About Homer Ranch
As the Kaweah River surges out of the Sierra Nevada into the San Joaquin Valley, it unfurls into braided streams to nourish farms, wildlife and beautiful wildflower displays. One of the Kaweah’s main tributaries, Dry Creek, ambles south of California’s treasured Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park, past the 100-year-old ranch of Stephanie and Richard Homer.
Ever since Richard Homer’s great-great-grandparents homesteaded here in the late 1800s, the Dry Creek watershed has been a fruitful place to raise and graze cattle. But as humans have encroached on the area, the Homer’s 1,800-acre ranch has also become increasingly important to wildlife.
“We began evaluating the Dry Creek watershed in 2001 with Sequoia Riverlands Trust, our conservation partner in Visalia,” said Alex Mas, Sequoia Foothills project manager for The Nature Conservancy. “While we knew that the region housed rare plant species, including vast stands of threatened blue oak woodlands, we also learned that the Homers’ property provides a valuable corridor for wildlife.”
Wide-ranging animals, such as mule deer and mountain lions, use this slice of land to move safely between 5,000 acres of conserved lands and the rare riverside habitat along Dry Creek.
The Opportunity
Richard and Stephanie Homer had long thought their property would be an ideal place for people to enjoy the area’s natural beauty and to experience a working cattle ranch—an important part of the West’s heritage. So when the Homers decided to move off their ranch, they contacted the Trust with a proposition that would help protect this beautiful and important landscape.
“The Homers had visited our Kaweah Oaks Preserve, where we have several programs devoted to teaching the public about natural resources,” said Sopac McCarthy Mulholland, the Trust’s executive director. “Our philosophy, which emphasizes the compatibility of agriculture and nature, appealed to them.”
The Trust turned to The Conservancy to assist with planning. The Conservancy had helped establish the Kaweah Oaks Preserve more than 20 years ago and, since December 2000, had worked in partnership with the Trust to build a conservation plan for the broader Sierra Nevada Foothills and the southern San Joaquin Valley. The two organizations pooled the Trust’s understanding of the foothills’ culture and values with the Conservancy’s science and conservation planning expertise. Together, they arranged to acquire the Homers’ ranch and protect the property’s valuable natural features, including a large portion of one of the world’s last remaining sycamore alluvial woodlands.
Results
Today, the partners are finalizing a plan to implement conservation-compatible grazing operations on the ranch and offer guided educational tours. Since the property will remain a working landscape, it will continue to contribute to local tax rolls and to the economy. Ongoing grazing operations will also offer a venue for visitors to learn about a working ranch and to understand the value of conserving both natural and agricultural resources.
Stephanie and Richard Homer have moved to another state, but their family’s legacy will live on to help people learn about ranching and rural life in the Sequoia Foothills. Says Richard Homer, “We’re proud to help future generations experience an important part of California’s history.”
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