Fall 2023 Riverlands Newsletter - Issue 53

RUSS SCHNITZER

FALL 2023

NEWS FROM WESTERN RIVERS CONSERVANCY

ISSUE 53

Desert Oasis Conserved in the Kern River Valley

This Issue: Kern River, CA, p1 Fay Creek Ranch

Estero de San Antonio, CA, p2 Dillon Beach Ranch

John Day River, OR, p3

McDonald’s Ferry Ranch

Badger Creek, ID, p4

Badger Creek Canyon Ranch

Big Hole Valley, MT, p5 Eagle Rock Ranch and Clemow Cow Camp

Antoine Creek, WA, p6 KODIAK GREENWOOD

Antoine Valley Ranch

Fay Creek Ranch sits in an arid but beautiful transition zone between the southern Sierra Nevada and the Mojave Desert, where streams like Fay Creek provide a lifeline for diverse fish and wildlife.

Kern River

South Platte River, CO, p7 Collard Ranch

Dolores River, CO, p7 Dunton Meadows

Yakima River, WA, p8 Four Seasons Ranch

California

erty is home to several freshwater springs, a warm spring and 1.5 miles of Fay Creek itself, a tributary to the South Fork Kern. The creek is a crucial perennial cold-water stream for native trout, and its lush banks offer excellent habitat for imperiled birds like southwestern willow flycatcher and least Bell’s vireo, both federally Endangered. The South Fork Kern River valley, where the property is located, is considered a Globally Important Bird Area by the National Audubon Society, indicating the area’s critical importance to some of California’s most sensitive bird species, including California condor.

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R. TAYLOR

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his summer, Western Rivers Conservancy permanently protected a 2,285-acre oasis at the foot of the Southern Sierra, complete with spring-fed creeks, native trout and a natural warm spring. We transferred half of Fay Creek Ranch to the Tübatulabal Tribe and half to the Kern River Valley Heritage Foundation (KRVHF), repatriating the first lands ever returned to the Tübatulabal and turning this special place over to two entities that will now steward these lands for the sake of fish, wildlife and the South Fork Kern.

Fay Creek Ranch is a rare refuge within an otherwise hot, arid landscape. The prop-

Kern River

Two trails run through the property, linking the valley floor with the high Kern Plateau. These trails were historically used by the Tübatulabal Tribe, who inhabited the land that is now Fay Creek Ranch for millennia before the arrival of Europeans. In recent years, the trails were closed, and the Tübatulabal Tribe intends to reopen them for compatible public recreation.

The ranch is located directly between the North and South forks of the Kern River, which are both designated as wild and scenic from their headwaters down to Isabella Lake. Below the lake, the mainstem of the Kern flows southwest through spectacular rocky canyons and is a major attraction for people seeking hot springs, whitewater paddling and a respite from the Southern California sun.

Fay Creek Ranch is surrounded by protected lands and is directly adjacent to Hanning Flat, a 3,800acre preserve owned and managed by the KRVHF. By transferring part of the ranch to the foundation, we are expanding Hanning Flat and providing new access to the existing preserve, while simultaneously completing an important assemblage of conservation lands in this area.

WRC entered into an agreement to purchase Fay Creek Ranch in 2021 and was able to secure funding from the California Wildlife Conservation Board and the Sierra Nevada Conservancy to permanently conserve this fragile desert refuge.

By partnering with the Tübatulabal Tribe and the KRVHF, we were able to guarantee permanent protection of the ranch’s outstanding fish and wildlife habitat, its invaluable cultural sites and excellent public recreation opportunities. g

Conserving Dillon Beach’s Fragile and Scenic Estuary Estero de San Antonio California

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MICHAEL CARL

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A vibrant estuary, invaluable cultural sites and excellent habitat for two species of endangered butterflies can be found at Dillon Beach Ranch, on Bodega Bay.

DAVID DINES

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p and down the Pacific Coast, a vast array of fish, birds, insects, plants and animals congregate in and around estuaries, the dynamic habitats where rivers and the ocean converge. The 466-acre Dillon Beach Ranch, perched on a bluff overlooking Northern California’s spectacular coastline, is just such a place. The ranch sits high on a windswept, grassy headland above an estuary known as Estero de San Antonio, at the western edge of Marin County. It forms the entire southern shore of the estuary (about 1.5 miles) and connects to another mile and a half of pristine Pacific coastline.

This summer, Western Rivers Conservancy committed to purchase Dillon Beach Ranch with the goal of buying and holding it until we can raise the necessary funding to convey it to the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria. The Graton Rancheria is a federally recognized tribe made up of Coast Miwok and Southern Pomo groups, and it shares WRC’s conservation vision for this remarkable property, its estuary and the stream that feeds it. Ancestors of the Graton Rancheria inhabited the estuary and surrounding area before the arrival of Europeans, and cultural sites and descendants of the groups are still present there today.

