TOAD HILL RANCH PRESERVE, ROSEVILLE
1,000 ACRES OF ANNUAL GRASSLANDS FOR GRAZING AND HABITAT
As part of Placer Land Trust's West Placer Habitat Protection Program, PLT worked with Signature Properties, Westpark Associates, and PL Roseville LLC to permanently preserve 1,000 acres of natural and agricultural land north of Roseville. The Trust recorded two 500-acre easements on the historic "Toad Hill Ranch", in March and October 2006.
The 1,000 acres under protection is part of the larger 1,664-acre Toad Hill Ranch, formerly owned by the Griswold family, now owned by Signature Properties and Westpark Associates, major land developers with offices in Pleasanton and Roseville. The developers purchased the property from the Griswold family with the understanding that the property would be permanently preserved as mitigation for other development projects.
Placer Land Trust acquired the conservation easements from the landowners, guaranteeing that at least 1,000 acres of this property will be preserved for future generations. This 1,000 acres is adjacent to the City of Roseville's 1,700-acre Reason Farms Environmental Preserve (of which the Trust permanently preserved 227 acres by conservation easement), and over 200 acres of land permanently preserved by Wildlands Inc., creating a contiguous block of open space and habitat in excess of 2,900 acres.
Accompanying the Toad Hill Ranch conservation easements are comprehensive land and habitat management plans, with management funding provided by the landowners and PLT through cooperative agreements. One of the key components of the management plans is to use the property as grazing land for cattle or similar livestock.
The property consists of relatively flat grasslands with a small amount of wetlands, including vernal pools, swales, and marshes. The property will be permanently protected as both grazing land and as critical vernal pool grassland habitat. Scientific studies have proven that a moderate level of cattle grazing is beneficial for the health of vernal pool ecosystems, helping to reduce the invasion of non-native and exotic pest plants (such as yellow star-thistle) and ensure the propagation of threatened species such as the vernal pool fairy shrimp.
The Trust is working with the landowners and Wildlands Inc. to permanently preserve the remaining 664 acres of Toad Hill Ranch.
The mission of PLT's West Placer Habitat Protection Program is to work with willing landowners to preserve critical vernal pool habitat in western Placer County, with an emphasis on sustaining environmentally-friendly agricultural practices. Funding is provided by conveyance fees from home sales in the West Roseville Specific Plan area.
To return to the list of Placer Land Trust lands preserved, click here.
 Placer Land Trust 11521 Blocker Drive, Suite 100 Auburn, CA 95603 (530) 887-9222 info@placerlandtrust.org |