There are eight membership categories with annual dues. It is difficult to underestimate the impact Hawk Mountain Sanctuary has had both on the fortune of migrating raptors and on the public's attitude toward them. For more information . It has been in the Roney family for five generations and has survived and prospered in some of the most ecologically challenging surroundings imaginable. The ranch is located in the Sacramento Valley's Vina Plains, a 150-square mile area northeast of Chico, California.
Rainfall occurs only in the winter and is followed by eight to nine months of sustained drought.
The winter rains fill depressions in the soil, and the impervious clay holds the water until it is evaporated by the summer's heat. These vernal pools, as they are known, are home to unique plant and animal life that has evolved over thousands of years. The flora and fauna found in and around the pools include unusual grasses, brilliantly colored wildflowers, and rarely seen invertebrates such as tiny fairy and tadpole shrimp. Many of these pools, and the plant and vegetable life they sustain, have fallen victim to commercial and residential development. In the last few years, the federal government has listed or proposed for listing as threatened or endangered species a number of the plants and invertebrates found in and around the pools.