream for threatened South-Central recreational access for hikers, equestrians California Coast steelhead, which once returned to this stretch of the California coastline by the tens of thousands. earshot of Big Sur’s crashing waves, and with powerful, ocean-going fi sh, is critical to their long- sweeping views of the sea, the property is the fi rst term survival as a species. and kayakers into the national forest. g land returned to the Esselen people since the Spanish The ranch also has ideal terrain for endangered PORTLAND SAN FRANCISCO DENVER OLYMPIA displaced their ancestors 250 years ago. California condors, which were recently reintroduced to (503) 241-0151 (415) 767-2001 (303) 645-4953 (360) 528-2012 www.westernrivers.org CONTINUED ON BACK TYLERROEMER Washington Preserving History, Habitat and Public Access PROTECTED! on the John Day River Nisqually River Just 20 miles southeast of Olympia, John Day River Washington, WRC and the Nisqually Land Oregon Trust have completed an eort to conserve a beautiful and critically important stretch of istory, habitat and recreational the Nisqually River. access converge in our latest The Nisqually is a vital salmon and Heort on the lower John Day River. steelhead river and one of the least- This summer, WRC purchased the 4,100- developed streams flowing into the south acre McDonald’s Ferry Ranch, located Puget Sound. Bookended by two federally at the historic site where the Oregon protected areas—Mount Rainier National Trail crossed the John Day. We are now Park at its headwaters and the Billy Frank working to convey the ranch to the Jr. Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge Bureau of Land Management for inclusion within the Wild and Scenic John Day at its mouth—the Nisqually supports an BROWN SAGE impressive seven native salmonid species, TOM AND LEESON PAT River corridor. The eort will permanently protect thousands of acres of wide-open Western Rivers Conservancy’s most recent acquisition on the John Day River will safeguard the last viable boating including threatened fall Chinook, winter WRC expanded the Klamath Marsh National Wildlife Refuge, adding vital wetlands and river habitat to the refuge take-out on the lower river while conserving over three miles of the mainstem John Day. steelhead and bull trout, runs that all and improving water quality in the marsh—all outcomes that will benefit the Williamson River and Klamath system. sagebrush country, three miles of John remain very fragile. Day River frontage and the lowest viable pronghorn, mule deer and Oregon’s miles through the property. Decades While the Nisqually is protected boating take-out on the John Day. largest herd of bighorn sheep. ago, the creek’s lower channel was along much of its length, the lower river Major Boost for Fish and Birds Steeped in history, McDonald’s Ferry The project will secure permanent completely relocated, limiting steelhead is pressured on all sides by residential Ranch is named for an old ferry that access to the last viable boater take-out spawning in the creek. Now WRC, the growth. When one of the largest private carried Oregon Trail pioneers across in the Klamath’s Headwaters on the lower John Day, which makes the BLM and our local partners are in the reaches of the lower river was listed for the shallow river ford of the John Day. 10-mile float from the northern edge of position to restore the original channel, sale in 2019, WRC negotiated its purchase Even today, old wheel ruts are visible on Cottonwood Canyon State Park possible. replant native vegetation and enhance and eliminated the risk of 34 homes being Williamson River the ground, carved into the desert floor Below the ranch, the river winds into a long in-stream habitat for these imperiled fish. built along the river. by the countless wagons that carried Oregon roadless reach and then careens over the Once complete, McDonald’s Ferry The Nisqually Tribe, which has lead people west to the Willamette Valley in un-runnable Tumwater Falls. People will will be the fifth ranch on the Lower John salmon recovery eorts throughout the the 1800s. n southern Oregon, Western Rivers While the refuge is famed for its bird also have access to the property’s gentle Day that WRC will have conserved since basin, and the Nisqually Land Trust, which The native grasslands and sagebrush Conservancy has successfully conserved life, the Williamson itself is legendary three-mile reach of the John Day and the 2013, protecting over 31 miles of the owns land upstream and downstream of remaining on the property are part of a three miles of the famed Williamson for its scale-tipping rainbow trout, which arid, rolling uplands above the river. mainstem and 67 square miles of land, the property, have sought to conserve I larger landscape that is disappearing River and expanded the globally important will benefit from the improved water Conserving McDonald’s Ferry all of it now accessible to the public. As this parcel for years. It’s one of the most across the West, one that supports Klamath Marsh National Wildlife Refuge! conditions this eort delivers. So will Ranch provides a unique opportunity to at Thirtymile Creek and Cottonwood extensive intact stretches of river