The estuary ecosystem remains relatively intact compared to other coastal streams of this size. Two meandering creeks feed the main freshwater stream, and a variety of native fish species inhabit the system, including a strong population of Endangered northern tidewater goby, a tenacious little fish that finds safe haven and critical spawning habitat among the estuary’s seasonal sandbars.

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife recognizes the Estero de San Antonio as one of the most significant habitat areas in the state and manages it as a State Marine Recreational Management Area. Only four populations of the Endangered Myrtle’s silverspot butterfly are known to exist, all of them in the estuary’s vicinity. You might see an Endangered San Bruno elfin butterfly flitting about there too, as well as the Threatened California red-legged frog.

WRC will now work closely with the Graton Rancheria and other partners to craft a durable conservation solution that forever preserves and protects Dillon Beach Ranch, the Estero de San Antonio, and the irreplaceable cultural and natural resources they share. g

Historic Ranch on the John Day Forever Protected John Day River Oregon

McDonald’s Ferry Ranch provides important winter range for California bighorn sheep (pictured), pronghorn, Rocky Mountain elk and mule deer.

runnable on the John Day. The property also provides hikers and anglers with three miles of riverbank access, steelhead and non-native bass fishing and spectacular views of the rolling hills that form the lower John Day River canyon.

The ranch is also important historically. For a time, McDonald’s Ferry was the only crossing on the John Day River for settlers moving west on the Oregon Trail, and wagon ruts are still visible on the property.

This is the fifth property that WRC has conserved on the John Day, bringing our total conserved to 31 miles of the mainstem, 14 miles of cold-water steelhead tributaries and nearly 43,000 acres of the West’s fragile sagebrush-steppe. g

SAGE BROWN

Approximately 2.6 miles of Grass Valley Canyon Creek flows through McDonald’s Ferry Ranch. The creek was historically a productive spawning tributary for steelhead, but its lower channel was moved to make way for agriculture decades ago, impacting fish habitat and limiting fish passage. Conserving the property creates the potential for future restoration and reconnection of the creek with the river.

From a recreational perspective, the project is a major win. Below McDonald’s Ferry, the John Day enters private land and later cascades over the un-runnable Tumwater Falls. Securing permanent public access to the boating take-out on the ranch guarantees people can float the lowest ten miles that are viably

GARTH IRVINE

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his summer, Western Rivers Conservancy and the Bureau of Land Management permanently conserved McDonald’s Ferry Ranch, protecting 3.2 miles of the Wild and Scenic John Day River and 4,054 acres of sagebrush and grassland habitat. And we placed the lowest boating takeout on the river into public hands forever.

The John Day is one of the West’s great rivers, home to the Columbia Basin’s healthiest run of wild summer steelhead and one of its most important runs of spring Chinook. It is also a major destination for hikers, anglers, boaters and hunters seeking the solace of a wild desert canyon.

WRC purchased McDonald’s Ferry Ranch in 2020 and held the property for three years while working to secure funding from the Land and Water Conservation Fund. In August 2023, we successfully conveyed the property to the BLM, conserving a broad expanse of Oregon’s sagebrush country and creating new recreational access along this stretch of river in perpetuity.

The ranch provides important winter range for large mammals like California bighorn sheep, pronghorn, elk and mule deer. It also supports diverse bird life, with habitat for burrowing owl and ferruginous hawk, and ample nesting opportunities for bald eagle, golden eagle and peregrine falcon.

McDonald’s Ferry is the fifth property that WRC has conserved on the John Day, bringing the total number of acres conserved within this wild and scenic river corridor to nearly 43,000.

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A Wildlife Gem in the Teton River Canyon Badger Creek Idaho

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ration and advancing a broad effort to recover native Yellowstone cutthroat trout throughout the Teton River system.

Badger Creek flows out of the Teton Mountains and is an important tributary of the Teton River. Upper Badger Creek is one of only a few Teton River tributaries that contain native Yellowstone cutthroat trout without non-native competitors.

A significant portion of the creek runs underground for much of the year, which physically isolates the up-river native fish populations. The Idaho Department of Fish and Game and the BLM are working to restore those same Yellowstone cutthroat trout to the lower reaches of Badger Creek, which are currently dominated by non-native rainbow trout.

Successfully conserving Badger Creek Canyon Ranch will move this effort forward and help guarantee those fish recovery gains last.

