Acquisition of Whisler-Wilson Ranch Protects Legacy of Land Stewardship, Creates Opportunity for Connecting Parklands

Small_photo%20e-news%20whisler%20wilson%201

The Land Trust has acquired the 317-acre Whisler-Wilson Ranch, a final key piece in a larger landscape of local and state-protected lands that will help create new opportunities for future public access, recreation and outdoor education. Located south of Carmel and inland of Highway One, across from Monastery Beach and Pt. Lobos State Natural Reserve, the Ranch is part of the historic Pt. Lobos Ranch once owned and cared for by the family of A. M. Allan, an important figure in Monterey County history who worked to protect Pt. Lobos from 19th-century development.

BSLT purchased the property in December 2010 from the Whisler and Wilson Family Trusts; two of A. M. Allan’s granddaughters, sisters Mary Morgan Riley Whisler and Elizabeth Allan Riley Wilson, are matriarchs of the family trusts. Mary Whisler remembers how her grandfather always stood tall and erect and always wore a suit and tie, even at picnics. There was pride and confidence and a sense of doing things right, a way of thinking that also informed how the family cared for their land. “For six generations our families have had a wonderfully long and deep connection to this land,” Mary Whisler says. “Our families never wanted it to be developed.”

The Ranch includes a beautiful creek canyon lined with mixed stands of redwoods, sycamores, bays and cottonwoods flanked by open meadowlands. Upland terraces feature oak, madrone and bay trees as well as maritime chaparral and coastal scrub, offering stunning “top of the world” views of Pt. Lobos State Natural Reserve, Carmel River State Beach, and the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary as well as inland views of Palo Corona Regional Park, Jack’s Peak, Carmel Valley and the mountain ranges beyond. Riparian habitat along San Jose Creek provides an important home for Central Coast steelhead, red-legged frogs and migrating songbirds.

The property is also home to generations of memories. “My mother rode with her father and then with me up the canyon on horseback, and I have done the same thing with my children and grand-children,” says Betty Wilson. “Everyone learned how to fish here and caught their first trout on the ranch.” Red honeysuckle berries, redwood branches and white snowball berries were picked for holiday decorations. The sisters’ mother, Eunice Riley, was an excellent horsewoman who managed the ranch’s dairy and beef cattle. Going “up the canyon” was a favorite activity for the family and its out-of-town visitors.

Small_photo%20e-news%20winter%202011%20conservation%20in%20action%20whisler%20wilson%202

BSLT acquired the Ranch for $4 million using private monies from the Land Trust’s McMahan Revolving Acquisition Fund. Established in 2004 through a legacy gift from the Catherine L. and Robert O. McMahan Foundation, the fund allows the Land Trust to rapidly “bridge finance” important land acquisitions such as Whisler-Wilson while it seeks to raise monies to reimburse the fund.

According to Joanna Devers, BSLT’s Land Acquisitions Manager, the Land Trust has been looking at this property for over a decade. “Whisler-Wilson is surrounded by a large network of public protected land and has significant conservation values. Investing resources in this purchase allows The Big Sur Land Trust and its community partners to plan for future managed public use and access,” Devers says.

The Nature Conservancy contributed $166,050 towards the purchase to conserve redwoods and stream habitats on the property. “Monterey County is one of the most biologically diverse places on Earth, and the Whisler-Wilson Ranch is historic and environmentally important,” says The Nature Conservancy Monterey Project Director Christina Fischer. “The Nature Conservancy is proud to work with The Big Sur Land Trust to protect this outstanding property for people and nature.”

The Whisler-Wilson acquisition is a critical component of the Carmel River Parkway Vision Plan for integrated parks, trails, and restoration and education sites. A network of public trails is envisioned to provide safe access and connection to existing public parklands, such as Palo Corona Regional Park and Pt. Lobos Ranch State Park as well as to other trails, serving as connection points for learning the stories and natural histories of people and the land.

“The Whisler-Wilson property stands as an important link within a future integrated park, open space system and trail network,” says BSLT Executive Director Bill Leahy, “and will offer all members of our communities magnificent learning opportunities about native wildlife and plants, the history of native cultures and European settlers, and what it is to experience one of our area’s most unique and beautiful landscapes.”

Mary Whisler adds, “There was an expectation within the family that the property would never be developed. It is such an unusual and beautiful place, so close to Carmel, yet a world away. We just want it to stay the way it is.”

You can help protect the natural resources of the Whisler-Wilson Ranch.