Scientists estimate that as little as 10 percent of the grasslands of Old California remain today, yet they harbor a high concentration of imperiled species. The Ramona Grasslands’ rare habitat, central location and high density of sensitive species prompted The Nature Conservancy to identify the area as a high conservation priority.
 

In the heart of San Diego County, The Nature Conservancy is working to protect one of southern California’s last extensive grasslands. Named for the small ranching town on its eastern edge, the Conservancy’s Ramona Grasslands Project Area encompasses 8,000 acres in the County’s backcountry. Along with grass-blanketed fields, the project area takes in coastal sage scrub, rare vernal pools, oak woodlands and riparian forest. This diverse landscape supports a wide array of plants and animals and serves as a critical linkage for wildlife movement between the Cleveland National Forest and other conservation areas such as Iron Mountain and San Pascual Valley.

The project area provides habitat for four endangered animal species – the Stephens’ kangaroo rat, arroyo toad, California gnatcatcher and San Diego fairy shrimp. Many rare plants grow in the vernal pools, including the endangered Parish's brittlescale, which was once thought to be extinct. The fields offer safe passage to long-ranging mammals such as deer, bobcat and mountain lions. Thirteen species of raptors have been spotted here and more ferruginous hawks winter here than in any other place in southern California.

Because San Diego County is one of the most rapidly growing areas in the United States, home prices are skyrocketing and pushing residential development deeper into the backcountry. Plans are already in the works to carve up hundreds of acres of the grasslands into residential subdivisions, leaving already-cornered wildlife without the habitat they rely on for survival.

The Ramona Grasslands’ rare habitat, central location and high density of sensitive species prompted The Nature Conservancy to identify the area as a high conservation priority in 2002. We are working with San Diego County Department of Parks and Recreation and other local partners to protect at least 4,000 contiguous acres of the Ramona Grasslands through land acquisitions and preservation agreements with willing landowners.

Already we have purchased three adjoining resource-rich properties - the 420-acre Cagney Ranch, 230-acre Oak Country Estates and the 1,231-acre Davis-Eagle Ranch. Our goal is to transfer these and future acquisitions into public holding and help establish a Ramona Grasslands Preserve. This strategically situated core preserve is a key element in the Conservancy’s plan to create an interconnected network of protected areas throughout the most biologically diverse county in the continental United States.