Jasper Ridge: Biological Preserve vs. Cultural Landscape

     My interest in how properties are defined, demarcated, and buffered stems from my professional work developing a site management plan and a subsequent World Heritage nomination. The site on which I work is known for its universal cultural values but unknown for its substantial regional biodiversity. Therefore, defining the site was tricky. It is a magnificent archaeological relic mentioned in three religious texts. It also is the habitat for a critically-threatened regional duck. It is inhabited by an incredible number of birds and no less than five villages are contained within its boundary. The World Heritage Centre (a body of the United Nations and based in Paris) defines a cultural landscape as a property representing “the combined works of nature and man.” The United States has only one cultural landscape listed as a World Heritage site. Listed in 2010, Papahanaumokuakea in Hawaii is this site.

            California State Parks defines cultural landscapes as portraying “how humans have used and adapted natural resources over time, whether through agricultural, mining, ranching and settlement activities, or traditional Native American cultural practices.” I believe Jasper Ridge to fall into this category. Categorized as a biological preserve, Jasper Ridge endeavors to preserve the components of certain ecosystems. Jasper Ridge contains 483 hectares (1193 acres) and is found within the San Francisquito Creek Watershed. The location of Jasper Ridge within the watershed is key to the understanding of this place as a cultural landscape. Legible on the site, the cultural layers of Jasper Ridge demonstrate the significance of the watershed.

            The Muwekma Ohlone first settled the site known as Jasper Ridge. Possibly drawn to the waterway, abundance of native plant material and chert, Muwekma Ohlone harvested the land and fish from nearby sources. Unworked chert as well as soap root (Chlorogalum pomeridianum) was found during our field study. Soap root was used as soap, for stupefying fish, and the bulb could be eaten.

            In the 1850s extractive industries such as the harvesting of lumber and mining changed the landscape once again. Various miner’s pits left in the landscape verify this layer of history. One largish pit is connected with Domenico Grosso, an itinerant miner who first settled in Portola Valley in the 1870s. By 1891 he had settled in Jasper Ridge where he maintained squatter’s rights by occasionally mining the land. Although he never became rich, Domenico was a local legend, even entertaining Ms. Jane Stanford at his home in Jasper Ridge. Domenico died in 1915.

            In his lifetime Domenico saw the land change once again. As lumber became profitable, sawmills sprung up in the watershed. The Searsville Dam, named after the town it replaced, took advantage of the undulating landscape and sharp ravines of Jasper Ridge. Constructed in the 1890s this industry brought a new use to Jasper Ridge until its purchase by Leland Stanford. During Stanford’s tenure the land may have remained open space.

          After a field visit and study, I conclude that the Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve is a layered, complex cultural landscape shaped by natural and human interactions and defined by boundaries, buffers, interstitial spaces, and surrounding view sheds. 
Gina Haney