Conservation agreement protects Walker Basin grazing land from development
Mar. 29—The amount of grazing land being put off limits to development in the southern Sierra Nevada has expanded with a deal announced Wednesday adding 65 acres to a swath now 14 times that size that conservationists say will serve as a permanent corridor for local wildlife, among other key benefits.
California Rangeland Trust announced the purchase of the property at Bufford Ranch, owned by Ernest Bufford, who with this latest addition has agreed to conserve 910 acres on the north side of Walker Basin. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
The Rangeland Trust said in a news release that Bufford, a former U.S. marshal and hunting guide, has committed to using proceeds from the arrangement to buy up and conserve additional property in the surrounding area that might otherwise be developed.
"His work serves a greater purpose of keeping our working lands productive for generations to come," CEO Michael Delbar of the Rangeland Trust said in the release.
Money for the deal came from private donations to the Rangeland Trust in combination with a public contribution from the California Wildlife Conservation board, created in 1947 to administer wildlife preservation programs and related public recreation.
The Rangeland Trust said that, like the rest of the land being protected from development at Bufford Ranch, the recently added 65 acres will continue to be managed under the terms of the conservation easement "to maintain the diverse wildlife habitat and prevent the accumulation of thatch and noxious weeds, which can become a fire hazard."
It described the larger property as containing six distinct ecosystems, with open savannah featuring blue and canyon live oaks, California juniper, buckbrush and gooseberry. It said the newly added portion includes perennial grasslands, riparian drainage channels and small mountain wetlands.
The Rangeland Trust's communications director, Alyssa Rolen, said Wednesday the grazing of livestock on the conserved property will help by helping control wildfires and limiting the spread of invasive plant species.
While the surrounding rangeland serves as a corridor for deer, bears, mountain lions, ducks and raptors, some of it has been subdivided and approved for development in lots as small as 2.5 acres, which the Rangeland Trust said risks disrupting local habitat.
Wednesday's news release said Bufford has turned up historical artifacts while exploring the area.
"This ranch is a treasure trove of amazing things, between the wildlife and the little pieces of history I continue to find, and I want to do everything I can to protect it," he said in the release.
His original act of conservation, totaling 575 acres at the ranch, took place in 2013, 12 years after he bought the property. The Rangeland Trust said he followed up with an additional 260-acre conservation agreement. This is his third such transaction.
