The Galbreath Wildlands Preserve is a nature reserve in Mendocino County, California, United States, established in 2004 in honor of Fred Burckhalter Galbreath (1901-2000). The preserve, a former sheep ranch, is located in the Outer Coast Range from the coast, near Yorkville. The Preserve features woodland, forest and grassland communities that lie at the edge of coastal fog influence. Lands are in the upper Rancheria sub-basin of the Navarro Watershed and contain 1st - 5th order streams. The Preserve's forests are primarily second-growth coniferous forest and hardwood.
History At the time of historic contact with Europeans, the Preserve was within the territory of the Central Pomo people. Central Pomo speakers occupied land from the southern Mendocino coast at the mouth of the Gualala River, extending north just above the Navarro River and east to the crest of the Russian River divide, approximately inland. The redwood-covered mountains between the coast and the valleys were only seasonally inhabited and were accessed along defined trail routes. Villages and campsites were more common in the warmer interior on the eastern border of the redwood belt, with permanent villages in more favorable locations.
Several villages and campsites occurred near the Preserve along Rancheria Creek and areas southwest of Yorkville. Late, the principal village in this area, was located on the west bank of Rancheria Creek approximately one mile west of Yorkville. The people of Late were referred to as Danokeya, or “upstreamers,” by coastal Pomo. Other villages and camps nearby included Polma, on the west side of Rancheria Creek southwest of Yorkville; Kalaicolem, south‐southwest of Yorkville; and Lali, near the head of Rancheria Creek southwest of the town of Whitehall. The tribelet community consisted of several villages of 100 to 2,000 people belonging to one or more extended kin groups. A headman in each extended family acted as leader and formed a tribal council with other extended family leaders.
The Central Pomo had amicable interactions with their neighbors, often venturing seasonally into the territories belonging to other Pomo groups to hunt and gather. Relationships with groups living in more distant areas were maintained through social and economic exchange. The Clear Lake area was regularly visited for its distinctive fisheries, as well as the unusual mineral resources available there (magnesite, steatite, and two sources of obsidian). Trips to the coast were made to collect clams and other sea food.
Because the nearest mission was far to the south in the town of Sonoma (Mission San Francisco de Solano), the Central Pomo were largely spared the conflicts endured by other tribes during the Spanish Mission Period. However, in the mid-1840s, Mexico granted three land grants as far north as Mendocino County: the Sanel Valley, Yokaya and an unnamed grant in Point Arena. Central Pomo may have been recruited to work for these Mexican ranchos.
The United States assumed control of Alta California in 1848 and the first American settlers began to claim lands in the area. The earliest structures recorded on the Preserve are the “Livingston’s house” and an old trail. Both appear on the United States General Land Office map in 1884. Features within 1 mile of the Preserve include the “Leaford’s house”, an old road to Whitehall, a road to Cloverdale, a spring, and old trail.
Similar to other areas in the region, Douglas fir and redwood were heavily logged between the late 1800s and early 1900s.
Fred Burckhalter Galbreath, who worked in the marine insurance industry in San Francisco, bought the land in 1944 as a working sheep ranch and undertook a wide variety of projects to improve the health of habitats on the property. He reduced sedimentation by undertaking drainage improvement projects, removed the invasive wild boars through hunting, and engaged in selective forestry to reduce downed woody debris and remove old and diseased trees. Throughout his life, Galbreath valued protection of natural resources and the knowledge needed to make wise land management decisions. He also sought to protect his land in perpetuity as a site for higher education.
After he died at the age of 98, Material was copied from this source, which is available under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported license and the GNU Free Documentation License (unversioned, with no invariant sections, front-cover texts, or back-cover texts). the Galbreath Wildlands Preserve was donated to Sonoma State University through a living trust, by Galbreath's family (Bob and Sue Johnson, and Nancy and Kleve Johnson). The lands are now managed for research and educational value.
Geography The Galbreath Wildlands Preserve lies in the upper Navarro Watershed in the Coast Range of northern California. Located approximately inland from the Pacific Ocean in southern Mendocino County, this topographically diverse landscape ranges from in elevation and includes coniferous forests (Douglas-fir and redwood), mixed hardwood-conifer forests (Douglas-fir, tanoak, madrone), oak woodlands (mostly black and Oregon white oaks), and annual grasslands and riparian woodland. Rancheria Creek flows northward through the preserve, along with numerous seasonal tributaries, and drains into the Navarro River. The nearest towns are Cloverdale () and Boonville (). The small outpost of Yorkville is from the Preserve.
Geology The Navarro River watershed contains the highly erodible Franciscan mélange (a jumbled matrix of rock types created as the Pacific tectonic plate subducts beneath the North American plate) and alluvial fill, as well as the Coastal Belt of the Franciscan Assemblage, which is more stable and resistant to erosion. Although serpentine outcrops, which are characteristic of this formation, are common locally, exposed serpentine has not been found on the Preserve. Alluvial fill occurs in Anderson Valley and low-lying areas of major tributaries, such as Rancheria Creek, and Franciscan melange is associated with middle and upper Rancheria Creek. Most of the rest of the watershed contains soil derived from the Coastal Belt of the Franciscan Assemblage.
