Oral history audio recordings and transcripts of interviews conducted with residents of the Carrizo Plain region. Interviews conducted by Jacqueline Czapla and Craig Deutsche between 2008 – 2013. Collection also includes interviews conducted by Nancy Warner between 1990 - 1995, and copies of supplementary materials donated by Czapla and Deutsche interviewees.

Jacqueline (Jackie) Czapla and Craig Deutsche conducted oral history interviews with residents in the Carrizo Plain region between 2008 and 2013. The interviews include current and former ranchers, seasonal workers, descendants of early settlers, members of Chumash tribes, and area residents. Interview subjects include local family history, sheepherding, ranching methods, land and animal management, local community relations, Basque and European immigration, and the Chumash culture and lands. Jackie Czapla is originally from the Sacramento area and moved to Washburn Ranch in 1995 when her husband, a Bureau of Land Management employee, transferred to the Carrizo Plain National Monument. Jackie is an artist and horse trainer, and has worked with the Bureau of Land Management in different capacities. She is a board member with the Friends of the Carrizo Plain, a nonprofit, volunteer organization that supports the three managing partners of the Carrizo Plain National Monument. Encouraged by locals and colleagues, she originally planned to conduct an oral history project in 2002 with her own equipment and funding, but the project was delayed until 2008. Craig Deutsche is originally from Minneapolis, Minnesota. He is a desert conservation advocate and member of both the Sierra Club and the Friends of the Carrizo Plain. He taught chemistry and physics in the Los Angeles area for over 15 years. Since retirement he has led backpacking trips and service outings with several environmental organizations and has authored two books about the Carrizo region. He began working as a volunteer with the monument in 2003. Jackie and Craig met at the Carrizo Plain National Monument visitor’s center in 2007 while Jackie was working in education and Craig was working on a fence project. Intrigued with the history of the people and the plain, they recognized the need to record and preserve the stories of local residents. In late 2007 they agreed to pursue Jackie’s oral history project and began contacting potential interviewees. The interviews were conducted between 2008 and 2013 at homes and ranches, at local churches and businesses, and at public events. The recordings were later transcribed by Jackie and Craig. Nancy Warner, a biologist and consultant, worked in the San Luis Obispo area for over ten years. Her work included projects with Guadalupe-Dunes Preserve, the Pecho Coast Trail, and The Nature Conservancy of California. She worked with the Carrizo Plain National Monument from 1988 – 1991 as an Education/Volunteer Coordinator and as a biological consultant for a habitat restoration program. She conducted oral history interviews between 1990 – 1991 and later contributed her records to Jackie and Craig to be included in the oral history project.

2LF, 4 boxes, 114GB

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