Building Connections with Land
Placer Land Trust believes in a future where all can thrive. We actively manage preserves that we own to ensure current and future generations will enjoy the benefits provided by protected lands: cleaner sources of water and air, habitat for wildlife and native species to thrive, beautiful scenic landscapes — benefits that can be enjoyed without even stepping foot on the land.
Where and when conditions and funding warrant, we strive to create or improve access to these natural spaces through opportunities for outdoor recreation so the public can experience the many benefits of spending time in nature. Since our beginning, we’ve protected land that with existing public trails and have built new trails on a number of our preserves. Some of these preserves are open to the public, and others can be visited through our volunteer docent-led hike program, which began in 2011 shortly after we acquired the Harvego Bear River Preserve.
Our vision for outdoor recreation on our more rural preserves – especially those in the Sierra foothills that encompass important waterways, wildlife habitat, and agricultural production – is for a more “outback” experience that enables people and the natural world to co-exist: less traffic, longer distances, more rustic or single-track trails, and limited public access points. We believe that outdoor enthusiasts, farmers and ranchers, and wildlife can successfully share the preserves’ open space.
Placer Land Trust preserves are intentionally different from parks. To maintain the natural integrity of the land, we prefer minimal amenities, which allows us to focus on the protection and stewardship of land values, wildlife habitat, and agricultural use (where relevant). We also strive to be good neighbors to surrounding landowners, and just like them, uphold our responsibilities to minimize risk from fire and invasive species.
Partnering for Public Benefit
Placer Land Trust relies on public and private partnerships to help us achieve our goals of protecting and sharing the natural bounty of the foothills with our community. For more than 15 years, we have partnered with willing landowners, the State of California, Placer County, and various foundations to help us protect land between Raccoon Creek and the Bear River. Placer County has supported our efforts to build trails for future connection with those at their Hidden Falls Regional Park, with the vision that these preserves will provide recreation access when the park becomes open to the public. Thanks to investments from hundreds of local community members, as well as public and private organizations, Placer Land Trust has successfully built nearly 20 miles of trails across our Harvego Bear River and Big Hill Preserves.
In order to share these trails and preserves with the public while the County works on providing access, we offer guided hikes and activities, and establish partnerships with other local recreation-focused organizations. Through these efforts, thousands of people have benefitted from the trail systems on these preserves. We look forward to being able to open these lands more broadly to the public, while at the same time remaining true to our conservation goals. Placer County is moving forward to expand public access through its Hidden Falls Trails Expansion Project, and as long as public access can be done in a way that respects the rural character of the community and the natural values of our preserved lands, we welcome the opportunity to connect our trails with those at Hidden Falls Regional Park.
Click here to read an op-ed written by our Board of Directors.
List of Placer Land Trust preserves with public trails and/or access
For questions about Placer County Hidden Falls Trails Expansion Project: please contact Placer County Parks Division at (530) 889-6837, or visit the Hidden Falls Regional Park website.