Page 151 - California Diving and Surfing

E dwin Stanton’s purchase of the major
part of Santa Cruz Island brought a
major shift in agricultural production on
the island. After trying for a short time to continued their sheep ranching operations
continue the sheep operation, he decided
to switch to beef production. At the time,
the beef industry in California was growing
rapidly, with Santa Barbara County among
the top ten beef producers in the state.
Edwin Stanton’s ranch on Santa Cruz Island
saw changes that reflected the evolution
of cattle ranching in a working landscape.
While retaining most of the 19th century
structures dating from the Caire period,
Stanton constructed a few buildings to
meet the needs of his cattle ranch, the most National Park and Congress authorized the
notable of which is Rancho del Norte on the
isthmus. Pasture fencing and corrals were
altered to suit the cattle operation and an
extensive water system was added to pro-
vide water to the cattle.
T he Gherini family, descendents of
Justinian Caire’s two daughters who
successfully sued to break up Caire’s legacy, with Gherini for 14 million dollars which
on the east end of Santa Cruz Island until
1984, using Scorpion Ranch as their base.
They managed the island with resident
managers and laborers and often worked
as a family during shearing and during the
summer. Production dropped during the
1970s and 80s and the expense of ranching
on a remote island rose. Protracted litiga-
tion between the Gherinis and the federal
government started in 1980, when the
northern Channel Islands were designated a
purchase of the family’s remaining land. But
the purchase agreement was held up for 16
years as family members pushed the federal
government to pay what they believed was
the appropriate amount for the land. In the
early 1990s, the government managed to
buy the interests of Francis Gherini’s three
siblings for about $4 million apiece.
A fter years of negotiation, in November
1996, government officials settled
included 2 million dollars in back interest,
clearing the way for the Park to be opened
to the public.
W ith Edwin Stanton’s death in 1964,
his widow and son, Carey, re-incor-
porated the Santa Cruz Island Company
and continued the cattle operations on the
island. Carey Stanton died unexpectedly
in 1987 at the ranch and was buried in the
family plot in the island chapel yard at the
Main Ranch. The real property passed to
The Nature Conservancy through a prior
agreement that Carey Stanton had estab-
lished with the non-profit organization. The
Nature Conservancy rapidly liquidated the
cattle operation and ended the ranching
era on the island.