California grant moves 1,688 ranch acres into public ownership for conservation

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 undammedThe East Fork Carson River is one of the few major rivers in the Eastern Sierra that remains undammed.