TAYLOR RANCH PRESERVE

COON CREEK PROPERTY PROVIDES
WILDLIFE HABITAT, GRAZING LAND,
AND PLANNED PUBLIC ACCESS

Working in partnership with the Trust for Public Land and the Taylor family, Placer Land Trust acquired and permanently protected the 321-acre Taylor Ranch Preserve in April 2007.

The working cattle ranch is located along Coon Creek in the western Sierra Nevada foothills of Placer County. The property contains beautiful oak woodlands, granite rock outcroppings, a half mile stretch of Coon Creek, and habitat for numerous wildlife species. The property adjoins PLT's 160-acre Kotomyan Big Hill Preserve and will soon adjoin another (private) property protected by PLT, creating an 800-acre open space preserve for current and future generations. Taylor Ranch Preserve, which also contains the beginning of the Camp Far West irrigation canal, will be managed for resource protection and public benefit.

Over $2.5 million in grant funding for the project was provided by State and local partners, including:

• Sierra Nevada-Cascade Conservation Grant Program, administered by the State of California's Resources Agency.

• State of Calfornia's Wildlife Conservation Board.

• Placer Legacy Program, administered by the County of Placer.

• Environmental Enhancement & Mitigation Program, administered by Caltrans.

• Regional Water Quality Control Board, Central Valley Region.

The California Wildlife Foundation (CWF) also contributed to the acquisition from its Placer County Oak Woodlands Account, and provided PLT with endowment funds to sustain its ongoing land and oak woodlands habitat management responsibilities. CWF is a nonprofit organization that supports the state's rich diversity of wildlife species through habitat conservation.

PLT hopes to work with adjacent landowners and Placer County to extend a multiuse public trail from nearby Hidden Falls Regional Park, along Coon Creek on the Taylor Ranch Preserve, and ultimately seven miles up to the Bear River. To assist with habitat management and fuel load reduction, PLT will retain the current grazing tenants, Curt & Jane Wurst of Auburn, who have grazed about 40 head of cattle on the property for decades.

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

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