WALKER BASIN, Calif. — “It’s like the last frontier over here,”
That’s Ernest Bufford, owner of Bufford Ranch, a roughly 900 acre ranch in Walker Basin.
“There was a person I met in Lake Isabella, and she said, ‘You live over in Walker Basin, that's a different world over there.’ And I said, ‘That's the way we want to keep it.’”
Ranching is actually a second career for him. He bought the ranchland around 2001 when he retired from a career with the CHP. However, he had always been drawn to nature. Growing up, he’d camp in his backyard with his brother and when he got older, he helped on ranches up and down California.
“It’s always been in my blood.”
He’s always been focused on sustainability, saying the land was overgrazed when he bought it.
“I had them pull their cows off and so did my neighbor who bought another portion of the ranch, we had them pull the cows off and we rested it for like a year and a half. And as you can see, it's growing back. And that's the way we want to keep it.”
He originally bought roughly 330 acres of a ranch that consisted of 1,900 acres. He said a developer bought some of that ranch too, and he’s slowly built the size of his by purchasing land from them.
Bufford has always been interested in the wildlife present on his land. He invited an employee from USDA to survey the land shortly after he bought it.
“He said you got six, maybe seven ecosystems on here.”
He says local Reed Tollefson, manager of the Kern River Preserve, suggested that he put the land under a conservation easement.
“And he said, ‘Well [the land is] a little bit too much for us, you know, but you ought to try this new organization called California Rangeland Trust.’ So I got in touch with them,” Bufford said, “They sent somebody out. And at first I think they got lost and couldn't find it. And they told me no, you know, we're not interested.”
But a year later they contacted him and found the ranch.
“Turned out I was one of the first ranches to be involved with the California Rangeland Trust.”
He first partnered with them in 2013, putting 575 acres of his land under a conservation easement, which protects the land from future development. He again partnered with them in 2016 and 2023 to expand the amount of conserved land, which now totals around 910 acres.
He walked me around the ranch, pointing out various plants, or historically significant sites where he’s found evidence of past habitation.
He pointed out bear poop, observing that the animals must’ve been enjoying some juniper berries. He says he is troubled by the decreasing number of deer he’s seen on his property over the years.
Bufford tries to stay respectful to the land and those who lived there before him, learning about the land from local Kawaiisu tribe members.
“The elder told me that it is good luck and that it’s respectful to clean them out,” Bufford said, referencing the Native American bedrock mortar sites found on rocks throughout his property.
He likes to share his love for the land, inviting CSUB archaeology classes up to look at the relics left from miners, trappers and Native Americans.
And he’s always trying to pass on his passion for ranching.
“It's dying out now. That's why I tried to get, I don't want to get into the color barrier, but I try to get more blacks involved in it again.”
Bufford recently hosted some young students from LA.
“Matter of fact, the people that are here with me now, they were really interested. And they can't believe how peaceful it is up here. Although we were freezing last night, they didn't complain. They say that they don't want to go back to LA,” Bufford said chuckling,
He keeps a case full of all the interesting items he’s found on the ranch. He pointed out to me what he’s been told is the old Rudnick hunting lodge on his property.
Bufford enthusiasm for nature might actually be infectious, he says some of his Walker Basin Neighbors he knows of have also put conservation easements on their land
“This is a beautiful earth and lets keep it that way.”
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