Once the sprawling California ranch of actor James Cagney, this land has been transformed into a crucial conservation area. The Cagney brothers acquired it in the 1940s, boasting over 500 acres. However, with Southern California's rapid development, precious grasslands dwindled. Conservationists earmarked the Ramona Grasslands for urgent safeguarding, resulting in the Nature Conservancy's purchase of the remaining 417 acres in 2003 to ensure its protection.

For decades, the grasslands outside Ramona, California, looked much as they had for generations: open country, seasonal pools and wide stretches of native vegetation broken by…

Hollywood actor James Cagney and his brother William once owned hundreds of acres near Ramona, California. Decades later, 417 acres of the former Cagney Ranch became a…