Introduction | History | Natural Diversity| Specs

Introduction

The Stunt Ranch Santa Monica Mountains Reserve officially joined the UC NRS in November 1995, becoming the system's 32nd site and the only one administered by the Los Angeles campus.

This 67-acre site is located four miles inland on the north central flank of the Santa Monica Mountains, southernmost of California's Transverse Ranges. Situated less than a 45-minute drive from UCLA, about midway between the cities of Malibu, on the coast, and Calabasas, on the inland side of the mountains, the Stunt Ranch Reserve offers an important resource for teaching, research, and public education in the midst of the heavily urbanized Los Angeles area.

In 1993, this area was struck by a natural disaster that dramatically altered the landscape of the reserve and its surroundings. The Malibu/Topanga Fire of November 1993 burned more than 17,000 acres and destroyed more than 300 structures. At Stunt Ranch, most of the vegetation was burned and all of the facilities were completely destroyed. Although this fire was set by an arsonist, fire is a natural phenomenon that has long been a major factor in the ecology of the Santa Monica Mountains.

The reserve is now open and is again being used for research and education. While researchers track the regrowth of vegetation on the charred slopes, facilities reconstruction and University-community outreach are top priorities of the reserve's project and faculty managers.

Stunt Ranch Santa Monica Mountains Reserve includes fine examples of chaparral and oak woodland ecosystems. Its value is further enhanced by its location adjacent to extensive natural areas, including state (State Department of Parks and Recreation) and federal (Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area) parklands and areas managed for conservation purposes by the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy (SMMC) and the Mountains Restoration Trust (MRT). The potential for cooperative research and education programs with these agencies is tremendous. The reserve lends itself to programs that focus not only on the natural ecosystems, but more broadly on issues of resource management in the urban/wildland interface.

  History (back to top)

Located in the heart of the Stunt Ranch Santa Monica Mountains Reserve is a rich deposit of prehistoric artifacts dating from 3,000 B.C. to 1,000 A.D. This is a significant archaeological site, offering researchers and students an opportunity to study the changing adaptations of human populations in the the Santa Monica Mountains. All of the major periods of regional archaeological interest are represented here, providing a record that extends back to this region's earliest human inhabitants.

Cold Creek Canyon's eastern ridge marked the interface between two tribes of native Californians, the Gabrielino and the Chumash. Although linguistically distinct, the two tribes were culturally similar. Relations between them were generally friendly and intermarriage was common. Gabrielino territory included Santa Catalina Island, a major source of steatite,* which was highly valued for making tools and ornaments and was traded in rough or finished form throughout California.

Spanish colonists settled in the Topanga Canyon area in the late 1700s, but European settlement of the Cold Creek watershed began with the arrival of the Stunt brothers. The Stunt brothers, Harry, Walter, and Ernest – and their cousin Sidney from Kensington, England, homesteaded the Reserve land in the late 1800s, building a small cabin on the site around 1885. President Grover Cleveland approved the original homestead in 1889, and Presidents William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt approved additional Stunt family homesteads in 1899 and 1904 respectively. The 300 sq. foot cabin, believed to be the first building in the Cold Creek area was completely destroyed, as were all other structures at Stunt Ranch, in the 1993 Malibu fire. The Stunt brothers planted a large orchard, planning to establish a nursery to produce fruit-tree rootstocks. That venture never worked out. In 1919, they built a larger cabin on the property. The Stunt brothers lived and worked in Hollywood during the week, using the ranch on weekends. Walter died in 1928, and Harry moved to the ranch in 1937. Their sister, Ethel, who had spent many years as head secretary at the British Embassy in China, also moved to the ranch in 1937. Harry and Ethel Stunt were both outgoing, friendly people who became well known in the area for their hospitality.

In 1978, the State of California purchased Stunt Ranch with park bond funds, and the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy assumed administrative responsibility for the site. Trails on the property were opened for public hiking and equestrian use. The Cold Creek Docents, a division of the Mountains Restoration Trust, expanded their environmental interpretation activities onto the ranch from the adjacent Cold Creek Canyon Preserve.

In 1984, the University of California transferred approximately 400 acres of land in the Santa Monica Mountains for public parkland as a trade for the portion of Stunt Ranch that joined the UC Natural Reserve System in November 1995. The Stunt High Trail, which crosses through the western portion of the reserve, remains open to the public daily from dawn to dusk for hiking and equestrian use.

*Steatite is a massive metamorphic rock, greenish in color, that is closely related to soapstone and consists predominantly of talc.