bank an array of animals facing significant In April, WRC conveyed the 2,200- two endangered sucker fish and the breathe new life into a once-productive Canyon upstream, protecting these lands along the lower river and features side habitat loss. They include burrowing owl, acre Timmerman Ranch along the upper state-sensitive Miller Lake lamprey. In steelhead tributary called Grass Valley will benefit the fish and wildlife of eastern channels for rearing salmon and a healthy ferruginous hawk, grasshopper sparrow, Williamson to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife the property’s uplands, ponderosa pine Canyon Creek, which flows for two-plus Oregon for generations to come. g riverside forest. In late August, that vision loggerhead shrike, sagebrush lizard, Service. As a result, the ranch is protected forests support elk, pronghorn and the became a reality when we successfully forever within the national wildlife refuge, state-sensitive American fisher. transferred the land to the trust for and the property’s key water rights will be Now that we’ve conveyed the ranch permanent protection. managed for the benefit of fish, wildlife to the national wildlife refuge, the U.S. Fish That the Nisqually remains largely and the Klamath River system as a whole. and Wildlife Service and its partners can intact is a testament to the tribe and The Williamson provides critical cold water begin restoration work along this stretch generations of river guardians, like tribal to the Klamath Marsh and eventually feeds of the Williamson, sending more and activist Billy Frank Jr. himself, who have Upper Klamath Lake, the headwaters of higher-quality water into the marsh, which stood up for the river and its salmon. WRC is the Klamath River. ultimately helps heal the Klamath system proud to build on that legacy of stewardship The property’s rich wetlands, and from the top down. with the completion of this eort. g the superb reach of the Williamson that In a region fraught with water flows through the ranch, lie at the heart challenges, this project is a win-win for of some of the finest migratory bird all who depend on a healthy Klamath habitat in the West. Tens of thousands River: the Klamath Tribes, the agricultural of birds rely on the area each year as community, anglers, birders, hunters and they migrate north and south along the others. Most of all, this eort will improve Pacific Flyway, including northern pintail, conditions for the fish and wildlife of this cinnamon teal, sandhill crane, trumpeter remarkable river system, which sustains swan, American white pelican, the rare some of the most abundant bird life in the Once WRC’s eorts at McDonald’s Ferry are complete, yellow rail, and huge concentrations of West and some of the greatest salmon hikers, anglers, hunters, birders and others will have wintering bald eagles. runs on Earth. g new recreational access to the lower John Day. SAGE BROWN SAGE CHRISTI BODE CHRISTI TOM AND LEESON PAT Washington Preserving History, Habitat and Public Access PROTECTED! on the John Day River Nisqually River Just 20 miles southeast of Olympia, John Day River Washington, WRC and the Nisqually Land Oregon Trust have completed an eort to conserve a beautiful and critically important stretch of istory, habitat and recreational the Nisqually River. access converge in our latest The Nisqually is a vital salmon and Heort on the lower John Day River. steelhead river and one of the least- This summer, WRC purchased the 4,100- developed streams flowing into the south acre McDonald’s Ferry Ranch, located Puget Sound. Bookended by two federally at the historic site where the Oregon protected areas—Mount Rainier National Trail crossed the John Day. We are now Park at its headwaters and the Billy Frank working to convey the ranch to the Jr. Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge Bureau of Land Management for inclusion within the Wild and Scenic John Day at its mouth—the Nisqually supports an BROWN SAGE impressive seven native salmonid species, TOM AND LEESON PAT River corridor. The eort will permanently protect thousands of acres of wide-open Western Rivers Conservancy’s most recent acquisition on the John Day River will safeguard the last viable boating including threatened fall Chinook, winter WRC expanded the Klamath Marsh National Wildlife Refuge, adding vital wetlands and river habitat to the refuge take-out on the lower river while conserving over three miles of the mainstem John Day. steelhead and bull trout, runs that all and improving water quality in the marsh—all outcomes that will benefit the Williamson River and Klamath system. sagebrush country, three miles of John remain very fragile. Day River frontage and the lowest viable pronghorn, mule deer and Oregon’s miles through the property. Decades While the Nisqually is protected boating take-out on the John Day. largest herd of bighorn sheep. ago, the creek’s lower channel was along much of its length, the lower river Major Boost for Fish and Birds Steeped in history, McDonald’s Ferry The project will secure permanent completely relocated, limiting steelhead is pressured on all sides by residential Ranch is named for an old ferry that access to the last