Gualala River CONTINUED FROM COVER Our efforts will also protect 41 acres of minnow endemic to its namesake river, majestic old-growth redwood trees and will also benefit from our conservation of a landscape of rolling oak woodlands, the Silva Ranch. grasslands and mixed conifer forest. Additionally, the property’s old- With its prime location and potential growth redwoods provide superb for more than 20 home sites, the ranch habitat for threatened northern spotted is highly vulnerable to both building owl. Bald eagles, red-legged frogs, development and intensive grape production. Instead, the conservation WINTER 2018 NEWS FROM WESTERN RIVERS CONSERVANCY ISSUE 42 KRISTA SCHLYER KRISTA easement will forever protect the The Wheatfield Fork is property’s ancient redwoods, its burbling the largest of three major fresh-water streams and rare oak- tributaries of the main- studded chaparral that are so important In Wine Country, a Boon stem Gualala, one of the This Issue: SUCCESS to the region’s fish and wildlife. At the same time, roughly five percent of state’s most important and Gualala River, CA on the Mojave the ranch will be reserved for limited for Salmon and Steelhead development or small-scale agriculture still-viable salmon and New effort to conserve the Silva A rare, perennial stretch of California’s Mojave so the family can continue to earn a steelhead rivers. Ranch on the Wheatfield Fork River is forever protected! In October, Western living, making the project viable and a Gualala River Rivers Conservancy safeguarded the 1,647-acre true win-win for all. Palisades Ranch along 3.5 miles of the river, The Silva Ranch is especially tiger salamanders and a host of other Methow River, WA including some of the richest wildlife habitat in important because it lies next to 75,000 animals that define Northern California all WRC buys historic ranch on the the entire Mojave Desert. acres of already protected lands. Adding inhabit the ranch. Given the tremendous banks of the Chewuch River in Most of the Mojave River flows below it to this assemblage will connect key biological value of the property, our effort Washington’s Methow Valley ground, but along one 15-mile reach, the bed- habitats and multiply the benefits for fish enjoys strong local and state support, rock pushes the river to the surface, sustaining and wildlife on a scale far greater than and the state of California has dedicated Rio de Los Pinos, CO a lush river corridor lined with cottonwoods the property itself. funding to ensure the project’s success. Second property now protected and black willows. Known as the Transition The future of coho and steelhead WRC anticipates placing the conser- forever on an outstanding trout Zone, this stretch nourishes a diverse plant in California depends on rivers like the vation easement on the ranch next year. community and 39 federally and state-listed Gualala. The river harbors one of the Once we do, California’s redwood coast stream in Colorado wildlife species, including southwestern pond southernmost runs of Northern California will have another critical refuge for native turtle, Mojave River vole and the endangered Steelhead, a threatened population. The fish and wildlife, an outcome that meets SF Antelope Creek, CA arroyo toad. Gualala River is also critical to the state’s the needs of conservation, a great river, Effort to protect this salmon Brimming with life, the Palisades Ranch recovery strategy for Central California family agriculture and California alike. g stronghold now underway features the healthiest riparian stands in the Coast Coho, a distinct unit of endangered Transition Zone, with 800 acres of willows salmon. The Gualala Roach, a small Mojave River, CA and cottonwoods that rise out of the desert. WRC successfully protects the WRC bought the ranch in 2015, and this fall we JASON HARTWICK JASON Palisades Ranch, an oasis in the conveyed it to the Mojave Desert Land Trust, Mojave Desert which will ensure the land remains a perpetual In Sonoma County, California, Western Rivers Conservancy has launched a new effort to conserve a 4,344-acre ranch, a project haven for fish and wildlife, safe from the threat that will protect a prime reach of the Wheatfield Fork Gualala River (pictured) and over 40 acres of old growth redwoods. of encroaching residential development. The project will aid the recovery of imper- Gualala River iled birds like the southwestern willow flycatch- California er and least Bell’s vireo (both endangered), as well as the threatened western yellow-billed cuckoo. The ranch’s upland habitat supports t the edge of Northern California’s wine populations that are dwindling throughout several listed species including threatened country, Western Rivers Conservancy California. Like all forks of the Gualala, the desert tortoise (above), Mohave ground squir- Ahas launched an effort to protect