Natural Diversity of Stunt Ranch (back to top)

The Stunt Ranch Santa Monica Mountains Reserve lies within the Cold Creek watershed, perhaps the best preserved and most biologically diverse watershed area within the Santa Monica Mountains. Cold Creek itself, which flows through the 243-acre section of Stunt Ranch adjacent to the reserve, has its origin on the north face of 855-meter (2,805-foot) Saddle Peak, one of the highest points in the Santa Monica Mountains. Cold Creek flows continuously throughout the year, even in dry years, although the highly variable rainfall regime of coastal Southern California strongly affects the level of flow. This permanent water flow, rare in the Santa Monica Mountains, is critical for the maintenance of a number of rare species. Smaller tributaries of Cold Creek flow out of the core area of Stunt Ranch Reserve, providing a well-developed corridor of riparian habitat.

Rainfall records for the upper elevations of the Santa Monica Mountains are not extensive, but it is estimated that Stunt Ranch receives a mean annual rainfall of about 60 centimeters (23.4 inches). This average value, however, obscures the extreme variability of rainfall between drought and flood years. In addition, rain in this region may fall with remarkable intensity for brief periods.

Extreme summer temperatures may occasionally reach 111deg F (40deg C) or higher. In general, however, temperature conditions are moderated by the close proximity of the Pacific Ocean. Frosts occur occasionally in winter.

The core reserve area of Stunt Ranch encompasses a mosaic of chaparral, live-oak woodland, riparian, and grassland communities. The chaparral community on north-facing slopes is largely dominated by scrub oak (Quercus berberidifolia), with a diverse mixture of other shrub species. Extensive areas of the reserve are dry, south-facing slopes dominated by Ceanothus megacarpus, chamise (Adenostoma fasciculatum), and laurel sumac (Malosma laurina). Adjacent areas of protected lands support other chaparral communities with diverse shrub species, including redshank (Adenostoma sparsifolium).

Coast live oak (Quercus agrifolia) is the primary dominant of the oak woodland community. Riparian communities are particularly well developed, both on small tributary streams and along Cold Creek. The dominant woody species in the riparian zone are coast live oak, sycamore (Platanus racemosa), California bay (Umbellularia california), and willows (Salix spp.). Herbaceous riparian species include the relatively uncommon stream orchid (Epipactis gigantea).

Ethel Stunt Oak Tree

The "matriarch" of the coast live oak woodland community at Stunt Ranch is named for the matriarch of the Stunt Family, Ethel Stunt. It is estimated that this majestic tree is between 500 to 1000 years old, was central to many Chumash/Gabrielino ceremonies, and shaded the original Stunt homestead cabin. The Ethel Stunt oak tree has also served as creative inspiration to the poets, artists, and photographers who have visited Stunt Ranch. Some of her branches and part of her canopy burned in the ’93 Malibu fire, but the Ethel Stunt oak, like most of the oaks on the Stunt Ranch Reserve, was not seriously damaged by the wildfire.

Both native and secondary grasslands are present on Stunt Ranch. While European annual grasses are the dominant species in these areas, good local populations of native bunchgrasses (Stipa spp.) occur as well. A rare member of the sunflower family, Pentachaeta lyonii, a state-listed endangered species, is also present. Overall, more than 300 species of vascular plants have been reported for the Cold Creek watershed.

Vertebrate diversity is also high, providing almost a complete cross-section of the vertebrate faunas of the Santa Monica Mountains. Bird species are particularly abundant because of the mosaic of habitat types and the seasonal presence of migratory species. The riparian corridors are especially rich, supporting excellent populations of birds and amphibians. The Stunt Ranch fauna also includes the San Diego horned lizard and San Diego Mountain kingsnake, both species of special concern to the California Department of Fish and Game.

All of Stunt Ranch burned in the extensive Malibu/Topanga Fire of November 1993. Chaparral and grassland communities burned to the ground in the very hot fire, but shrubs are now resprouting from root crowns and seedlings of reseeding chaparral specialists are becoming established. Oaks in the woodland community were largely spared serious damage and have been resprouting new canopy leaves. Only in the tributary riparian areas on the slopes of Stunt Ranch did the oaks receive extremely high temperatures and extensive charring of their trunks. These oaks are now resprouting slowly from epicormic shoots. The larger riparian areas along Cold Creek were spared the primary fire intensity, because of their topographic position, and these have returned rapidly to normal form.

Spec of Stunt Ranch (back to top)