2024 PROJECTS

What  an amazing junior elk hunt! Four generations of a hunting  family came to support their junior hunter Landon, age 15. After an  early morning, 10 hours, and 12 miles of hiking the hills, CRF Director  Don was able to get Landon on the cow elk. With legs cramping, Landon  made a 300 yd shot and had his first ever elk!  He was stoked! The whole  family and several volunteers helped get the elk back to the truck. The  next day Director Mike led the team looking for pigs.  After several attempts, Landon had his first ever pig! Oh, and did we  mention he had taken his first ever buck just the weekend before?!   Great work Landon!  Thanks to the San Fernando Valley Chapter of RMEF  for sponsoring this hunt. 

With a lot of sweat and dogged determination, CRF Board members and CDFW volunteers braved 100 degree temperatures in June to remove the remaining mile of t-posts and coils of barbed wire from the interior of the American Ranch Unit.  Now the elk and other wildlife, and the public hunters, are free to roam the property without getting tangled in wire or running into metal t-posts. Mission accomplished!!

A shout out and huge THANK YOU to Efren Garcia and his crew from Western Tree Service in Santa Maria!  They donated their services to remove two massive trees that were rotten inside and in danger of falling on one of the buildings at the Chimineas headquarters.  Last year's storm caused a third huge tree to fall just missing the building.  Their  work will keep the buildings and the people who work and use the property safe,  

This year was another huge success for the CDFW Apprentice Deer Hunt!  Logan (age 13), Hunter (age 14), and Ethan (age 12) each took their first ever deer on their first day on the ranch!  And look at those smiles! The kids and dads got to see nearly every sort of critter we have on the ranch! Deer, elk, pigs, a million toads, quail, doves, and coyotes (including a nearly all black one that was absolutely beautiful!) We can’t wait to do it again next year! 

Thanks to the A-Z Foundation and all the folks who came out to help make this a great weekend for the young hunters!

It's not glamorous, but just like any property, general maintenance always needs to be done.  CRF Directors, Advisory Committee members, and volunteers mowed grass, pulled weeds, trimmed trees, stained the walkway, cleaned the house, and removed debris to keep the beautiful facility ready to welcome visitors.

The volunteers and Director Terry were back out in May to remove the wire from the north side of the new addition to the American Ranch Unit.  In total, they took down and rolled up 8 miles of barbed wire!  Now the elk (pictured) and other wildlife can run freely without having to jump over or get caught up in the fencing.  Still to come - removing the fence posts.  

The final project of the year was the replacement of another trough, this time on the American Ranch Unit. This area is heavily used by elk and pigs and the old trough was unserviceable. CRF purchased a large trough to meet the water needs of the many large thirsty animals. Delivery was made with the help of CRF’s heavy duty trailer acquired several years ago. CRF Director Don and CDFW Habitat Assistant Sean worked together to grade the site and install the trough.

The scouts worked hard, learned new  skills, and did a great job!  Retired CDFW Habitat Assistant Joe Lambirth and the Scoutmasters provided the training. CRF Director Terry  Palmisano was on hand to support the project. 

Another fantastic weekend for a junior hunter!  Cole, age 13, had never hunted big game before but calmly filled his cow elk tag in the first hour Saturday morning on the Chimineas Ranch.  Looking on proudly are his father (in the black vest), and two uncles who got him interested  in hunting.  The hunt was sponsored by the San Fernando Valley Chapter of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation which provided meals, guides, and  help cleaning the animal.  CRF hosted the group at the ranch headquarters. 

Water  had to be turned off to one of the troughs in September when it was  discovered a pipe between the tank and the trough was broken. CRF  Directors Don and Terry repaired the pipe and got water  flowing back into the trough.  With the temperature hovering around 105  degrees that day, if the trough had been a little bigger the wildlife  might have come for a drink and found both directors cooling their heels  in the water! 

YOUR FUNDRAISING DOLLARS HELPING WILDLIFE!  Funds raised from the Foundation’s February banquet have already proven to be a huge benefit to the wildlife on the Chimineas Ranch. The well pump for one of the troughs on the south end of the property froze up and needed to be replaced. This was especially critical as the south end of the ranch is much drier than the north side, and this trough has been heavily used for years by a wide variety of animals.

Sam Schley, with Santa Barbara Boy Scout Troop 26, completed his Eagle Scout project by designing, constructing, and fund raising for a wildlife guzzler on the Chimineas Ranch.  A guzzler is a water catchment system that collects rainfall, directs it into a storage tank, and then meters the water out into a trough so water is available to wildlife throughout the year.  He requested and received funding from the Chimineas Ranch Foundation, Santa Barbara County Fish and Wildlife Committee, and San Luis Obispo County Fish and Game Fines Committee.  CDFW provided the tank and trough.