User:Rudolph2007/Swanton Pacific Ranch

Introduction

Swanton Pacific Ranch is a thirty-two hundred acre ranch located in Santa Cruz County, California outside the town of Davenport. The ranch is owned and operated by Cal Poly State University for educational and research opportunities. The ranch encompasses rangeland, livestock and forestry operations for the College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental sciences. This ranch fosters Cal Poly’s teaching philosophy of “learn by doing” with emphasis on sustainable management of these agricultural practices.

History

The land has endured many ownership changes before becoming a part of the Cal Poly University. The region was first occupied by the Central California Ohlone Indian Tribe which inhabited much of the West central California coast. The tribe resided near Waddell Creek which runs from the east to west on the ranch land. The tribe lived on the land until sometime in the mid nineteenth century. In November of 1843, the land was granted to Ramon Rodriguez and Francisco Alviso by the Mexican Governor of California Manuel Micheltorena. This land grant was then named Rancho Agua Puerca Y Las Trancas, meaning Hog Water and the Bars, and the grant ownership was confirmed by president Andrew Johnson on March 1, 1867. After ownership of the land was changed a multiple number of times, Jamese Archibald finally received the land and decided to make use of it by implementing farming practices. To manage the dairy farm he hired a Swiss man named Ambrogio Gianone who began the construction of the numerous existing facilities around the land including the cheese house (1867) and the barn (1880). Eventually, Gianone bought about a third of the ranch land on the northern end which is now know appropriately as Gianone Hill. After Mr. Archibald died in 1875 his wife sold the remainder of the land to Joseph Bloom whom continued to use the land for water and farming purposes.

Geography

Swanton Pacific Ranch sits in the coastal mountains north of Santa Cruz. The 3,200 acre spread offers many things that you can’t find at Cal Poly. One of them is trees, a whole forest of them, 2,100 acres to be exact.These trees cover steep mountain slopes and march down to grassy meadows. The Scott Creek stream runs through Swanton Ranch. “The landscape is so different here than on campus,” notes natural resource management Professor Brian Dietterick, a certified hydrologist and the ranch’s director. He goes on to describe the ranch, “first are coastal forested mountains- steep mountains that support perennially flowing streams. The streams serve as habitat for sensitive aquatic species and fish like Coho salmon and Steelhead trout.” Professor Dietterick suggests that Swanton Pacific is a unique place to teach resource management. “It’s more similar to a Northern California Forest,” he said. Swanton Pacific is a living forest laboratory unlike any other at Cal Poly’s 1,300 acre campus core or the 4,600 acres of university ranches just west of the campus. Swanton Ranch overlooks the Pacific Ocean. It lies fifteen miles north of Santa Cruz. The elevation ranges from sea level to around 1,200 feet on the highest ridge north of Little Creek. There are four logical divisions on the land. They are cropland, forest, rangeland and riparian land. Riparian lands are adjacent to water sources. There are riparian corridors along Scotts Creek, Mill Creek, Little Creek, Archibald Creek, Queseria Creek, and some smaller unnamed drainages. The riparian corridors provide a habitat for both the endangered Coho salmon and the threatened Steelhead trout.

Almost half of Swanton Pacific Ranch (1,355 acres) is covered with mixed forest. Over 63% of the forest contains Redwood trees. (Todd, 1988). The majority of the remaining land is grassland with about 330 acres of brush. The major riparian corridor goes straight through the center of the ranch along Scotts Creek. It widens to 120 feet at the estuary which flows into the ocean. The rest of the riparian corridors are only a few feet wide due to steep slopes. There are 102 acres of cultivated land. Vegetables dominate the crops grown at Swanton. There is also some oat hay grown on the ranch.

For purposes of teaching natural resource management, the Ranch is divided in four major habitat areas. They are grasslands, wetlands, riparian lands and forestland. The forest land is divided into three separate forestry type areas.

Ranch Facilities

The facilities on Swanton Ranch are beautiful and well maintained. They are used for ranch management and student housing. The Ranch administrative offices are housed in the Green House. The Greenhouse is the first stop for most visitors. The Green House has a kitchen/dining room area for interns studying and staying on the Ranch. The Red House contains two meeting rooms that open into one large room. The Red House has five bedrooms for student interns, two bathrooms and a kitchen. The Al Smith House is located on the east side of Swanton Road, just north of the CDF fire station. This house was built by Al Smith for his frequent visits. It has two bedrooms, two baths and a magnificent stone fireplace. The living room overlooks the ocean. There is a separate training facility here which can be used as a meeting room. A water monitoring lab is also located in the Al Smith House. The barn at Swanton Ranch was built in 1874. It is enclose with wood siding that was milled from the Ranch’s own timber. It has a corrugated iron roof. Much of the structure was originally constructed with pegs rather than nails. Cal Poly has taken over the restoration of the barn and has used the original construction concepts whenever feasible when remodeling it. The Bunk House is another place for interns to stay while studying at the Ranch. It currently can accommodate ten students. It has seven bedrooms and four bathrooms. The Staub House has a living area upstairs for resident graduate students, and a kitchen which serves the yurts on the lower level. It is named for one of the previous settlers on the Ranch. The Yurts, located in front of the Staub House provide accommodations for forty people on field trips to Swanton Ranch. The yurts were installed in 1999. There is also a building called the Cheese House on Swanton Ranch. The Cheese House is listed in the County Register of Historic Buildings. Presently, there is no current use for the Cheese House. In the future Cal Poly hopes to open a roadside stand for ranch produce here.