viable boater take-out spawning in the creek. Now WRC, the growth. When one of the largest private carried Oregon Trail pioneers across in the Klamath’s Headwaters on the lower John Day, which makes the BLM and our local partners are in the reaches of the lower river was listed for the shallow river ford of the John Day. 10-mile float from the northern edge of position to restore the original channel, sale in 2019, WRC negotiated its purchase Even today, old wheel ruts are visible on Cottonwood Canyon State Park possible. replant native vegetation and enhance and eliminated the risk of 34 homes being Williamson River the ground, carved into the desert floor Below the ranch, the river winds into a long in-stream habitat for these imperiled fish. built along the river. by the countless wagons that carried Oregon roadless reach and then careens over the Once complete, McDonald’s Ferry The Nisqually Tribe, which has lead people west to the Willamette Valley in un-runnable Tumwater Falls. People will will be the fifth ranch on the Lower John salmon recovery eorts throughout the the 1800s. n southern Oregon, Western Rivers While the refuge is famed for its bird also have access to the property’s gentle Day that WRC will have conserved since basin, and the Nisqually Land Trust, which The native grasslands and sagebrush Conservancy has successfully conserved life, the Williamson itself is legendary three-mile reach of the John Day and the 2013, protecting over 31 miles of the owns land upstream and downstream of remaining on the property are part of a three miles of the famed Williamson for its scale-tipping rainbow trout, which arid, rolling uplands above the river. mainstem and 67 square miles of land, the property, have sought to conserve I larger landscape that is disappearing River and expanded the globally important will benefit from the improved water Conserving McDonald’s Ferry all of it now accessible to the public. As this parcel for years. It’s one of the most across the West, one that supports Klamath Marsh National Wildlife Refuge! conditions this eort delivers. So will Ranch provides a unique opportunity to at Thirtymile Creek and Cottonwood extensive intact stretches of river bank an array of animals facing significant In April, WRC conveyed the 2,200- two endangered sucker fish and the breathe new life into a once-productive Canyon upstream, protecting these lands along the lower river and features side habitat loss. They include burrowing owl, acre Timmerman Ranch along the upper state-sensitive Miller Lake lamprey. In steelhead tributary called Grass Valley will benefit the fish and wildlife of eastern channels for rearing salmon and a healthy ferruginous hawk, grasshopper sparrow, Williamson to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife the property’s uplands, ponderosa pine Canyon Creek, which flows for two-plus Oregon for generations to come. g riverside forest. In late August, that vision loggerhead shrike, sagebrush lizard, Service. As a result, the ranch is protected forests support elk, pronghorn and the became a reality when we successfully forever within the national wildlife refuge, state-sensitive American fisher. transferred the land to the trust for and the property’s key water rights will be Now that we’ve conveyed the ranch permanent protection. managed for the benefit of fish, wildlife to the national wildlife refuge, the U.S. Fish That the Nisqually remains largely and the Klamath River system as a whole. and Wildlife Service and its partners can intact is a testament to the tribe and The Williamson provides critical cold water begin restoration work along this stretch generations of river guardians, like tribal to the Klamath Marsh and eventually feeds of the Williamson, sending more and activist Billy Frank Jr. himself, who have Upper Klamath Lake, the headwaters of higher-quality water into the marsh, which stood up for the river and its salmon. WRC is the Klamath River. ultimately helps heal the Klamath system proud to build on that legacy of stewardship The property’s rich wetlands, and from the top down. with the completion of this eort. g the superb reach of the Williamson that In a region fraught with water flows through the ranch, lie at the heart challenges, this project is a win-win for of some of the finest migratory bird all who depend on a healthy Klamath habitat in the West. Tens of thousands River: the Klamath Tribes, the agricultural of birds rely on the area each year as community, anglers, birders, hunters and they migrate north and south along the others. Most of all, this eort will improve Pacific Flyway, including northern pintail, conditions for the fish and wildlife of this cinnamon teal, sandhill crane, trumpeter remarkable river system, which sustains swan, American white pelican, the rare some of the most abundant bird life in the Once WRC’s eorts at McDonald’s Ferry are complete, yellow rail, and huge concentrations of West and some of the greatest salmon hikers, anglers, hunters, birders and others will have wintering bald eagles. runs on Earth. g new recreational access to the lower John Day. SAGE BROWN SAGE CHRISTI BODE CHRISTI TOM AND LEESON PAT Little Sur River CONTINUED FROM COVER