Badger Creek and the adjacent Bitch Creek canyons provide crucial

transitional and early winter habitat for moose, Rocky Mountain elk and mule deer that over-winter in the Teton River Canyon and spend summers in Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks.

Badger Creek Canyon Ranch is the only significant private ownership along the lower reach of Badger Creek. The ranch contains 2.5 miles on both sides of the creek, as well as 130 acres of cropland on a plateau above Badger Creek Canyon.

Once the BLM acquires the property, it plans on restoring the cropland to native grasses increasing much-needed winter range for the area’s big game populations and benefiting Columbian sharp-tailed grouse, a state-listed species of “Greatest Conservation Need.”

Placing the ranch into public ownership will also allow for the possibility of a new, non-motorized trail system through the property, which will be a major asset for anglers, hikers, hunters and other recreationists in the Teton River Basin. g MATT KAMINSKI

nown for its outstanding fly-fishing, the Teton River Basin is an ecosystem of massive importance, with irreplaceable wetland and riparian habitat. The basin has some of the highest biodiversity in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, which encompasses some 22 million acres of habitat in and around Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks. It is a major movement corridor for large mammals and supports one of three remaining strongholds for Yellowstone cutthroat trout.

These characteristics have made the Teton River Basin the top priority for conservation in the region. With this in mind, Western Rivers Conservancy is taking the rare opportunity to buy and protect the 613-acre Badger Creek Canyon Ranch, a critical property on its namesake stream, at the head of the Teton Canyon. After purchasing the ranch, we will work to secure funding to convey it to the BLM for permanent conservation, laying the groundwork for habitat resto-

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Badger Creek Canyon and the adjacent Bitch Creek Canyon provide crucial winter habitat for moose, more than 650 Rocky Mountain elk and up to 3,000 mule deer (pictured) that over-winter in the greater Teton River Canyon.

Cold Water Delivered to the Wise and Big Hole Rivers MARK CONLIN

Eagle Rock Ranch, Wise River Montana

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n partnership with the U.S. Forest Service, Western Rivers Conservancy has permanently conserved the 200-acre Eagle Rock Ranch and is employing a new approach to returning 11 cubic feet per second (CFS) of vitally important clean, cold water to the Wise River while protecting habitat for fish and wildlife.

The Wise is a major tributary to the Big Hole River, one of Montana’s most famous fly-fishing streams and one of the last remaining strongholds for fluvial Arctic grayling in the Lower 48. It is also a critical source of cold water for the Big Hole, supplying the primary life-giving ingredient that grayling and the river’s other fish need to survive.

WRC and the U.S. Forest Service have developed an innovative split-season approach that will deliver water for fish exactly when they need it while allowing

The Big Hole River in Montana is the last remaining stronghold for fluvial Arctic grayling in the Lower 48.

water for agriculture when flows are strong. When the river is running high in early spring, the Forest Service will allocate water to the ranch’s meadow and its wild hay. The meadow will naturally store and filter the water through the spring and summer, allowing it to seep back into the stream colder and cleaner later in the season. In the hot summer months, when the river needs flows the most, the ranch’s water will remain in the stream to benefit the fish that depend on it. It’s a win-win-win for fish, wildlife and local livelihoods alike.

WRC purchased Eagle Rock Ranch, along with its all-important water rights, in summer 2021, then held the property while assembling the funding and partnerships needed to permanently protect it.

In late July, WRC conveyed the property to the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest, which will now manage the property in perpetuity for the benefit of the fish, wildlife and people of the Big Hole Valley and beyond. g

Clemow Cow Camp, Big Hole River Montana

Montana, is a beloved trout fishery and one of the last rivers left in the Lower 48 with fluvial Arctic grayling.

The 317-acre Clemow Cow Camp is a sweeping expanse of wetland meadows with two high-mountain streams, Cox and Old Tim creeks, flowing through the property for two miles. Just off the property, these streams join Warm Springs Creek, a tributary to the Big Hole.

Conservation of Clemow Cow Camp ensures protection of 154 acres of riparian wetland habitat that supports numerous species of waterfowl and shorebirds, as well as top-notch habitat

On the Clemow Cow Camp property, which is now public land, an angler enjoys the last rays of the day while casting to trout.

JORDAN SIEMENS

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estern Rivers Conservancy and the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest successfully conserved the 317-acre Clemow Cow Camp property this summer, keeping precious cold water in the Big Hole River at a moment when alarm bells are sounding about the river’s warming temperatures. Our efforts also protected outstanding habitat for fish and wildlife and secured new public access to the West Pioneer Wilderness Study Area. The 150-mile-long Big Hole River, which tumbles through some of the most diverse geography of any river in

for grizzly bear and Canada lynx, both federally Threatened. Importantly, the creeks on the ranch supply water for fish in the Big Hole basin, including westslope cutthroat trout, mountain whitefish and nonnative trout.

