An $8 million conservation grant has helped place 1,688 acres of California ranchland into public ownership, protecting a stretch of one of the Eastern Sierra’s few major undammed rivers and preserving a critical wildlife corridor. According to Alpine County, Western Rivers Conservancy and the California Wildlife Conservation Board, Park Ranch near Markleeville was formally transferred to Alpine County in August. The property includes 1.6 miles of the East Fork Carson River and nearly three miles of its tributaries. The transfer marks the end of a conservation effort that began when Western Rivers Conservancy (WRC) acquired the ranch in two phases starting in 2025. The organization has now handed the property to the county for permanent stewardship.
A river left undammed
The East Fork Carson River is one of the few major rivers in the Eastern Sierra that remains undammed. The section running through Park Ranch is also valued for its trout waters and recreational opportunities. Along with the 1.6-mile stretch of the main river, the property contains about 2.97 miles of Markleeville Creek, Pleasant Valley Creek and Hot Springs Creek. These waterways provide habitat for native fish, including the federally threatened Lahontan cutthroat trout, as well as Paiute sculpin, mountain whitefish, mountain sucker, Tahoe sucker, Lahontan redside shiner and speckled dace. The ranch’s landscape includes mountain meadows, cottonwood and willow stands, mixed-conifer forests and sagebrush-steppe, a mix that makes the property particularly valuable to wildlife.
A vital corridor for wildlife
Park Ranch also sits within an important movement corridor used by mule deer, black bears and other wildlife as they move seasonally through the Eastern Sierra. Conservation of the property is intended to keep that corridor connected while protecting river and riparian habitat. WRC also removed sections of fencing during its ownership to improve wildlife movement and installed wildlife-friendly fencing along Markleeville Creek to reduce erosion. The $8 million grant was allocated by California’s Wildlife Conservation Board to support acquisition of the property. The board’s May 2026 agenda described the project as protecting an interconnected Eastern Sierra landscape while creating future wildlife-oriented public-use opportunities.
Conservation, with a working-ranch legacy
The ranch will not simply become open space. Alpine County plans to continue compatible grazing as part of its approach to habitat management and wildfire-fuel reduction. That is significant for nearby Markleeville, where reducing vegetation that could fuel wildfires is a key concern. During WRC’s ownership, livestock grazing continued for this purpose. The property will ultimately be managed for conservation, wildlife and recreation while retaining aspects of the area’s ranching character.
Public access is coming
For now, the newly acquired land is not simply an open-to-everyone recreation area. Alpine County has said public access will begin after a comprehensive management plan is established. Once that happens, Park Ranch is expected to connect the Markleeville Campground with hiking trails beginning upstream at Hangman’s Bridge, creating a larger connected area for outdoor recreation. The result is a rare combination: a large working landscape moving into public ownership without losing its ranching character, while a free-flowing river, native fish habitat and a major wildlife passage remain protected for the future.
