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Coordinates: 37°55′46″N 122°40′56″W / 37.9294°N 122.6822°W / 37.9294; -122.6822
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{{DISPLAYTITLE:Audubon Canyon Ranch}}
{{Infobox protected area
{{Infobox protected area
| name = Audubon Canyon
| name = Audubon Canyon Ranch
| alt_name = Martin Griffin Preserve
| alt_name = Martin Griffin Preserve
| iucn_category =
| iucn_category =
| photo = [[File:The Bourne House, Martin Griffin Preserve.jpg|thumb|the historic Bourne house at the entrance of Audubon Canyon Ranch's Martin Griffin Preserve]]
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| photo = Audubon Canyon Ranch 3435.jpg
| photo_alt =
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| photo_caption = Audubon Canyon Ranch in 2009
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| map = California#USA
| map = California#USA
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'''Audubon Canyon Ranch''' (ACR), is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit environmental conservation and education organization headquartered in [[Stinson Beach]], [[Marin County]], [[California]] on the eastern shore of [[Bolinas Lagoon]]. The lands upon which ACR operates are within the ancestral territories of the [[Coast Miwok]], [[Southern Pomo]] and [[Wappo]] peoples<ref>{{Cite web|last=Fimrite|first=Peter|date=2019-09-09|title=Artifacts alter timeline for Native Americans in California|url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/environment/article/Discovery-alters-timeline-for-Native-Americans-in-14423617.php|access-date=2021-04-28|website=San Francisco Chronicle|language=en-US}}</ref>. ACR recognizes that Indigenous communities are very much alive today and striving to protect and maintain relationships with cultural and natural resources on ACR lands; we fully acknowledge that Indigenous lands are still occupied by us and others.
'''Audubon Canyon''' is a coastal valley in [[Marin County, California]], [[United States]],<ref>{{gnis|218457|Audubon Canyon}}</ref> which is associated with a small stream. The canyon provides habitat for a variety of animals and plants. Notably, its [[Sequoia sempervirens|redwoods]] provide nesting sites for [[great blue heron]]s, [[great egret]]s, and [[snowy egret]]s.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.sfgate.com/getoutside/1996/may/acr.html |title=Audubon Canyon Ranch - Bolinas Lagoon Preserve |accessdate=2008-01-19 |work=The San Francisco Chronicle |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070526174745/http://www.sfgate.com/getoutside/1996/may/acr.html |archive-date=May 26, 2007 }}</ref>
Audubon Canyon Ranch was founded in 1962 to save a major heronry and block commercial development of Bolinas Lagoon in western Marin County, leading the way for the protection of Tomales Bay to the north. Today, Audubon Canyon Ranch stewards a system of [[nature preserves]] totaling 5,000 acres across 26 properties in [[Marin County]] and [[Sonoma County]] and conducts conservation science that in turn informs its education programs and directs its work on some of the region's most challenging environmental issues.
ACR’s conservation science program has monitored the North Bay region nesting successes of [[herons]] and [[egrets]] for over 40 years<ref>{{Cite web|url= https://egret.org/north-bay-nest-monitoring |title= North Bay Nest Monitoring - Audubon Canyon Ranch}}</ref>, collected long-term data sets on wintering shorebird and waterbird populations<ref>{{Cite web|url= https://egret.org/shorebird_survey |title= Shorebird Survey - Audubon Canyon Ranch |publisher= [[Audubon Canyon Ranch]]}}</ref> on [[Tomales Bay]] for over 30 years, and is using GPS to track the movements of individual mountain lions<ref>{{Cite web|date=2019-09-24|title=Mountain Lions in Sonoma County, and a Man’s Mission to Save Them|url=https://www.sonomamag.com/mountain-lions-in-our-midst-and-a-mans-mission-to-save-them/|access-date=2021-04-28|website=Sonoma Magazine|language=en-US}}</ref> in the Sonoma Valley and Great Egrets and Long-billed Curlews on the coast. ACR’s experiential nature education program, which turned 50 in 2020, has connected more than 300,000 Bay Area children and adults to the wonders of nature, cultivating environmental literacy and a conservation ethic. ACR's Fire Forward<ref>{{Cite web|date=2019-12-20|title=How will California prevent more mega-wildfire disasters?|url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/how-will-california-prevent-more-mega-wildfire-disasters|access-date=2021-04-28|website=Science|language=en}}</ref> program, founded in 2017, is advancing our community's ability to use “good fire" to reduce risk and build ecosystem resilience against climate-driven wildfire events<ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-03-18|title=‘Burn It on Our Terms’: Using Flames to Curb Catastrophic Wildfire in Sonoma County|url=https://www.sonomamag.com/burn-it-on-our-terms-using-flames-to-curb-catastrophic-wildfire-in-sonoma-county/|access-date=2021-04-28|website=Sonoma Magazine|language=en-US}}</ref>. ACR also stewards cultural treasures in our care, including the literary legacy of American author [[M.F.K. Fisher]] <ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-03-16|title=Meet 3 Wine Country women who changed the way we eat|url=https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/lifestyle/these-wine-country-women-changed-the-way-we-eat/|access-date=2021-04-28|website=Santa Rosa Press Democrat|language=en-US}}</ref>at her Last House at Bouverie Preserve.