WRC purchased Clemow Cow Camp, along with its 2.77 CFS of water rights, in August 2022, and conveyed both to the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest in September 2023. The U.S. Forest Service will use the ranch’s water rights to reinvigorate the property’s fragile meadows and feed the creeks through seepage over the course of the summer. When flows get low, that water will be kept directly in-stream for fish, an innovative splitseason approach that ensures fish get cold water when they need it most.

Clemow Cow Camp is also a key entry into the Forest Service’s adjacent 148,150-acre West Pioneer Wilderness Study Area, one of the largest roadless areas in southwest Montana. WRC’s efforts permanently secured access to the wilderness study area through the ranch for hikers, hunters and others. g 5

ELLEN BISHOP

Antoine Creek is a small but critical stream that flows into the Okanogan River and provides important spawning and rearing habitat for imperiled summer steelhead.

Partnering with the Colville Tribes to Save Okanogan Steelhead Antoine Creek Washington

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estern Rivers Conservancy has successfully completed a gamechanging project on Antoine Creek, a critical spawning stream for Threatened summer steelhead that flows through the ancestral homelands of the Colville Tribes. The Okanogan River is a major tributary of the Upper Columbia River, and the salmon and steelhead that are born in its tributaries navigate a 500-mile journey, including nine Columbia mainstem dams, to reach the Pacific. Then they do it again— upstream—to return home to spawn in streams like Antoine Creek.

WRC and the Colville Tribes have now permanently conserved the entire 2,524-acre Antoine Valley Ranch, which spans 2.5 miles of Antoine Creek. WRC purchased the ranch in 2020 and transferred half of it to the Colville Tribes that year with funding from the Washington Department of Ecology’s Streamflow Restoration Program. WRC held the second half of the property while working to secure additional funding from the

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program to permanently protect the remainder of the ranch. In September, WRC successfully transferred the second half of the ranch to the Colville Tribes. At the same time, we conveyed the ranch’s water rights to the Department of Ecology with the help of Trout Unlimited. The water will now be managed in partnership with the Colville Tribes using another innovative approach to putting water in-stream when fish critically need it.

The key to restoring stream-flows to Antoine Creek is—paradoxically—an earthen dam high in the system and controlled by the ranch. The dam sits upstream of natural barriers to fish, so the Colville Tribes can now manage it as a tool to deliver more water for steelhead without blocking their migration. By leaving the dam in place, it can be used to strategically pulse cold flows downstream when fish need it most.

Under Colville ownership this innovative strategy can increase flows up to 90 percent in Antoine Creek, calibrated to match seasonal needs of the steel-

head that spawn there. Importantly, the flow improvements in Antoine Creek will continue downstream into the Okanogan and Columbia Rivers.

In the coming years, the Colville Tribes also plan to conduct extensive in-stream, riparian and upland restoration, benefiting the full range of species found on the ranch. But the project’s greatest impact is returning water to Antoine Creek, which for decades has run too low and warm for steelhead to survive and spawn.

The Antoine Creek project should pay huge dividends to the lands, waters and tribal culture of the Okanogan River Valley and beyond for generations. WRC and the Colville Tribe’s innovative and even unconventional solution—using a dam designed to take water out of the creek as a tool for putting water back into it—confirms our belief that creativity, perseverance and great partners like the Colville Tribes can deliver real, lasting results for fish and wildlife. g

MINDY LUNDY KRAMER

Protecting a Critical Stretch of Tarryall Creek in South Park South Platte River Colorado

valley floors. These wetlands attract a rich variety of bird life and are prime spawning habitat for fish.

The South Park basin is home to the world’s last remaining “extreme rich fens,” a type of wetland that has been damaged by human development almost everywhere else on Earth. These wetlands attract diverse bird life to the property, including the imperiled Lewis’s woodpecker and mountain plover.

Located just 60 miles from Denver, South Park is one of the primary recreation destinations for hikers, anglers and hunters from Colorado’s capital.

Protection of Collard Ranch will add over five miles of fishing access along both banks of this outstanding trout stream while helping to establish more uniform recreation management along Tarryall Creek. This outcome would be a significant conservation accomplishment within an hour and a half drive from most of the population of Colorado.

WRC has signed an agreement to purchase the ranch. We will buy and hold the property while working to secure funding to protect it forever. Our hope is to convey the property to Colorado Parks and Wildlife, which would manage it for the benefit of fish, wildlife and people forever. g

Beavers, which have been largely eliminated from rivers throughout the West, thrive on the Collard Ranch property that WRC is working to protect.

