The State Wildlife Conservation Board (WCB) and the Department of Fish and Game (DFG) have closed escrow on a 754-acre portion of Stone Ridge Ranch. The land will help to protect upland wildlife habitat for several special status species and critical range for the East Tehama deer herd.

"The Stone Ridge Ranch property is valuable wildlife habitat that connects the foothills of the Cascade Range to the Sacramento Valley," said Sandra Morey, Regional Manager for the Sacramento Valley Central Sierra Region of the Department of Fish and Game (DFG). "The tremendous habitat value of the area called for permanent protection"

Predominant habitat on the site includes blue oak woodland and annual grasslands with vernal pools and swales, clay flats and ephemeral and intermittent creeks. Mountain lions, black bears and other predator species range in the area. Some special status species, such as ferruginous hawks, bald eagles and black-shouldered kites are known to use the site for foraging during winter months. Other special status species that call the site home are Butte County meadowfoam, Ahart's paronyhia, western spade-foot toad and Western burrowing owls. In addition, the proposed acquisition will provide for protection of the rare Adobe lily and Butte County checkerbloom.

The property will provide increased environmental education opportunities and programs which will be developed in conjunction with locally-based K-12 Watershed Education Project, the Butte Environmental Council (BEC) and other non-governmental organizations. The BEC cheered the acquisition which happened just as the Final U.S. Fish and Wildlife Agency's Vernal Pool Recovery Plan was released. Students at California State University at Chico (CSUC) and Butte Community College would also benefit from field work opportunities in a vernal pool grassland preserve. Members of the public will enjoy photography, wildflower viewing, bird-watching, and hiking within the preserved areas.

Approving grants to the CSUC Research Foundation in 2000 and 2001, the WCB worked cooperatively to assist in the Foundation's purchase of two properties totaling 3,950 acres in the Big Chico Creek area. The WCB also purchased a conservation easement held by the state for over 3,338 acres of the original 5,000-acre Stone Ridge Ranch. The neighboring upland acreage is managed by DFG for protection of critical range habitat for the East Tehama deer herd, the largest in California.

The property was purchased for $4,773, 255. In addition to the State's funding $2,680,255 toward the purchase, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Bureau of Reclamation provided $154,622 and $348,378, respectively, from their Central Valley Protection Conservation Programs. The Fish and Wildlife Service also provided $990,000 from its Recovery Land Acquisition Program, and the CSUC Research Foundation California Legacy grant provided $600,000.