45 sheep brought to San Miguel Island grew to 6,000 in just 12 years

Once, on a remote island battered by fierce winds and surrounded by the Pacific, there existed a peculiar ranching empire. San Miguel Island, now part of California’s Channel Islands National Park, was once home to thousands of sheep, isolated ranching families, and a sprawling ranch complex built partly from shipwreck debris. But decades of unbridled grazing degraded the landscape, stripping away vegetation and increasing erosion. Today, the ruins of that period offer a painful window into the island’s tortured history.From 45 sheep to thousandsSheep grazed on San Miguel Island prior to 1850, but the ranching period expanded greatly when California pioneer George Nidever made his home on the island in 1850. He brought in sheep and cattle, hogs and horses, forty-five head in all. In a dozen years the flock had increased to some 6,000 sheep. But the island’s delicate environment could not have supported such heavy grazing indefinitely.