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  • Shot on The Ranch

    • Field Study

    Bufford Ranch — a living field-study ranch in Kern County — offers students and researchers immersive, hands-on opportunities in archaeology, ecology, rangeland science, and cultural history. With its documented historic and prehistoric features, diverse wildlife and vegetation communities, vital water resources, and long-term conservation partnerships, Bufford Ranch stands as a research and education site for K–12, undergraduate, and graduate programs.

    Layers of History in the Landscape

    Bufford Ranch preserves evidence of human occupation and land use spanning thousands of years — from pre-contact Native American settlements to historic ranching practices that shaped Kern County’s agricultural heritage.

    • Bufford Ranch is also home to intact rangeland habitat that supports biodiversity and ecological research.
    • Wildlife: Deer, raptors, coyotes, pollinators, and grassland bird species thrive across the open rangelands.
    • Vegetation: Native grasses, oaks, willows, and seasonal wildflowers form diverse plant communities that can be studied in relation to grazing and climate impacts.
    • Water: Springs and riparian areas feed into the Walker Basin watershed, making the ranch an important site for understanding hydrology, water quality, and groundwater recharge in arid landscapes.

    An Exceptional Field Study Site

    Bufford Ranch’s unique combination of cultural heritage, ecological diversity, and accessible terrain makes it an ideal outdoor classroom. Students and researchers can:

    • Map and record archaeological features with respect for Native cultural protocols.
    • Study rangeland health, soil, and vegetation changes over time.
    • Monitor wildlife populations and habitat interactions.
    • Conduct water studies that link ecology, conservation, and agriculture.
    • Analyze how conservation easements preserve both working lands and cultural landscapes.

    Living Heritage, Lasting Impact

    Bufford Ranch is not just a preserved landscape — it is a working ranch woven into California’s history of resilience and stewardship. Its protection under a California Rangeland Trust conservation easement ensures that both its prehistoric cultural sites and historic ranching legacies remain intact. This rare continuity allows scholars and students alike to study how humans have lived with — and adapted to — this land across millennia.

    By engaging with Bufford Ranch, today’s learners walk the same ground as the Kawaiisu people, early settlers, and modern ranching families — experiencing history, science, and conservation in one place.

    • Kawaiisu Presence: The Kawaiisu (sometimes called the “Tehachapi Indians”) traditionally occupied the southern Sierra Nevada, Tehachapi, and western Mojave Desert. Their seasonal rounds brought them through present-day Kern County rangelands, including where Bufford Ranch is situated.
    • Artifacts & Remains: Archaeological surveys in Kern County (including lands overlapping with Bufford Ranch) have recorded:
      Bedrock mortars and pestles for grinding acorns and seeds.
      Lithic scatters (obsidian and chert flakes, projectile points).
      Rock art (pictographs and petroglyphs) tied to Kawaiisu mythology and ritual life.
      Burial remains in some Kern County sites, though these are protected and handled under NAGPRA with tribal oversight.
    • At Bufford Ranch specifically, surface surveys documented prehistoric cultural material (stone tools, manos/metates, flakes). These finds link directly to Kawaiisu seasonal use of the area.
    • Bufford Ranch has functioned as an open-air laboratory for archaeology, ecology, and rangeland science. University programs and student field schools (including regional CSU and UC programs) have used the ranch for teaching archaeological survey, mapping, artifact analysis, vegetation surveys, and rangeland monitoring.

    • CSU Bakersfield (CSUB): The Department of Anthropology has conducted Kern County field schools on ranchlands, including Bufford Ranch, since the 1980s. Students practiced survey, mapping, and excavation techniques on prehistoric sites there.
    • University of California (UC system): Graduate students from UC Riverside and UC Santa Barbara have used the ranch and adjacent properties for theses on rangeland archaeology and cultural resource management.
    • College field reports: Student theses and “grey literature” reports (often filed with the Southern San Joaquin Valley Information Center, part of the California Historical Resources Information System) document Bufford Ranch sites specifically.

    Why Bufford Ranch is a Valuable Field-Study Site

    • Multi-disciplinary learning: archaeology, ethnobotany, rangeland ecology, hydrology, wildlife monitoring.
    • Hands-on training: surface survey, artifact recording, vegetation transects, and water-quality sampling.
    • Real-world conservation: case studies in conservation easements, stewardship monitoring, and working-land economics.
    • Community & tribal engagement: opportunities to build respectful programming with descendant communities.

    Ernest Bufford & the California Rangeland Trust

    Ernest Bufford, owner of Bufford Ranch in Kern County, made the visionary decision to protect his land through a conservation easement with the California Rangeland Trust. This legal agreement ensures that the ranch will remain in agriculture and open space in perpetuity — safeguarding its natural resources, cultural heritage, and wide-open landscapes from the pressure of development.

    Why a Conservation Easement?

    For Ernest, the decision was rooted in legacy and responsibility. As a multi-generation rancher in the Walker Basin, he witnessed firsthand the encroachment of development on neighboring lands. By entering into a conservation easement, he guaranteed that Bufford Ranch would never be subdivided or paved over, but instead remain a working rangeland where cattle, wildlife, and people coexist.

    “It’s like the last frontier out here,” Ernest explained in a local news feature (TurnTo23). “Once it’s gone, it’s gone. I want this land to stay the way it is for future generations.”

    Benefits of the Easement

    • Protecting Habitat & Wildlife: Bufford Ranch provides critical habitat for rangeland species, from migratory birds to deer, and the easement ensures these ecosystems remain intact.
    • Preserving Water Resources: The ranch sits within the Walker Basin watershed, where springs and streams support both cattle and wildlife. Easement protections maintain water quality and watershed function.
    • Safeguarding Cultural Resources: Archaeological and historical sites — including evidence of Kawaiisu Native American presence — are preserved under easement conditions, preventing looting, disturbance, or development damage.
    • Keeping Ranching Viable: Unlike selling to developers, the easement keeps Bufford Ranch as a working cattle operation. Ernest emphasized that agriculture is part of the valley’s identity, and the easement ensures it remains economically viable.

    Recognition & Leadership

    Ernest’s conservation leadership has not gone unnoticed.

    • The California Rangeland Trust profiled Bufford Ranch in its statewide outreach efforts, calling it a model of how ranching and conservation can work hand in hand.
    • In 2024, Ernest was honored by the Rangeland Trust as part of their “Conservationist of the Year” series, recognizing his lifelong stewardship and commitment to preserving Kern County rangelands.
    • Regional press, including the Bakersfield Californian and TurnTo23, have covered the story, highlighting Ernest’s decision as one of the most significant land preservation actions in the Walker Basin.

    Educational Impact

    The conservation easement not only protects the land but also opens doors for universities and schools. Because the ranch is permanently conserved:

    • Archaeology programs can study protected cultural sites without fear of sudden development.
    • Ecology and rangeland science classes can conduct long-term monitoring, knowing the land use won’t shift.
    • Youth education programs have a living example of conservation in practice, showing students how private landowners can make lasting contributions to the environment.

    Ernest’s Legacy

    Ernest often speaks about his decision in terms of legacy: not just for his family, but for the community, the environment, and the future of Kern County. The conservation easement represents a promise — that Bufford Ranch will remain open, natural, and productive long after he is gone.

    “I may not be here forever,” Ernest said, “but this land will. That’s what the easement is about — making sure the land stays whole, and future generations can know it the way I did.”
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