A REFUGE AT THE SAND ON THE NORTHERN CALIFORNIA COAST
Dillon Beach is a jewel of the Northern California coast, with green, rolling headlands, sweeping views of Bodega Bay and tide pools that teem with life—all within driving distance of the San Francisco Bay Area. Critically for fish and wildlife, Dillon Beach contains a dynamic estuary called the Estero de San Antonio. This estuary provides important habitat for a vast array of fish, birds, insects, plants and animals, many of them rare.
Within this vibrant coastal refuge, Western Rivers Conservancy had the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to conserve a 466-acre property called Dillon Beach Ranch. The property makes up the entire southern shore of the estuary (about 1.5 miles) and another mile and a half of Pacific coastline. In December 2023, we purchased the ranch, which we then held while we raised the necessary funding to convey it to the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria in September 2024.
NEW HOPE FOR COASTAL FISH, FROGS AND BUTTERFLIES
Conservation of Dillon Beach Ranch will bolster the health of the Estero de San Antonio, a rare cold-water stream that provides habitat for a host of fish species, including designated Critical Habitat for a strong population of endangered northern tidewater goby. This small native fish depends on the spawning habitat among the estuary’s seasonal sandbars. Our efforts also ensure prime habitat for threatened California red-legged frog and several rare butterfly species will stay intact forever. Only four populations of the endangered Myrtle’s silverspot butterfly are known to exist, and all of them are in the estuary’s vicinity.
RECONNECTING WITH ANCESTRAL LANDS
For the Federated Indians of the Graton Rancheria, a federation of Coast Miwok and Southern Pomo communities, gaining new ownership of the ranch means reconnecting with ancestral lands. The tribes inhabited the estuary and surrounding areas historically, with cultural sites and descendants still present there today. WRC worked closely with the Graton Rancheria and other partners to craft a durable conservation solution that permanently protects Dillon Beach Ranch, the Estero de San Antonio, and the irreplaceable cultural and natural resources they share.
A VIDEO FROM THE FEDERATED INDIANS OF GRATON RANCHERIA
