2025.08.07 | Funding Fiscalini Ranch Preserve: Protect, Restore, and Enhance the Ranch

Friends of the Fiscalini Ranch Preserve is often asked what happens to the generous support it gets from donors, members, and grant makers.  The answer: Contributions directly protect, restore, and enhance the Ranch — today and for the future.

     Although FFRP’s expenses include staff time, rent, accounting, utilities, insurance, and the like, roughly 50 percent of every dollar received — from donations, memberships, grants, and earned income — goes straight into Ranch projects or programs.  That includes the new ADA-accessible boardwalk funded entirely by private funds from FFRP; a two-year project to remove invasive ice plant along the bluffs; and installing new signage across all west Ranch trailheads designed to be informative, attractive, and durable.

     When storms damage trees or trails, FFRP steps in to support cleanup.  We also help Cambria Community Services District to pay for the control of invasive species and clean up abandoned campsites.  FFRP restores native habitats, maintains a native plant nursery, plants thousands of Monterey pines, and supports ongoing research and restoration.

     All educational programs on the Ranch — whether for students, adults, or visitors — are offered free by FFRP.  FFRP also produces and distributes thousands of Ranch maps and brochures at every trailhead and throughout Cambria; provides many thousands of Mutt Mitts and hundreds of bike bells annually to promote stewardship and safety; maintains and updates maps, trail information, and other visitor materials; and informs Cambria’s visitors about the Ranch through its shop at 604D Main Street.

     While the Cambria Community Services District holds all legal and fiscal responsibility for Ranch management, FFRP has voluntarily contributed more than $1.15 million to support Ranch operations since 2020 — entirely thanks to donors.  That is almost five times what CCSD has spent on contracts and materials in the same years.

     And that does not even count the value of time.  Volunteers give more than 2,200 hours each year working on the Ranch — equal to a full-time staff member — and another 2,600 hours supporting education, outreach, and operations.  Using nationally recognized estimates, FFRP volunteers have contributed more than $750,000 worth of time since 2020 — dedicated to protecting, maintaining, and enhancing the Fiscalini Ranch Preserve.  Volunteers’ work is an invaluable part of FFRP’s mission and impact.

     Staff focus on building future support.  For example, since 2020, FFRP has helped secure grants for forest health, fire safety, and restoration.  All staff time is devoted to supporting the Ranch.

     FFRP does this work because public safety, fire readiness, and rich biodiversity are essential to Cambria.  A decline in the Ranch’s condition could degrade residents’ quality of life, erode property values, damage Cambria’s reputation, and dry up tourist dollars.  Is the community prepared for that domino effect?

     Despite these known risks, CCSD slashed the Ranch’s contracting and materials budget by nearly 70 percent last year — from 6 percent of the Facilities and Resources budget to just 2 percent.  This year, the same dangerously low number is being proposed again.  And the lack of funding shows.  A recent survey of the Ranch revealed more than 35 hazardous trees near trails, five trails that are impassable when it rains, the unchecked spread of pine diseases, and reduced fire breaks adjacent to housing.

     Let’s be clear: the Facilities & Resources team alone cannot maintain the Ranch to the standards required for public safety and ecological health.  Contracting for some services is not optional — it is a necessity.  As detailed above, Friends of the Fiscalini Ranch Preserve already contributes the equivalent of two full-time positions and more than matches what CCSD allocates for contractors.  But ultimate responsibility lies with CCSD.

     If the Ranch fails, Cambria pays the price.  In safety, in tourism, in lost revenue, in reputation, and in real estate values.  Why gamble with what makes Cambria thrive?

     Join FFRP at the CCSD board meeting on Thursday, August 14, at 10 a.m. in Veterans Memorial Hall (1000 Main Street) to urge the board to restore contracting and materials funding for the Ranch to at least 6  percent of the F&R budget or a minimum of $50,000.  That is less than 1 percent of the general fund.  It is a small investment to prevent an irreversible loss.