Science
The Tejon Ranch Conservancy’s Science Program is guided by our core values:
- Understanding and applying the best available conservation science is our foundation for stewardship, restoration and protection of native biodiversity and ecosystem values.
- The Tejon Ranch Conservancy is committed to maintaining our independence to help to ensure the integrity of our actions.
- The Tejon Ranch Conservancy was born out of an extraordinary collaboration. We seek to continue in that spirit by proactively seeking partnerships on key elements of our work.
- The Tejon Ranch Conservancy is committed to a culture of openness in our activities and our decisions.
All of our activities are considered in light of our mission to preserve, enhance, and restore the native biodiversity and ecosystem values of Tejon Ranch and the Tehachapi Range for the benefit of California’s future generations. Conservation of Tejon Ranch is forever, so we consider ourselves the temporary custodians of this mission. We strive to implement rigorous research and management projects to inform our current stewardship of Tejon Ranch and to develop a baseline understanding of the Ranch’s natural resources for future generations of Conservancy stewards. The scale and complexity of the conserved lands compels collaboration with strong partners from academia, non-governmental organizations, government agencies, and the general public.
We make a concerted attempt to provide meaningful research and public access, but we know that not everyone will be able to explore Tejon Ranch, as we have had the good fortune to. Thus, the interactive map below provides glimpses into some of the resources found on the Ranch, and the links on this page to research, citizen science, and other resources will provide a variety of additional information about Tejon Ranch.
Tejon Ranch is located at the intersection of four major ecological regions, Great Central Valley, Sierra Nevada, Mojave Desert, and Southwestern California. Thus, the diversity of plants and animals found on Tejon Ranch reflects its position at what has been termed a biogeographic crossroads, where species unique to each of these regions can be found together on the Ranch.
The map above provides photos taken at various locations on Tejon Ranch to illustrate the diversity of habitats and species that can be found here.