Swanton Pacific Railroad

The Swanton Pacific Railroad running through the land was constructed in the early 20th century after the San Francisco Earthquake of 1906 and was completed on October 16, 1914 and was at the time called the Overfair Railway. The track was constructed as a part of the Panama Pacific Exposition of 1915 which was an official celebration of the completion of Panama Canal which was valued because of the diverse commerce and trade that it brought for the west coast. Louis Macdermot had the vision and the wealth to put the railroad construction project into play. The railroad is scaled to 1/3 of the standard railway and three steam locomotives run on the tracks.

Land Uses

Swanton Pacific Ranch is a self-sustaining non-profit organization and educational institution that provides hands-on learning about sustainable resource management. The Ranch is run like a commercial ranching operation, with crops, grazing and forestry programs covering 80% of operating expenses. The remaining 20% comes from an endowment through Al Smith, a Cal Poly Alumni that gave the Ranch to Cal Poly. Swanton Pacific Ranch serves the people of California as part of Cal Poly State University, San Luis Obispo. The Ranch provides educational opportunities for K-12th grade, college age and above. Agricultural programs provide education while incorporating sensitivity for environmental concerns. Ranch management falls into three divisions; forestry, rangeland and cropland.

Forestry

Forested lands are managed as commercial forests and comprise 1000 acres at Swanton. These forests are predominately second growth Redwood-Douglas-fir forests. This is a result of logging from 1909 through 1921. Cal Poly is committed to providing its students with a quality forestry education that provides experience of the entire timber management procedure while converting to and maintaining an uneven-aged forest. The forests at the Ranch offer students a wide range of forest management opportunities from prime commercial Redwood-Douglas fir forests to restoring poor-quality damaged trees and improving the genetic base of native Monterey pine trees. The forestry project at Swanton Pacific has a commitment to ensure not only the quality of its educational program for its students, but also the health of the forests. The ranch is FSC certified. Having this certification shows sustainable Forestry practices. The forest project is committed to using the best management practices available for minimizing environmental damage during harvest and providing a diverse resource base for wildlife habitat while ensuring the future health of the trees.

The forestry program has completed two timber harvest plans for the Little Creek Unit that complied with State and Local Timber Regulations. The first harvest was completed in 1990-91 and harvested 1.5 million board feet for a gross return of $200,000. The second was undertaken in 1993-95 and grossed $542,803 for the same amount of timber. The difference in the return was due to the increase in timber prices over the years. Approximately 260 acres were harvested in total. Presently, 259 of the 315 acres have been harvested over the last fifteen years. There will be one more area harvested over the next two years. Cutting cycles are planned for ten to fifteen year periods with an evaluation done after five years.

Reforestation is also occurring at Swanton. Redwood resprouts after harvesting. No replanting is required. There are some under stocked areas however. These areas are planted with redwood to increase the redwood component. Careful monitoring and thinning of the existing clumps is undertaken. The redwood harvest in the early 1900’s included burning which probably helped the regrowth become stronger. Douglas Fir does not re-sprout and so must be planted where desired.

Livestock

Livestock raising is another major activity that happens on the Swanton Pacific Ranch. One of Swanton’s newest operations is the natural beef program, run by the Animal Science Department at Cal Poly. The department raises all natural grain-fed and grass fed beef in the meadowlands at the ranch, selling it twice a year on campus. Watching over the herd of livestock is livestock manager Gordon Claassen, who oversees the 500 plus head of cattle. He constantly monitors the herds, moving cattle from pasture to pasture based on the condition of the grasses they eat. The natural beef project easily fits the “sustainable agriculture” nature of Swanton Pacific Ranch. .

Cropland

Cropland acreage is approximately 115 acres, all of it CCOF Certified organic production of vegetables and oat hay. The philosophy at Swanton is to provide a diversity of crops and marketing opportunities for students in a “learn by doing” environment. They have a long term goal of breaking even or better on their returns. Diversity of products and farming organically are both seen as sound business practices. Five fields have been leased to Jacob’s Farm/Del Cabo Inc. which grows perennial culinary herbs. Apple picking has also become a popular event at Swanton Ranch. The organic u-pick orchard has twelve varieties of apples. The two acre orchard yields five tons of apples every year.

Educational Opportunities

A variety of educational programs are available at Swanton Pacific Ranch. There are residential programs for Cal Poly students in the areas of forest management, resource management, watershed management, livestock management, crop specialist, horticultural specialist and integrated ranch management. There are also opportunities for special problems and senior projects in all agriculture and natural resource areas. The Ranch also provides the opportunity for student field trips and short training courses serving students, faculty, staff and others. Another exciting component to the educational program is FNR 475 (Sustainable Forestry and Environmental Practices). This is a field based course offered for credit during the summer quarter.

Another important aspect of the learning experience at Swanton has to do with community service. Interns working and living at the ranch have as part of their responsibilities a community service component. Each intern selects the type of community service they would like to be involved in, and the ranch assists them by providing this service time. Interns have been involved in various types of programs such as beach clean up, trail maintenance and running educational programs in local schools.

Dr. Dietterick talks about stewardship of the land in this way, “We are Cal Poly,” Dietterick explains. “We’re trying to demonstrate informed stewardship of the land.” For its efforts, Cal Poly received international certification and recognition in 2004, one of only four universities in the country to be so honored. This stewardship that all students feel when working at Swanton Ranch is what motivated alumnus and Orchard Supply Hardware president Albert B. Smith to donate Swanton Pacific to the university when he died in 1993. “Swanton is an uncrowned, beautiful place,” Smith wrote before his death, adding that he wanted to preserve as much acreage as possible and share it with people “who appreciate it and profit from the experience.” Swanton Ranch is a wonderful place to study and learn. All programs are run with a sustainable and ethical approach.