'''ACR’s Martin Griffin Preserve'''
The stream descends the western slope of [[Bolinas Ridge]], crosses [[California State Route 1|State Route 1]], and drains into [[Bolinas Lagoon]] about {{convert|3|mi|km|0}} north of [[Stinson Beach, California]].<ref>[http://www.topoquest.com/map.asp?lat=37.93485&lon=-122.67629&size=l&u=4&datum=nad83&layer=DRG TopoQuest map], USGS, retrieved July 5, 2008</ref>


ACR’s Martin Griffin Preserve encompasses 1,000 acres in West Marin, protected in perpetuity since 1962 as a wildlife sanctuary. The preserve’s topography is characterized by its four canyons—Volunteer Canyon, Picher Canyon, Garden Club Canyon and [[Pike County Gulch]]—which vary in maximum elevation from 1,590–1,720 feet, and their associated streams and watersheds.
'''Audubon Canyon Ranch''', a private land preservation organization based in the North Bay, has preserved much of the canyon as part of its Martin Griffin Preserve, named after [[L. Martin Griffin Jr.]], an environmentalist who helped save the area in the 1960s and founded the organization.<ref>https://www.egret.org/martys-page</ref>

At the [[Bolinas Lagoon]] edge, [[California State Route 1]] borders the western edge of the property while the [[Golden Gate National Recreation Area ]]surrounds the northern, eastern and southern borders.

'''The Land'''

Mixed evergreen forests blanket slopes overlooking the Bolinas Lagoon. Open hillsides support grasslands and coastal scrub, while freshwater habitats nestle in canyon floors. The preserve is home to more than twenty-five species of mammals, over ninety species of land birds, thirteen species of reptile, and eight species of amphibian.

The preserve’s frontage along Bolinas Lagoon brings more than 60 species of waterbirds and shorebirds into view—from [[sandpipers]] to [[Osprey]] to [[pelicans]]—as well as some of the resident [[harbor seals]].

'''The History'''

Operating for many years as a family-run dairy ranch called Canyon Ranch, the land is now protected in perpetuity thanks to the stalwart conservation efforts in the early 1960s of [[L. Martin Griffin]]<ref>{{Cite web|date=2020-07-21|title=Marty Griffin, savior of Marin open space, nears 100th birthday|url=https://www.marinij.com/2020/07/21/marty-griffin-savior-of-marin-open-space-nears-100th-birthday/|access-date=2021-04-28|website=Marin Independent Journal|language=en-US}}</ref> (then president of the Marin Chapter of the National Audubon Society), Aileen Pierson, Stan Picher, and other dedicated volunteers who organized to purchase the property for the protection of heron and egret nesting sites. <ref>https://www.egret.org/martys-page</ref> The preserve was designated a [[National Natural Landmark]] in 1968.<ref>{{Cite web|url= http://www.nature.nps.gov/nnl/site.cfm?Site=AUCA-CA |title= Audubon Canyon Ranch |publisher= [[National Park Service]] |work= nps.gov}}</ref>
For over 40 years, the Martin Griffin Preserve was known as the Bolinas Lagoon Preserve of Audubon Canyon Ranch. In July 2010, the ACR Board of Directors formally renamed the preserve the Martin Griffin Preserve in honor of Marty Griffin’s lifelong commitment to the environment and in recognition of the critical role he played in permanently protecting this unique section of the Marin County coastline.