Hydrology The Galbreath Preserve lies in the upper Rancheria sub-basin of the Navarro Watershed, and contains 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th order streams. Rancheria Creek flows northward through the Preserve and drains into the Navarro River. Rancheria Creek dries up during the summer, but its tributaries, such as Yale Creek, which lie in steep canyons, can remain wet throughout the summer. Since 1951, a USGS stream flow gage has been maintained about nine miles upstream of the mouth of the Navarro. Throughout the Navarro watershed, recent alluvium, stream channel, and terrace deposits provide groundwater recharge to surface streams and supply wells and springs. Only minor amounts of groundwater are contributed by the Franciscan Formation. Flows dry up in tributaries during summer months, with the only surface water present derived from springs. Only the mainstem Navarro River, North Fork Navarro River, and lower reaches of Anderson, Rancheria, and Indian Creeks contain year-round surface water.
Two natural ponds occur on ridgeline in the southern portion of the Preserve. Wood Duck Pond is fed by a spring and contains water year-round. An unnamed pond nearby dries seasonally.
Vegetation Vegetation occurs in mosaics representative of the inner North Coast Range (NCoRI) and the outer North Coast Range (NCoRO) geo-floristic districts. Vegetation types in the watershed roughly follow soil type. Franciscan mélange derived soils support grassland, the Franciscan Coastal Belt derived soils support grass-scrub or forested vegetation, and valley fill supports mixed forest.
Preserve vegetation types in order of abundance are:
Pacific Douglas Fir Forest (1980 acres, 51.4%) - Over half the Preserve is Douglas fir (Pseuotsuga menziezii) forest, characterized by a higher, irregular overstory of Douglas fir and lower overstory of sclerophyllous broad leaved evergreen trees, such as tanoak (Notholithocarpus densiflorus) and Pacific madrone (Arbutus menziesii). Sugar pines (Pinus lambertiana) occur in isolated locations on some ridgelines. Hardwood Forests (1600 acres, 42%) – Hardwood forest types on the Preserve include Interior Mixed Hardwood, Montane Mixed Hardwood, and Single Dominant Hardwood. Montane hardwood habitat typically consists of an evergreen hardwood tree layer, a patchy shrub layer, and sparse herbaceous cover. Canyon oak is the usual dominant on steep slopes, replaced by huckleberry oak at higher elevations and pines at still higher elevations. Associates include tanoak, Pacific madrone, Douglas-fir, and California black oak (Quercus kelloggii). Some areas of the Preserve support single species dominants, including California Bay laurel (Umbellularia californica), Tanoak, Valley Oak (Quercus lobata), Canyon Live Oak (Quercus chrysolepis), Interior Live Oak (Quercus wislizeni var. wislizeni), Oregon White Oak (Quercus garyana) and Coast Live Oak (Quercus agrifolia). Sudden oak death (Phytophthora ramorum) was recently documented on the Preserve and is the subject of on-going monitoring. Annual Grasslands and Forbs (160 acres, 4%) - Annual grassland habitat is open and composed primarily of annual plant species. Non-native forage grasses are usually dominant, including European grasses and some invasive perennials such as Harding grass (Phalaris aquatic). Areas dominated by native perennial grasses are patchy. Redwood Douglas Fir Forest (57 acres, 1.5%) – Redwood forest is a composite name for a variety of conifer species growing in the coastal zone and is usually a mixture of several tree species, including redwood, Sitka spruce, grand fir, red alder, and Douglas-fir. Redwoods (Sequoia sempervirens) are the dominant tree species near the coast and in flood plants, and are mostly limited to drainages and north slopes on the northern portion of the preserve. Inland and higher in the watershed, Douglas-fir becomes dominant, where tanoak and madrone are its primary associates. They also co-occur with Douglas fir. Field reconnaissance suggests that redwoods are underestimated in the Calveg data.
Vertebrates Grasslands, woodlands, forests and aquatic habitats support a diversity of plants and animals. The Preserve is relatively unexplored and knowledge about species occurrences and distributions on the property is still being compiled. Species lists are available for vascular plants, special status plants, vertebrates, and fungi. A wildlife camera on the site has documented the presence of American black bear, wild boar, bobcat, coyote, mule deer, gray fox, and wild turkey.
Top predators are still present within the landscape, and include mountain lion (Puma concolor), black bear (Ursus americanus), golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos), osprey (Pandion haliaetus), coyote (Canis latrans), bobcat (Lynx rufus) and gray fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus). Rancheria Creek and its tributaries support anadromous fish that make the journey inland from the ocean to breed and over-summer in cool waters of the upper watershed. Northern California Steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss) and California Coastal Chinook Salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) – both listed as federally threatened - were once abundant in Rancheria Creek. Between 1948 and 1952, large numbers of Coho and Steelhead were rescued from drying areas of Rancheria Creek by California Department of Fish and Wildlife. Today, Coho have largely disappeared from the upper watershed. Steelhead are still present and have been documented by CDFW in Rancheria Creek in 1994, 2000, and 2001. The NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service considers Rancheria Creek a “critical habitat” for the Northern California Steelhead.