Eight-million-dollar grant moves 1,688 acres of ranch to public hands, safeguarding river and wildlife corridor

A conservation grant of $8 million facilitated the transfer of 1,688 acres of Park Ranch to Alpine County, finalizing a project that began when Western Rivers Conservancy bought the property in 2025. The parcel contains 1.6 miles of the East Fork Carson River—one of the few undammed rivers in the Eastern Sierra—plus about 2.97 miles of tributaries supporting native fish such as the Lahontan cutthroat trout. The ranch also lies within a crucial seasonal migration corridor for mule deer, black bears and other species.

During its stewardship, the conservancy removed fencing to improve wildlife movement and installed erosion-control barriers. Alpine County intends to continue limited grazing to lower wildfire fuel, while a future management plan will open the area for recreation and link existing trails to the Markleeville Campground.