In 2014 Placer Land Trust assisted in a project resulting in the world’s first permanently-protected mandarin orchard. Placer Land Trust Board member Rich Ferreira sold a conservation easement at below market value (a “bargain sale”) to Placer County to protect his 48-acre Side Hill Citrus mandarin orchard in rural Lincoln.
The County’s conservation easement permanently protects the property from subdivision, use or development that would significantly damage or impair the property, its agricultural values, and its water resources. Placer Land Trust did not contribute funding to this project because Rich Ferreira was on our Board of Directors at the time, although Placer Land Trust provided technical advice to all parties in this voluntary conservation project. Funding was provided by the State of California’s Sierra Nevada Conservancy, Placer County, and Emigrant Trails Greenway Trust.
Read more about the project here: Rural Placer County mandarin orchard preserved
Read more about Rich Ferreira and Side Hill Citrus here: Farming in a Changing Climate
