SCHOOL PARK PRESERVE, AUBURN

A COMMUNITY PUBLIC PARK
PROTECTING OAK WOODLANDS

Placer Land Trust preserved the 4.3-acre Auburn School Park Preserve through a conservation easement recorded on December 17, 2004.

This conservation easement was donated by the landowner, the City of Auburn. This is one of the first examples in California of a private nonprofit holding a conservation easement on public land, and demonstrates the effectiveness of public-private partnerships. The Emigrant Trails Greenway Trust provided endowment funding for PLT's annual stewardship obligations.

The Auburn School Park Preserve property will be used to create a public park in the heart of Auburn between downtown and Old Town. The property contains three acres of oak woodlands, including four species of oaks (Blue oaks, Interior Live oaks, Black oaks, and Valley oaks). Several of the oak trees on the property are "heritage oaks" over 150 years old.

The property provides a unique urban setting for the public to learn about the value of oak woodlands and the usefulness of conservation easements in protecting them. The Auburn School Park Preserve is the culmination of over 10 years of planning and is the result of the collaboration of many community groups and local, State, and federal agencies. Park plans call for interpretive trails, the restoration of a perennial stream, and the renovation of the historic Cooper Amphitheater.

Groundbreaking on the park construction began in late 2005, and several phases of construction are now complete, including the "daylighting" of the historic North Rich Ravine and the placement of a wooden pedestrian bridge over the creek. PLT will continue to monitor the construction of the park until it is completed, and will monitor the terms of the conservation easement in perpetuity.

To return to the list of current Placer Land Trust projects, click here.

Placer Land Trust 11521 Blocker Drive, Suite 100 Auburn, CA 95603 (530) 887-9222 info@placerlandtrust.org

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