TWICE the nature to be protected this month
Spillway on the Upper Pinecroft Preserve
That’s right, Placer land Trust (PLT) is about to close on TWO new preserves at the same time – permanently protecting 249 acres.
The 49-acre Upper Pinecroft Preserve is adjacent to 10 acres that PLT has already protected near the Bear River Campground in Colfax. Old Airport Preserve is a 200-acre property north of Auburn. Both preserves contain mixed conifer and hardwood forests, making them ideal habitat for a wide range of wildlife.
These properties are owned and managed by Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E), who is donating conservation easements to PLT to ensure that the land remains as scenic open space and wildlife habitat forever. Creeks run through both properties, making the protection of these lands important to the overall watershed.
“Even as these properties serve their purpose in PG&E’s hydropower operations, PLT’s job is to ensure that the natural values of these properties remain protected not only today, but for future generations,” said PLT Executive Director Jeff Darlington. “These conservation easements will permanently protect public benefits such as water quality, wildlife habitat, and resilient, healthy woodlands and forests in and around our rural communities.”
These properties will be the fourth and fifth properties that PLT will protect in partnership with PG&E and the Pacific Forest and Watershed Lands Stewardship Council. Close of escrow is scheduled for mid-October. Through their joint effort, by the end of 2020 PLT will hold conservation easements guaranteeing protection of over 6000 acres across a dozen properties within the Bear River, Yuba River, and American River watersheds of Placer County.
Miners Ravine – Recreation, Preservation and Flood Control
The Miners Ravine Preserve is a very popular recreation and wildlife viewing area in Roseville. This land serves an important purpose for flood prevention, improved habitat for fish and wildlife, an recreation. Placer Land Trust accepted control of the easement for this land in a public-private partnership with Placer County Flood Control and Water Conservation District in 2006.
If you enter Miners Ravine Preserve from the parking area on Sierra College Boulevard, you’ll immediately notice the earthen berm wall of the flood control basin. This basin takes pressure off of the streams during periods of high flooding. When we experienced inches of rain this spring, the basin filled with water, but was not at capacity. The basin did its job by helping relieve the streams and
protect the homes and properties downstream from the flooding!
In 2006, Placer Flood Control did a restoration planting downstream from the bridge at Sierra College Boulevard. The pictures at the left show the plantings in 2009, and then the current view (from a slightly different angle). Those plants and trees have flourished and are now about 50 feet tall, providing wildlife habitat ans as ground stabilization essential to the Preserve’s flood control function.
The stream that runs through Miners Ravine has historically been an important spawning area for Chinook salmon and steelhead. This makes our
protection of the waterway all the more vital.
Placer Land Trust and the Great Sierra River Cleanup
As part of the Great Sierra River Cleanup (GSRC), Placer Land Trust gathered together volunteers from the community to scour the waterways around Miners Ravine Preserve in Roseville.
We had 75 volunteers gather at John G. Piches Park with their gloves and trash bags to give some love and attention to the waterway and collect what ended up being 1,000 pounds of trash. Most of the trash was what you would expect: fast food wrappers, aluminum cans and the like. The weirdest thing our crews found was an oven door!
“The community really values PLT’s preserves, and provides such enthusiastic help for these events”, said Jeff Darlington, Executive Director of Placer Land Trust. “Our volunteers are committed to keeping our open space clean for people and wildlife.”
The GSRC is coordinated by the Sierra Nevada Conservancy, and is focused on removing trash and restoring the health of waterways throughout the Sierra Nevada Region. The cleanup is held in conjunction with the California Coastal Cleanup Day, and is the biggest volunteer day in the state. This is Placer land Trust’s eight year participating in the event.
Thank you to Whole Foods Roseville for providing a great lunch for our participants, and the City of Roseville and Hewlett Packard Enterprises for sponsoring the event.
Last Call for Placer Conservator tickets
Join Placer Land Trust in honoring Eric and Paula Peach with the 2017 Placer Conservator Award. The celebration takes place on October 19 at The Ridge Golf Course and Events Center in Auburn. You wont want to miss it!
Eric and Paula have dedicated their lives to education the community about the American River and its canyons, and inspiring others to love and care for it as they do. PLT will also be honoring a few other land-lovers who generously share their time and talent in support of Placer land Trust’s mission: Julie Thomas, Keith Overton, and Lisa Wilson.
The event will be hosted by Capital Public Radio’s Randol White, and will include live music, fabulous food, an exciting live auction, and of course, social time with other amazing Placer Land Trust supporters. All proceeds will go back into our community to permanently protect Placer County’s natural and agricultural land.
Ticket sales end on October 9th. Get yours today at placerlandtrust.org.
Celebrating the Protection of Kidd and Cascade Lakes Preserve
Photo Credit: Ron Nabity
Placer Land Trust dedicated the Kidd and Cascade Lakes Preserve on September 13, 2017. This scenic property is now permanently protected as open space, wildlife habitat, and as a recreational asset for the community.
Connecting people with the land is one of our biggest joys. Not all of our properties are accessible to the public, so its extra special when we can get together and celebrate the land in fun, active ways.
A supportive crowd of our Big Day of Giving donors, valued partners from PG&E, the Stewardship Council, Placer Land Trust board members and staff gathered to celebrate and explore this beautiful mountain area. Guests explored area trails and also tried their hand at stand up paddle boarding, thanks to Tahoe Sports Hub in Truckee.