The canyon was designated a [[National Natural Landmark]] in 1968.<ref>{{Cite web|url= http://www.nature.nps.gov/nnl/site.cfm?Site=AUCA-CA |title= Audubon Canyon Ranch |publisher= [[National Park Service]] |work= nps.gov}}</ref> Several local chapters of the National Audubon Society, Marin Audubon Society and Golden Gate Audubon Society of the East Bay and San Francisco, organized to purchase property for the protection of heron and egret nesting sites.<ref>https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-mountain-lion-shot-20190212-story.html</ref>


==See also==
==See also==
*[[Golden Gate Biosphere Reserve]]
*[[Golden Gate Biosphere Reserve]]
*[[Bolinas Ridge]]
*[[List of watercourses in the San Francisco Bay Area]]
*[[Pike County Gulch]]
*[[Pike County Gulch]]
*[[Stinson Gulch]]
*[[M.F.K. Fisher]]



==References==
==References==
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{{authority control}}
{{authority control}}
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[[Category:Nature reserves in California]]

[[Category:Canyons and gorges of California]]
[[Category:Canyons and gorges of California]]
[[Category:Rivers of Marin County, California]]
[[Category:Valleys of Marin County, California]]
[[Category:Valleys of Marin County, California]]
[[Category:West Marin]]
[[Category:West Marin]]
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[[Category:Nature reserves in California]]
[[Category:National Natural Landmarks in California]]
[[Category:National Natural Landmarks in California]]
[[Category:Protected areas of Marin County, California]]
[[Category:Protected areas of Marin County, California]]
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{{MarinCountyCA-geo-stub}}
{{MarinCountyCA-geo-stub}}
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[[Category:Non-profit organizations based in California]]
[[Category:Environmental organizations]]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Audubon_Canyon_Ranch}}

Revision as of 08:43, 28 April 2021

Audubon Canyon Ranch
Martin Griffin Preserve
the historic Bourne house at the entrance of Audubon Canyon Ranch's Martin Griffin Preserve
Map showing the location of Audubon Canyon Ranch
Map showing the location of Audubon Canyon Ranch
Map of California
Map showing the location of Audubon Canyon Ranch
Map showing the location of Audubon Canyon Ranch
Audubon Canyon Ranch (the United States)
LocationMarin County, California
Nearest cityStinson Beach
Coordinates37°55′46″N 122°40′56″W / 37.9294°N 122.6822°W / 37.9294; -122.6822
Websitewww.egret.org
Designated1968

Audubon Canyon Ranch (ACR), is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit environmental conservation and education organization headquartered in Stinson Beach, Marin County, California on the eastern shore of Bolinas Lagoon. The lands upon which ACR operates are within the ancestral territories of the Coast Miwok, Southern Pomo and Wappo peoples[1]. ACR recognizes that Indigenous communities are very much alive today and striving to protect and maintain relationships with cultural and natural resources on ACR lands; we fully acknowledge that Indigenous lands are still occupied by us and others.

Audubon Canyon Ranch was founded in 1962 to save a major heronry and block commercial development of Bolinas Lagoon in western Marin County, leading the way for the protection of Tomales Bay to the north. Today, Audubon Canyon Ranch stewards a system of nature preserves totaling 5,000 acres across 26 properties in Marin County and Sonoma County and conducts conservation science that in turn informs its education programs and directs its work on some of the region's most challenging environmental issues.

