Tejon Ranch Ecology and Botony
The monthly meeting of the Los Serranos Group of the Sierra Club is Tuesday, October 17, at 7:00 PM. Nick Jensen, a PhD candidate at Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden/Claremont Graduate University will discuss his research on the ecology and botony of Tejon Ranch, the site of his dissertation research. Meeting is held at The Goldy S. Lewis Community Center, 11200 Base Line Road, Rancho Cucamonga, CA. Meet in the Alta Loma Room. New members and the public are welcome.
At 270,000 acres, Tejon Ranch is California’s largest contiguous piece of private land. Located primarily in the Tehachapi Mountains of Kern County, Tejon Ranch occupies one of the most interesting and complex areas of ecological convergence in the state: the junction of the San Joaquin Valley, Sierra Nevada, Western Transverse Ranges, and Mojave Desert.
Prior to 2008, when 90 percent of the ranch was placed under conservation agreements (a deal made possible, in part, by the Sierra Club), Tejon Ranch was closed to scientific research. On Tejon Ranch, over the past two years, Nick has made more than 4,000 herbarium collections representing at least one new species, dozens of new populations of rare species, and countless range extensions. Tejon Ranch was the focus of a long and bitter fight to preserve it’s unique flora, fauna, scenic, and recreational attributes. 240,000 acres has been conserved under the Tejon Ranch Conservancy.
Nick Jensen is a PhD candidate at Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden/Claremont Graduate University. His research interests include biogeography, rare plants, and biodiversity. His primary research project is the flora of Tejon Ranch, which is centered in the Tehachapi Mountains. Nick is also interested in gaining a greater understanding of the threats to California’s plants. Prior to his graduate career, Nick served as the Rare Plant Program Director for the California Native Plant Society and has worked as a botanist for the US Forest Service, Chicago Botanic Garden, and the private consulting industry.
