Placer Land Trust has been protecting land for 30 years. In that time, we’ve preserved nearly 12,000 acres of the natural and agricultural treasures that make Placer County special. It’s hard to imagine what would have happened to these landscapes had a group of concerned citizens not done something about it three decades ago.
David Manhart was one of those visionary citizens. David was born in Sacramento in 1950 and grew up in Roseville. From an early age he enjoyed traveling with his family in a small camper trailer to visit the state and national parks. He attended Sierra College and UC Davis, where he studied biological science.
“In 1979, I met my beautiful and brilliant soon to be wife, Joan Levers,” recalls David. “We married and lived in a small apartment in Roseville. Because of her, I wanted to become a much better human being and to do something bigger than myself—trying to do something good for the community.”
David and Joan moved into a house on Linda Creek in Roseville, near a wonderful greenspace with a noticeably short section of existing bike trail. David wondered why the trail did not go farther and envisioned a system of trails linking all of Roseville’s creeks, neighborhood parks, and open spaces. Eager to put his vision into action, David formed Friends of the Roseville Parkway, who worked with the City of Roseville to adopt the trail bike plan.
Around that same time, David was appointed to the Roseville Project Review Commission. There he saw firsthand how quickly the greater Roseville area was becoming urbanized. “After learning about the impact that land trusts can make, I joined with Rocklin Chamber Manager Martha Totaro, physician Mike Totaro, and accountant Scott Daulton, and formed Placer Land Trust in 1991,” recalls David. “All of us had a passion for conservation. We didn’t really have a heck of a lot of knowledge about what we were doing, but we had hope and faith.”
Community engagement was important to David from the beginning. “Until people feel that connection to the land, it’s difficult to get them to want to protect it,” he says. “That was my reason for forming the Roseville bikeway system, and later Placer Land Trust — I saw development coming down the line, and I wondered how we could leverage that momentum to save our green space. I felt the way to do it was to get people out there, to touch and experience it directly, so they can see what our goals and vision are.”
David moved to Oregon a few years after the formation of Placer Land Trust and just before the permanent protection of our first preserve, Codfish Falls Trail Preserve. But he has stayed involved in the conservation field and greatly values his time at Placer Land Trust.
“I think my role with the Land trust was as a catalyst,” he says. “The people we convened, forming the Board of Directors, bringing people on and making them aware — I’m very proud of that.”
Having been with Placer Land Trust from the beginning, it’s only fitting that David and Joan want to see us succeed long after they’re gone. That’s why they decided to join our Forever Society. “Placer Land Trust was an easy choice to be among our legacy beneficiaries, because of its remarkable conservation track record,” says David. “Having been raised in Roseville, I was especially interested in continuing to support Placer Land Trust’s good work to preserve its share of California’s natural heritage.”
We are so grateful to David and all of our founders for their vision and hard work in making the Placer Land Trust dream a reality — and we are committed to carrying that vision forward, today and for future generations!
To find out more about our history, click here. To learn about legacy giving, click here.