ACR’s conservation science program has monitored the North Bay region nesting successes of herons and egrets for over 40 years[2], collected long-term data sets on wintering shorebird and waterbird populations[3] on Tomales Bay for over 30 years, and is using GPS to track the movements of individual mountain lions[4] in the Sonoma Valley and Great Egrets and Long-billed Curlews on the coast. ACR’s experiential nature education program, which turned 50 in 2020, has connected more than 300,000 Bay Area children and adults to the wonders of nature, cultivating environmental literacy and a conservation ethic. ACR's Fire Forward[5] program, founded in 2017, is advancing our community's ability to use “good fire" to reduce risk and build ecosystem resilience against climate-driven wildfire events[6]. ACR also stewards cultural treasures in our care, including the literary legacy of American author M.F.K. Fisher [7]at her Last House at Bouverie Preserve.

ACR’s Martin Griffin Preserve

ACR’s Martin Griffin Preserve encompasses 1,000 acres in West Marin, protected in perpetuity since 1962 as a wildlife sanctuary. The preserve’s topography is characterized by its four canyons—Volunteer Canyon, Picher Canyon, Garden Club Canyon and Pike County Gulch—which vary in maximum elevation from 1,590–1,720 feet, and their associated streams and watersheds.

At the Bolinas Lagoon edge, California State Route 1 borders the western edge of the property while the Golden Gate National Recreation Area surrounds the northern, eastern and southern borders.

The Land

Mixed evergreen forests blanket slopes overlooking the Bolinas Lagoon. Open hillsides support grasslands and coastal scrub, while freshwater habitats nestle in canyon floors. The preserve is home to more than twenty-five species of mammals, over ninety species of land birds, thirteen species of reptile, and eight species of amphibian.

The preserve’s frontage along Bolinas Lagoon brings more than 60 species of waterbirds and shorebirds into view—from sandpipers to Osprey to pelicans—as well as some of the resident harbor seals.

The History

Operating for many years as a family-run dairy ranch called Canyon Ranch, the land is now protected in perpetuity thanks to the stalwart conservation efforts in the early 1960s of L. Martin Griffin[8] (then president of the Marin Chapter of the National Audubon Society), Aileen Pierson, Stan Picher, and other dedicated volunteers who organized to purchase the property for the protection of heron and egret nesting sites. [9] The preserve was designated a National Natural Landmark in 1968.[10]

For over 40 years, the Martin Griffin Preserve was known as the Bolinas Lagoon Preserve of Audubon Canyon Ranch. In July 2010, the ACR Board of Directors formally renamed the preserve the Martin Griffin Preserve in honor of Marty Griffin’s lifelong commitment to the environment and in recognition of the critical role he played in permanently protecting this unique section of the Marin County coastline.


See also


References

  1. ^ Fimrite, Peter (2019-09-09). "Artifacts alter timeline for Native Americans in California". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2021-04-28.
  2. ^ "North Bay Nest Monitoring - Audubon Canyon Ranch".
  3. ^ "Shorebird Survey - Audubon Canyon Ranch". Audubon Canyon Ranch.
  4. ^ "Mountain Lions in Sonoma County, and a Man's Mission to Save Them". Sonoma Magazine. 2019-09-24. Retrieved 2021-04-28.
  5. ^ "How will California prevent more mega-wildfire disasters?". Science. 2019-12-20. Retrieved 2021-04-28.
  6. ^ "'Burn It on Our Terms': Using Flames to Curb Catastrophic Wildfire in Sonoma County". Sonoma Magazine. 2021-03-18. Retrieved 2021-04-28.
  7. ^ "Meet 3 Wine Country women who changed the way we eat". Santa Rosa Press Democrat. 2021-03-16. Retrieved 2021-04-28.
  8. ^ "Marty Griffin, savior of Marin open space, nears 100th birthday". Marin Independent Journal. 2020-07-21. Retrieved 2021-04-28.
  9. ^ https://www.egret.org/martys-page
  10. ^ "Audubon Canyon Ranch". nps.gov. National Park Service.


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