Newly Audubon Certified, California Ranches Enhance Habitat for Grassland Birds

CALIFORNIA (September 14, 2026) — The Nationwide Audubon Society proudly broadcasts 5 California ranches which have earned its Hen-Pleasant Land Certification, which acknowledges their efforts to assist high quality wildlife habitat and resilient working lands. Secured via the Audubon Conservation Ranching program, the newly licensed producers embody C&R Ranch close to Crimson Bluff, Deer Creek Hills Protect close to Sacramento, Durst Dwelling Ranch close to Capay, Gabilan Ranch close to San Juan Bautista, and Jalama Canyon Ranch close to Lompoc.  

Audubon Conservation Ranching is a science-based certification program that goals to stabilize the decline of grassland chook populations via partnerships with farmers and ranchers. Since 1970, North America’s grassland birds have seen the steepest inhabitants declines of all terrestrial biomes. To fight this loss, Audubon works with greater than 155 licensed farms and ranches in the USA, all taking voluntary conservation motion to assist grassland birds and biodiversity throughout a mixed 4.5 million acres. As a result of most grassland birds stay on non-public land, partnering with landowners is among the greatest methods to assist these species at scale. 

California’s 61 million acres of rangeland present important ecosystem companies, from meals manufacturing and carbon sequestration to water infiltration and wildlife habitat. Nonetheless, analysis exhibits that round 20,000 acres of grasslands within the state are transformed to different makes use of every year, harming birds that depend on high-quality, intact rangelands to meet their lifecycles. To assist birds recuperate, Audubon expanded its conservation ranching program to California in 2019. Right this moment, Audubon companions with 20 licensed ranching operations in California—together with the 5 newly licensed ranches—and has enhanced greater than 314,000 acres of habitat.  

“These 5 ranches expressed curiosity in Audubon Conservation Ranching nearly instantly as this system was coming into California,” stated Pelayo Alvarez, Program Director for Audubon Conservation Ranching in California. “Now, we’re proud to accomplice with these producers, every of which is efficiently managing its acreage to assist birds and different wildlife. From the beginning, it was clear that every one 5 managers needed to be good land stewards and be taught as a lot as attainable concerning the wildlife in these landscapes.” 

To earn Audubon’s Hen-Pleasant Land Certification, ranches should meet rigorous requirements for habitat administration, environmental sustainability, and animal welfare, verified via unbiased audits. Producers work with Audubon vary ecologists to create Habitat Administration Plans tailor-made to every ranch’s situations and objectives. These plans use practices equivalent to adaptive grazing, invasive species management, and native plant restoration to assist biodiverse, resilient grassland ecosystems that profit wildlife and producers. 

“All 5 ranches are demonstrating exemplary bird-friendly administration, utilizing rotational grazing to attain particular objectives and adapting their practices based mostly on altering environmental situations and monitoring outcomes,” stated Payton Thomas, Rangeland Ecologist for the Audubon Conservation Ranching program in California. “Their bird-friendly grazing practices create a mosaic of grassland habitat that helps the breeding, nesting, and foraging wants of quite a lot of precedence species throughout the state.” 

Now that these 5 California ranches have achieved Audubon’s Hen-Pleasant Land Certification, they could use the related seal on beef merchandise, signaling to customers that their purchases assist habitat conservation for imperiled grassland birds. Via their administration efforts, these ranches exhibit how bird-friendly practices could be utilized throughout California’s ecologically wealthy landscapes, from grasslands and oak woodlands to wetlands and riparian areas: 

C&R Ranch — Crimson Bluff 

C&R Ranch supplies important habitat for a number of precedence birds in Tehama County, together with Western Kingbirds and Lark Sparrows. Following a considerate rotational grazing plan, C&R Ranch strikes its beef cattle throughout two properties seasonally, Los Molinos Ranch and Paskenta Ranch. Utilizing high-intensity grazing on their pastures, adopted by lengthy relaxation intervals, the land managers work to enhance vary high quality and chook habitat throughout each properties.  

“Our household loves birds, and we’re proud to accomplice with Audubon to reinforce wildlife habitat on our ranch, particularly as blue oak savannas proceed to vanish in California,” stated Charlotte and Roy Ekland, Homeowners of C&R Ranch. “We see great worth in utilizing rotational grazing and different bird-friendly practices to enhance our soil well being, assist biodiversity, and strengthen the resilience of our land.” 

