RANGELAND FRAGMENTATION

The 14,000 + acres called Hollister Ranch is an impressive landscape in both visual and scientific (two or more interactive ecosystems) terms. Not only because of what is within but also because this ranch is surrounded by neighboring rangelands, wild lands and the ocean. All agree, the Hollister Ranch in its present context is more beautiful and bio-diverse than if it were surrounded by row crops, suburbs or city. This concept of contextual habitat quality works on every special scale. For example, your parcel surrounded by suburbs would be far less visually and biologically valuable than when it is surrounded by wild rangeland.

The reason most of us choose to own here is because of the wild and pastoral nature of the Ranch. The "catch" is; each time we build a house, road, barn, fence or cultivate, we fragment the rangeland and modify the interactive ecosystems which exist within this landscape called Hollister Ranch. The cold hard facts are; houses will be build, roads will graded and fences will be installed. The challenge we face is how can build yet keep fragmentation to a minimum so the quality of our remaining rangeland is not significantly diminished or destroyed by inhibiting large scale ecological processes. The Ranch's ecological landscape has co-evolved for over two hundred years with cattle as the primary large mammal grazer and what one sees today in terms of Rangeland is a result of this co-evolution.

The vast majority of parcels are members of the Hollister Ranch Coop. The Coop has for the past 23 years has managed to maintain our ecological landscape for the most part as a single, continuous rangeland, successfully using cattle to keep important large scale ecological processes intact. As we continue to build on the Ranch it is vital to design your living compound with sensitivity to the surrounding rangelands and the cattle that graze them.

It is a scientific fact that large herbivorous mammals are natural landscape engineers and the mechanism that maintains vital ecological processes such as disturbance, herbivore, movement and nutrient cycling on a large scale. On the Ranch, cattle forage within multiple ecosystems and are able to move through non-useful ones to get there. This foraging and movement creates large scale disturbances that open up sites for re-colonization and renewal. They are also important in maintaining corridors for smaller animal movement and vital for recycling plant nutrients. The large grazing mammal becomes even more important when the landscape forming process of fire is significantly reduce as is the case at Hollister Ranch.

Any development fragments the ecological landscape. The larger fragment the greater the damage. The more fragments the greater the damage. Damage is compounded by the fact that not only is rangeland habitat removed, but the quality of the adjacent rangeland is also diminished. By removing optimal rangeland habitat, the adjacent optimal rangeland habitat has become sub-optimal. This is because now as rangeland grazers move through the landscape they put additional pressure on the remaining wild lands. It is also because of greater traffic, disruption of movement corridors, changes in noise, predators, light etc. a boundary zone or edge effect will develop and different species more accustom to disturbance will colonize. Invasive species will be at an advantage at this site.

If we continue to develop without careful regard for the needs of the Cattle Coop we will degrade our landscape beyond recognition. It may take years but it will happen and species extinctions will increase and bio-diversity will decrease.

How can you help the Coop maintain the pastoral atmosphere we treasure?

1) If you are not already a Coop member, become one. If you are not sure please call the Coop office and find out.

2) Limit your development to the County required two acres or less. Two acres of rangeland can be more work than one expects especially if well maintained. If you presently have over the County mandated 2 acres withdrawn from Coop use and wish to put some of it back into production, please call, we can help.

3) Support the Coop's rangeland management efforts such as; supplying water for off-stream troughs or help us fight noxious weeds such as artichoke thistle, yellow star thistle and cockle burr. If you are willing , we can use your help.

4) Design your development to fit the habitat. Seek input from HR sources (Coop, design committee etc.) before you print up plans. Little changes up-front in the process can make a big difference in long term success.

Now, more than ever before, we need to be aware of how important the Coop is in keeping our rangelands intact. Your awareness and participation will keep the Coop strong and successful.

Thanks in advance for your help

Sue Benech Field
Coop Board Member