TOM AND PAT LEESON

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ust southwest of Denver, the headwaters of the South Platte River come together in the rolling grasslands of South Park, a broad basin surrounded by the high mountain peaks of the Front Range. The South Platte River is the biological and scenic centerpiece of South Park, which was designated a National Heritage Area in 2009 for its rich history and diverse natural landscapes.

Here, Western Rivers Conservancy has launched an effort to preserve the 1,860acre Collard Ranch, which includes five miles of Tarryall Creek, one of the South Platte River’s principal tributaries.

Collard Ranch is part of a major migration corridor for thousands of Rocky Mountain elk, which use the property as their primary route from the high peaks of the Rockies down to the grasslands below during their annual north-south migration into and across South Park.

Mule deer and pronghorn frequently move through the basin as well.

Tarryall Creek flows off the 13,823foot Mount Silverheels before meandering through Collard Ranch. Its banks are a mix of open grass and willow cover, providing excellent habitat for healthy, wild populations of brown and rainbow trout. Beaver ponds line the creek on the ranch, which is a rarity on Colorado’s

Dolores River, Colorado

Dunton Meadows Western Rivers Conservancy continues to build momentum in its efforts to protect Dunton Meadows, a critically important wetland meadow complex at the headwaters of Colorado’s famed Dolores River.

In May, following years of negotiations, we purchased the prized 160-acre Dunton Meadows tract, which spans most of this fragile high-elevation wetland in southwestern Colorado.

Situated between the Dolores’ East and West forks, at around 10,000 feet in the San Miguel Mountains, Dunton Meadows lies at the headwaters of some of the best habitat anywhere for imperiled Colorado River cutthroat trout. The property centers on a broad wetland meadow near the southern edge of the Lizard Head Wilderness and is surrounded by national forest.

Wet meadows serve as cold-water sponges, collecting, filtering and holding spring snowmelt and stormwater for gradual release later in summer and fall, when cold-water inputs are most critically needed for fish survival. Precipitation captured

by Dunton Meadows seeps into a Dolores headwater tributary called Coal Creek, a stronghold for Colorado River cutthroat. A major reason Coal Creek remains healthy and cold is the presence of high, cold-water sponges like Dunton Meadows.

We are now holding the property while working to secure funding through the Land and Water Conservation Fund to convey Dunton Meadows to the San Juan National Forest, permanently protecting the meadow and delivering public access to several popular trails and trailheads on the property. By conserving this outstanding wetland, WRC will ensure the health not only of Dunton Meadows, but of the critical cold-water streams it feeds. And people will always be able to explore this high-mountain paradise. g 7

A Game Changing Conveyance for the Yakima’s Fish Yakima River Washington

A bird’s eye view of Four Seasons Ranch, a pivotal property on the Yakima River that WRC conserved to help reconnect the river to its natural floodplain.

Now that WRC has transferred Four Seasons Ranch to Kittitas County, restoration of the Ringer Reach can move forward in earnest. Berms and levees will be gradually removed, or allowed to continue their decay, side channels will be restored, cottonwood trees will be returned to the landscape, and this stretch of the Yakima will once again be free to meander and shift across its natural floodplain. For the Yakima’s salmon and steelhead, this is a major step in the right direction. g

TYLER ROEMER

as well as spring Chinook, coho and cutthroat trout. Additionally, this stretch of river is used by migratory sockeye and is designated as critical foraging, migratory and overwintering habitat for ESA-listed bull trout.

WRC purchased Four Seasons Ranch this month and immediately conveyed it to Kittitas County, laying the groundwork for the county to restore floodplain habitat, diminish flood risk and improve spawning and rearing habitat for salmon and steelhead.

TYLER ROEMER

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olumbia Basin salmon and steelhead will soon have new spawning and rearing habitat in Washington’s Yakima River. In partnership with Kittitas County, Western Rivers Conservancy permanently conserved Four Seasons Ranch, the last remaining private inholding within the Ringer Restoration Reach, a large-scale restoration site encompassing over 650 acres of floodplain habitat and nearly four miles of the Yakima River.

The Yakima was once a powerhouse producer of salmon and steelhead, but a century of human impact has degraded the basin’s wild fish runs to a fraction of their former size. Kittitas County has been working with landowners within the Ringer Reach for nearly a decade to purchase parcels along the river with the goal of restoring the entire area to its natural floodplain and recovering habitat for salmon and steelhead.

The Yakima River floodplain provides essential habitat for ESA-listed steelhead,

Yakima River, Washington

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