Agricultural Easements
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Quail Agricultural Easement
Linden Lea/Trabucco Ranch
Pioneer Dawson
Quail Agricultural Easement
Agricultural Easement
1060 Acres, 1997
Thanks to careful stewardship and foresight of a south county landowner, 1060 acres of prime Nevada County agricultural land will remain free from residential and other future development.
The property, located west of Highway 49 and south of McCourtney Road, is the site of a working cattle ranch. The ranch owner loves quail hunting and spent the last 30 years creating extensive quail habitat on this property.
It was love of the land, and a desire to assure that there would be at least one place in the state where the California quail could thrive that persuaded the owner to sign a conservation easement with Bear Yuba Land Trust. This easement is the largest in the Land Trust’s history.
Linden Lea/Trabucco Ranch
Agricultural Easement
764 Acres, 2001
Anna Reynolds Trabucco and Bill Trabucco donated a conservation easement on their ranch, Linden Lea in late 2001. The purpose of the easement is to keep the land in productive ranching and farming use forever. This type of easement allows for a variety of uses on the land while restricting future residential subdivision.
A short drive from downtown Grass Valley, the property had been considered for heavy development several years ago. The beautiful 764 acre property contains plentiful oak woodlands, a creek, several springs, a tree plantation and amazing vistas overlooking the South Yuba River canyon.
A herd of cattle graze the extensive rangelands of the ranch today just as they have done for generations. Future uses for the land could include planting orchards and vineyards. The owners have included special protection for areas with extensive oak tree communities.
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Pioneer Dawson
553 Acres
2002 Agricultural Easement
The Pioneer Dawson Ranch is owned by Scott and Beverly Smith who donated a conservation easement due to the love of the land and their desire to protect the family's historical connection to the land. This ranch has been in the family since the 1850's when the family traveled west and saved gold dust to buy the property. It is located in southern Nevada County and is on the southern edge of the Spenceville Wildlife Recreation Area.
The ranch remains a working cattle ranch and is comprised predominately as a blue oak woodland and a non-native grassland. There is a perennial stream that flows through the property for 1.25 miles and two wetlands as well.
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