Deer Creek Hills Protect — Sacramento 

Positioned in southeastern Sacramento County, Deer Creek Hills is a nature protect and cattle ranch managed by the Sacramento Valley Conservancy (SVC). As considered one of the largest remaining areas of blue oak woodland, grassland, and riparian habitat within the area, Deer Creek Hills is an optimum residence for Savannah Sparrows, Oak Titmice, and different birds. The land is barely grazed by cattle seasonally, with its grazing depth and relaxation intervals deliberate round forage development. 

“As land managers, SVC stewards land in a manner that helps accountable livestock grazing and humane animal care,” stated Eric Kellegrew, Stewardship Director for SVC. “This extends past cattle; it consists of high-quality habitat for birds and different wildlife, long-term sustainability, which helps biodiversity and resilient ecosystems. The ACR recognition is a testomony to a long time of labor by SVC workers, docents, long-time rancher Mike Harry, and a large number of conservation companions who assist maintain Deer Creek Hills wild and wholesome. By implementing accountable agricultural practices, we’re sustaining cattle traditions whereas additionally defending the birds and wildlife that rely on these landscapes.” 

Durst Dwelling Ranch — Capay 

Durst Dwelling Ranch helps a number of precedence species in Yolo County, equivalent to the California Quail and Western Bluebird. Cline Livestock Co., the ranch’s grazing tenant, makes use of strategic grazing rotations to advertise fascinating forage species, oak regeneration, and wholesome ranges of shrub cowl in riparian areas, all important to offering high quality habitat for birds. Adam Cline can be the grazer at Audubon’s Bobcat Ranch, a conservation ranching demonstration website in Winters.  

“The Durst Dwelling Ranch has welcomed the chance to accomplice with Cline Livestock and Audubon to develop a conservation plan to reinforce habitat for wildlife, construct soil well being and develop wholesome livestock feeds,” stated Fritz Durst, Supervisor and Shareholder of Durst Dwelling Ranch. 

Gabilan Ranch — San Juan Bautista 

Owned by the Reeves, Baldocchi, and Boyle households, the land at Gabilan Ranch is managed to advertise elevated native perennial grass and wildlife range in Monterey and San Benito Counties. With annual grasslands, valley oak woodlands, and riparian areas, the ranch creates important habitat for the California Condor, a state and federally endangered species. Gabilan Ranch runs a feeding station with cull carcasses and cameras to monitor the condors. 

“Our household has been on Gabilan Ranch for nearly 100 years. We have now all the time managed the land for the advantage of wildlife in addition to to assist a regenerative grazing technique for our cow-calf operation,” stated Darrell Boyle, Chairman of Gabilan Ranch. “We management grazing in pastures to guard ground-nesting birds; we launched Tule elk to the Gabilan Vary; we have now a nesting pair of California Condors on the ranch; and we get to look at bald eagles fledge yearly. Working with Audubon helps us present a house to an abundance of chook species.” 

Jalama Canyon Ranch — Lompoc 

Positioned in Santa Barbara County, Jalama Canyon Ranch supplies high-quality habitat for species such because the Black-headed Grosbeak and Grasshopper Sparrow. Owned by the White Buffalo Land Trust since 2021, the group operates below a mission to “follow, promote, and develop techniques of regenerative agriculture for native, regional, and world influence,” searching for to strengthen relationships between individuals and the land. With their beef cattle and goats, White Buffalo grazes with a excessive sufficient depth to forestall shrub encroachment however with lengthy sufficient relaxation intervals to permit perennial grass to recuperate. 

“Regenerative grazing is finally about strengthening the connection between individuals and land, and the return of grassland birds is among the clearest indicators that relationship is wholesome,” stated Jesse Smith, Director of Land Stewardship, White Buffalo Land Belief. “We’re proud to accomplice with Audubon as a result of their certification holds us to a excessive normal—displaying that grazing with the precise depth and relaxation intervals can convey perennial grasses, and the birds that depend on them, again to the Central Coast Ecoregion.”

About Audubon Conservation Ranching 

Audubon Conservation Ranching companions with ranchers to maintain wholesome grasslands, ample birdlife, and resilient rural communities. Via our bird-friendly land certification and science-based strategy, we empower land stewards to reinforce habitat, enhance soil well being and water high quality, and strengthen the connection between conservation and ranching. By buying merchandise from Audubon Licensed Hen-Pleasant Land, customers change into conservationists, serving to shield America’s grasslands and the birds, wildlife, and those who rely on them. For extra info, go to www.audubon.org/ranching.