During the 1980’s Placer County was growing rapidly, with soaring real estate and business markets. Several concerned residents, close to the development process, were concerned that development without guidance would lead to eventual loss of the spaces that make the area special.
Moving from discussion to action, The Placer Land Trust was established in 1991. Its founding board members included accountant Scott Daulton, conservation consultant David Manhart, Rocklin Chamber manager Martha Totaro and physician Michael Totaro. At the same time, urban planner Leslie Warren founded the Placer Nature Center, a place for showing and explaining the wonders to be found outdoors. “All of us founding directors really had a passion for conservation,” Manhart recalls. “We didn’t really have a heck of a lot of knowledge about what we were doing, but we had hope and faith.”
Possessing little experience in either effort, the Placer Land Trust board members brought the Nature Center under their wing, hoping the combination could boost the efforts of both organizations. In 1992, Placer Land Trust attached “… and Nature Center” to its name, and the two organizations operated as one nonprofit.
The combination proved mutually beneficial for the several years. The Land Trust’s first project came a year later, consisting of the acquisition and protection of 30 acres along the North Fork American River including the popular hiking trail to Codfish Falls. Each board member contributed some of the cost, which was shared with the Auburn-based conservation group Protect American River Canyons. Meanwhile, the Nature Center functioned as a public face, teaching more and more schoolchildren the inherent value of land kept open and accessible.
While Placer Nature Center continued to flourish over the years, the demands of running a full-time outdoor education center left little time for land conservation. By 2000, Placer Land Trust had only protected 78 acres, and Board members agreed their efforts had grown beyond the skills of a single board. With Placer County perennially one of the two fastest growing counties in California, Board members began to look for ways to increase the pace of land conservation. In 2002, after a year-long assessment process including community forums and surveys, the two organizations split and Placer Land Trust hired its first dedicated staff.
The split went smoothly, leaving the Nature Center with existing staff under Leslie’s direction. The Land Trust hired Placer County native Jeff Darlington as its director in 2002, and within two years had tripled its protected acreage (to 354 total acres). In 2005, PLT had enough funding to hire additional staff, and soon built itself into a highly regarded and successful nonprofit organization that has dramatically increased the pace of land conservation in Placer County.
In 2009, Placer Land Trust became one of the first land trust accredited by the National Land Trust Accreditation Commission, with active conservation work from the valley to the Sierra Nevada mountains. As of 2021, Placer Land Trust has protected nearly 12,000 acres and many of the natural wonders of Placer County, including oak woodlands, parks, recreation areas, vernal pools, grasslands, family farms, ranches, riverfront lands along the American, Bear, and Yuba Rivers.
Were you involved in the early days of Placer Land Trust? We would love to hear from you! Contact us here to share your story.