a rare Wheatfield Fork also supports abundant rel and burrowing owl. swath of old-growth redwood forest and roll- wildlife in an area that is threatened by The California Wildlife Conservation ing oak woodlands along the Wheatfield Fork vineyard and residential development. Board, California Department of Fish and Gualala River. The Wheatfield Fork is the larg- Upstream from the town of Gualala, we Wildlife, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service est of three major tributaries of the main-stem are working to place a conservation easement Gualala, one of the state’s most important and on an extraordinary property—the 4,344-acre generously funded this opportunity to safe- HARTWICK JASON guard what is truly an oasis of life in the harsh still-viable salmon and steelhead rivers. Silva Ranch. Conservation of the ranch will WRC’s efforts to conserve the Silva Ranch will forever protect an iconic northern California landscape and six miles The Wheatfield Fork, which meets the protect an important reach of the Wheatfield Mojave Desert. g of cold, fish-bearing streams in the heart of California’s wine country. South Fork Gualala near the coastal town Fork as well as a series of cold tributary of Gualala, provides cold water and vital streams that flow through the property—more PORTLAND SAN FRANCISCO DENVER OLYMPIA habitat for winter steelhead and coho salmon, than six miles of fish-bearing streams in all. (503) 241-0151 (415) 767-2001 (303) 645-4953 (360) 528-2012 www.westernrivers.org CONTINUED ON BACK TYLER ROEMER ELLEN BISHOPELLEN A Second Success on a First Rate Trout Stream Rio de Los Pinos Colorado ompleting our efforts on the Rio de Los Pinos, Western Rivers CConservancy has permanently protected some of the finest trout water in Colorado. In October, we conveyed our second property on the Los Pinos to the Rio Grande National Forest, protecting an additional 268 acres of prime open space and securing public access to a stunning stretch fly fishing water. Combined with the adjacent parcel we conserved last SCHNITZERRUSS year, the land traces more than a mile of WRC’s efforts on the Rio de Los Pinos opened new access to a superb trout stream in Colorado’s San Luis Valley. the Rio de Los Pinos along some its most accessible reaches, just off Highway 17, eventually feeds into the San Luis Valley include wetlands and other features northeast of Chama, New Mexico. of the Rio Grande. that attract migratory birds in spring and The Los Pinos is a gem of a trout Near Cumbres Pass, the Los Pinos fall, permanently conserved as open stream, with healthy populations of brown enters a small, perched valley and slows space. WRC committed to protecting and rainbow trout. Native Rio Grande to a broad meander, hemmed by open the properties, helping the family ensure cutthroat once thrived here, and the meadows and forests of spruce and fir, these lands were permanently conserved. river’s excellent cold-water habitat— and an 1880s-era narrow-gauge train— We purchased both parcels, and including the reach that flows through the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad— with funding from the Land and Water these two properties—provides hope carries sightseers up and down the valley. Conservation Fund, conveyed the lands The Chewuch River is a major tributary to Washington’s Methow River and provides crucial habitat for salmon, steelhead and bull trout. WRC is working to conserve a historic that these imperiled fish may one day be The valley’s unbroken natural beauty to the adjacent Rio Grande National ranch that includes 1.5 miles of Chewuch river frontage. reintroduced. is highly desirable for subdivision and Forest. Rather than being subdivided Flowing from a series of alpine lakes home construction. One of the largest and developed, the properties will now in the San Juan Mountains, the Los Pinos blocks of private frontage near Cumbres remain intact, providing habitat for fish Protecting Open Space and Salmon Streams in tumbles through conifer forests, lush Pass was owned by a family with deep, and wildlife and sustaining the hope that meadows and granite canyons over its multi-generational ties to the San Luis Rio Grande cutthroat can one day be 40-mile course. It loops into New Mexico Valley. The family wished to see their reintroduced to the Rio de Los Pinos. g Washington’s Methow Valley before crossing back into Colorado and former summer pasture lands, which Methow River Washington South Fork Antelope Creek, California South Fork Antelope Creek is a critical stream for imperiled n the rugged North Cascade Mountains, the Methow Valley a dozen projects that would improve salmon habitat if they Chinook salmon. is a spectacular notch of ice-cold streams, rolling foothills, were carried out. This includes reconnecting side-channels Saving a Salmon Stronghold Ipristine wilderness and tiny, historic towns.