Overview of Audubon Facilities in California

The National Audubon Society and its state office, Audubon California, oversee the management of 10 sites around California, covering over 11,000 acres of land. These holdings extend from the Sacramento Valley and Clear Lake in the north to Orange County in the south, and include sites in the Coast Range, the Sierra Nevada, the Mojave Desert and southwestern California. In addition, four properties in southern California, totaling about 1000 acres, are managed by chapters, all in southern California: Bearpaw Ranch (San Bernardino Valley A.S., near Redlands), Buena Vista Audubon Center (Buena Vista A.S., Oceanside), San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary (Sea and Sage A.S., Irvine) and Silverwood Wildlife Sanctuary (San Diego A.S.). These also vary greatly in management style, visitation and amount of habitat protected.

The biological importance of these properties is also varied – Debs Park of is mainly local biological importance in a highly urban landscape (Los Angeles Basin); whereas the Kern River Preserve is among the most important bird habitats in the state, spanning several major bioregions, and supports wildlife populations of global biological significance.

Land holdings range in size from less than 3 acres at the edge of Buena Vista Lagoon in San Diego Co. to 4000 acres at Starr Ranch in Orange County. Some have active visitor centers and are open to the public as true Audubon Centers (e.g. Richardson Bay), while others are remote and closed to the public, having rarely hosted visitors. Casad, for example, is a 200-acre in-holding of a 10,000-acre working cattle ranch in the foothills of the southern Sierra Nevada. Kern River Preserve and Starr Ranch are ecologically very well known and carefully managed primarily for biodiversity, while others are simply managed to maintain the status quo (which includes cattle grazing) from when they were first given to Audubon.

While Audubon gladly accepts contributions of land, we are not actively acquiring property as a land trust would.

These holdings provide high quality habitat for several hundred bird species, including those that are globally rare (e.g. California Gnatcatcher, at Starr Ranch ; Black Swift above Bearpaw ) and regionally scarce and/or declining (e.g. Grasshopper Sparrow at several sites). Rare and localized races of birds, many of which are confined to California, are particularly well represented at Audubon Centers and Sanctuaries (including chapter facilities), such as Kern Red-winged Blackbird (majority of the entire global population at the Kern River Preserve ); Light-footed Clapper Rail ( Buena Vista Lagoon ); Western Yellow-billed Cuckoo ( Kern River ), Western Purple Martin (Mayacamas Mountains Sanctuary, McVicar); California Swainson’s Thrush (Williams Sisters); and Bell’s Sage Sparrow ( Mayacamas Mountains ).

These lands are also important for rare and declining (non-bird) animals are also present on Audubon lands, notably at Kern River Preserve, Starr Ranch and Mayacamas Mountains Sanctuary . Kern River Preserve is the most impressive, with over five localized and sensitive mammal species in the area, including Yellow-eared Pocket Mouse, Mojave Ground Squirrel, Tulare Grasshopper Mouse, San Joaquin Pocket Mouse and Desert Kit Fox; plus several miles of river habitat for three fishes endemic to the Kern River drainage.

Steelhead, a migratory fish, may be present at Williams Sisters Sanctuary and at Mayacamas Mountains Sanctuary , and should be searched for at both sites in late winter.

Reptiles and amphibians are well represented on Audubon lands. Starr Ranch has an exceptionally diverse known reptile and amphibian community (39 species!), including several that have been largely extirpated from lowland southern California. The Kern River Preserve ’s reptile/amphibian checklist may be even higher – 53 taxa are known from the Kern River Valley area (fide A. Sheehey), and a majority may be present on the Preserve itself, which covers a large portion of the valley floor and surrounded uplands.

The San Francisco Garter Snake, perhaps the rarest reptile in the U.S., occurs in the vicinity of the Williams Sisters Sanctuary east of Redwood City (and may be present on the preserve) where it co-occurs with the California Red-legged Frog and California Tiger Salamander, two other declining species confined to the coastal slope of Central California.

Another rare garter snake, the Giant Garter Snake, may occur in Central Valley wetland habitat at Wattis and Bobelaine.

Mayacamas Mountains , with its protected upper watersheds, may support Foothill Yellow-legged Frog, and Starr Ranch and Silverwood protect the Orange-throated Whiptail, a coastal sage scrub specialist endemic to southwestern California.

Even Debs Park , surrounded by residential neighborhoods in Northeast Los Angeles, supports an apparently thriving population of San Bernardino Ring-necked Snake, a California Species of Concern, in its oak-walnut woodland.

Rare invertebrates are much less well known, and new species are still being described from coastal sage scrub such as that found at Starr Ranch and Debs Park . However, some “famous” taxa possibly found at Audubon sites include Bay Checkerspot Butterfly (Williams Sisters ), Valley Elderberry Longhorn Beetle (Wattis, Bobelaine ). None of the sites have been surveyed for sensitive insects.

Several properties are known to be important reserves for rare plants (e.g. rare serpentine soil endemics at Mayacamas Mountains ; chaparral and coastal sage scrub taxa at Starr Ranch and Silverwood ); whereas others (e.g. Casad ; Bearpaw Ranch) have not yet been adequately surveyed to know if they may support rare taxa.

Though several sites are very carefully managed for biodiversity and sensitive species (e.g. Starr Ranch , Kern River ), other sites may support rare species given proper management. At Richardson Bay, exotic grasses, trees and shrubs have largely crowded out the unique serpentine grassland habitat, which may persist in some form if these exotics are removed. Buena Vista Lagoon has suffered from lack of a coastal inlet for decades, and the subsequent choking by cattails. A restoration plan is in the works by the State of California. The small ponds in the grassland at Williams Sisters have been invaded by Bullfrogs, which are probably depressing local amphibian populations, if they haven’t extirpated them entirely.

Major conservation objectives for the sites include immediate inventory surveys of poorly known holdings for rare plants and animals; compiling specific information on avian use (esp. Casad , Richardson Bay, Wattis); and reviewing management practices at specific sites to improve habitat for sensitive species expand opportunities for “all bird conservation”.

These sites must be showcases of cutting-edge habitat management, where Audubon’s expertise can be on display for all visitors.