Placer Land Trust has permanently protected two properties totaling 249-acres of land in partnership with Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E) and the nonprofit Stewardship Council.
Placer Land Trust protected the Upper Pinecroft Preserve and the Old Airport Preserve by placing a conservation easement on both properties, ensuring they can continue to be used by PG&E for hydropower operation but they’re permanently protected from other development and harmful land uses.
“Even as these properties continue to serve their purpose in providing electricity to our communities, our job is to ensure that the natural values of these properties remain protected not only today, but for future generations,” said Placer Land Trust’s Executive Director Jeff Darlington. “It’s a partnership that provides multiple public benefits such as water quality, wildlife habitat, and healthy woodlands and forests in and around our rural communities.”
The Upper Pinecroft Preserve is a 49-acre property located near the Bear River Campground in Colfax, adjacent to land already protected by the land trust. The property is predominately forested land with a small stream flowing into the Bear River.
The Old Airport Preserve is a 200-acre oak woodland property located near the City of Auburn. A portion of Dry Creek is located on the property, making protection of this land important to the overall watershed.
These preserves are part of a larger effort in which PG&E and the Stewardship Council are working with land trusts to permanently protect 140,000 acres of land across 22 counties in California, much of it in the Sierra Nevada. Placer Land Trust expects to work with the parties to protect over 6,000 acres in Placer County by the end of 2020, including popular recreation areas such as Kidd Lake, Lake Valley Reservoir, Halsey Forebay, and Rock Creek Reservoir. We are so pleased to welcome these two preserves to the Placer Land Trust family, and look forward to more such Preserves joining us in the near future!
