CONSERVANCY FACT SHEET

WHAT IS HOLLISTER RANCH?
The Hollister Ranch is a rural community located just east of Point Conception.  It is an area where southern and northern plants and wildlife meet, and its varied topography and geology create an area of high biodiversity. The Ranch contains nine major native habitats, which support over 800 plant and wildlife forms, including numerous rare or endangered species. The diverse native habitats found on the Ranch remain relatively intact because of the large size of the Ranch, its remote location, and the CC&Rs, which are structured to preserve the natural environment.

WHAT IS THE HOLLISTER RANCH CONSERVANCY?
The HR Conservancy operates under a charter from the Hollister Ranch Owners' Association as follows:

PURPOSE:    To protect and enhance the natural environment at the Ranch

GOALS:
    1)    Study, management and conservation of the Ranch environment
    2)    Provide a program of access to the Ranch for scientific and educational purposes

CONSERVANCY ACTIVITIES AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS:

• Provides an access program (since the mid 1970's) for scientific and educational purposes, such as tours by the Santa Barbara Natural History Museum, the Audubon Society, historical societies, school study groups (K - 12, and college), and scientific research projects by a number of universities and institutes.
• Established a protected Shoreline Preserve (2.2 miles of tide pool area), with information pamphlets and intertidal species lists available to groups accessing the area.
• Published a wildlife species inventory and check list.
• Provides access to the Wildlife Care Network for the release of animals.
• Monitors the Shoreline Preserve and other sensitive areas.
• Published the Botanical Resources of the Hollister Ranch, which includes plant species, management recommendations, and vegetation, geological and soils maps. This project was funded by the Conservancy and done in cooperation with the UCSB Herbarium.
• Provides wetlands protection.
• Funds rangeland enhancement projects in cooperation with the Hollister Ranch Cattle Cooperative.
• Produced a photo CD of Ranch habitats and vegetation types.
• Published pamphlets about Hollister Ranch geology and botanic resources, available for tour groups.
• Documents Conservancy activities and research projects, and published, in cooperation with Tenera Environmental Services, the report Managed Access on Hollister Ranch for Scientific Studies and Educational Activities.
• Researched the history of Hollister Ranch and established historical archives, including oral histories; funded and published Hollister Ranch, Its History, Preservation, and People (due out in 2003).
• Provides Hollister Ranch owners with educational materials about the Ranch environment.
• Participates in the National Marine Debris Monitoring Program, and the annual international beach cleanup.