One of the finalists announced for this year's prestigious California Leopold Conservation Award, which honors private landowner achievement in voluntary stewardship and management of natural resources, is Hafenfeld Ranch of Kern County.

Hafenfeld Ranch is owned by Bruce and Sylvia Hafenfeld and operated with their son and his wife, Eric and Jamie. They manage certified organic cattle pastures on the family ranch and their leases with the U.S. Forest Service and our very own Kern River Preserve. The ranch has a Southwestern willow flycatcher mitigation easement that demonstrates how cattle, wildlife and water management are tied together. The Hafenfeld’s land stewardship also includes erosion control, installation of wildlife-friendly water systems, and improved irrigation infrastructure to more efficiently use water and manage water quality.

Given in honor of renowned conservationist Aldo Leopold, the Leopold Conservation Award recognizes extraordinary achievement in voluntary conservation. In his influential 1949 book, A Sand County Almanac, Leopold called for an ethical relationship between people and the land they own and manage, which he called “an evolutionary possibility and an ecological necessity.”

The Leopold Conservation Award program inspires other landowners through these examples and provides a visible forum where farmers, ranchers and other private landowners are recognized as conservation leaders. 

The 2014 California Leopold Conservation Award will be presented December 8 at the California Farm Bureau Federation’s Annual Meeting in Garden Grove. Each finalist will be recognized at the event. The award recipient will be presented with a crystal depicting Aldo Leopold and $10,000.

Good luck to the Hafenfields!

Photo of Southwestern Willow Flycatcher by Peter LaTourette

Photo of Bruce Hafenfield by California Cattlemen’s Association