Bear River Watershed Protection Program
Preserving the Bear River Watershed: Ranchlands, Grasslands and Woodlands
Placer Land Trust’s Bear River Watershed Protection Program is designed to permanently preserve critical oak woodland habitat and agricultural lands in western Placer County.
Placer Land Trust is part of the Northern Foothills Partnership, a strategic effort to provide landscape-scale protection for the Sierra Nevada foothills in the Bear and Yuba River watersheds. The Northern Foothills Partnership has been endorsed by Placer, Nevada and Yuba County's ther primary partners in this effort are the Bear Yuba Land Trust and The Trust for Public Land.
“The Northern Foothills Partnership is an exciting strategic approach to protecting our foothills,” said Jeff Darlington, Placer Land Trust Executive Director. “By collaborating to identify the highest priority land conservation projects - and by linking those projects to provide greater public benefit - our three organizations can accomplish more together than we could apart.”
The partnership supports and enhances our Bear River Watershed Protection Program, which is already well underway. The Bear River Watershed Protection Program was started several years ago by organizations and individuals concerned about this important part of the County. Early work in mapping and assessing the area resulted in discussions with various landowners. In 2006, we saw the first results of the program with the protection of the 40-acre Shutamul Bear River Preserve, an important Nisenan native American site on a prominent bluff along the Bear River.
In 2007, Placer Land Trust preserved the 321-acre Taylor Ranch Preserve, the 313-acre Liberty Ranch Big Hill Preserve, and the 160-acre Kotomyan Big Hill Preserve. These three preserves are all adjacent to each other creating 800 acres of preserved lands in the Big Hill area. Big Hill divides the Coon Creek and Bear River watersheds northeast of Auburn.
Also in 2007, the Trust preserved the 912-acre Garden Bar Preserve by working with the landowner on a conservation easement. This beautiful property on the Bear River northwest of Lincoln protects water quality, wildlife habitat, cultural resources, and the historic Garden Bar river crossing.
Placer Land Trust also provided funding support for Placer Legacy's acquisition of the 281-acre Kirk Ranch in 2007, protecting this woodland and grassland property on the shores of Camp Far West Reservoir.
In 2010, Placer Land Trust partnered with the Trust for Public Land to acquire and protect 1,773 acres of the 2,300-acre Bruin Ranch property on the Bear River. This 1,773-acre property, known as Harvego Bear River Preserve ties together 3,000 acres of existing preserved lands and creates a contiguous block of open space and park lands on both sides of the Bear River.
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