Conservation Easements

Click on name below to go directly to description or scroll down to read each easement description. 

Adam Ryan Wildlife Preserve
Peaceful Valley Ranch
Hannan Wildlife Preserve
Peardale Bird Sanctuary
Hahn Easement 
Wild Rock Ranch
Willow Tree Ranch
Hart Family Pitcher Plant Fen 
Round Mountain 
Feld Family Easements
Dittemore Preserve
Chaparral Hills Preserve

Adam Ryan Wildlife Preserve
Conservation Easement
41 Acres, 1999

The Adam Ryan Wildlife Preserve consists of nearly 41 acres of meadow and forest land, along Dog Bar Road and Alta Sierra Drive, not far from Mathis Pond. This is a generous gift from Alta Brewer and her husband Alan Thiesen and is named after Alta and Alan’s young son.

The land was zoned for two condominiums per acre as well as commercial development in this rapidly developing area. Instead the preserve provides a low-impact trail, natural habitat for area wildlife, and a beautiful vista for everyone to enjoy – forever.

Peaceful Valley Ranch
Conservation Easement
99 Acres, 2003

All and Lynne Dover have donated two conservation easements totaling 99 acres on their Deer Creek property. Both conservation easements protect blue oak woodlands, foothill grasslands and mixed conifer forests. The property offers an approximate half-mile corridor along Deer Creek for wildlife habitat and migration. The proximity to water, the extensive cover, and diverse shrubs and trees makes this very valuable habitat.

The Dovers purchased the ranch in the late 1960s from the Brown family, who were seeking a party who would keep the land intact. It was only natural for the Dovers to preserve the open space, integrity and purpose of their property using a multi-phase conservation easement.
Back to Top 

Hannan Wildlife Preserve
Conservation Easement
41+ Acres, 1999

Robert and Doris Hannan moved to their property in southwestern Nevada County in the 1970’s. Though they subdivided their land into four parcels over the years, they fell in love with the land in its natural state, and started to explore the idea of keeping the land as it is.

The Hannans’ property was identified as a conservation priority area in the Important Natural Communities (INCA) of Nevada County Report, with a quarter mile of pristine Dry Creek running through it.

Their section of Dry Creek contains gentle pools, falls, massive boulders and bedrock outcrops. The oak woodlands, mixed conifer forest and meadow areas contain native grasslands and wildflowers and provides excellent animal habitat. The Hannans have seen otters and beavers in the creek. Some of the rock outcrops near the creek have bedrock milling cups used by the Maidu people.
Back to Top  

Peardale Bird Sanctuary
Conservation Easement
27 Acres, 1998

The 27-acre parcel, located in the Peardale area, contains a rich mixture of riparian and upland forest habitats, including seasonal wetlands, grasslands, a perennial stream, large pond, wildflower meadows and both hardwood and mixed conifer forests.

With Peardale beginning to experience more growth, many of the properties surrounding this sanctuary have been subdivided, resulting in fragmented habitat and displaced wildlife. Much of the wildlife has found refuge on these 27 acres, making this parcel an especially important one to protect from future subdivision.

The property is also home to an astounding number of plant and animal species. More than 130 different bird species have been reported over the years, including red-tailed hawk, western blue bird, red shafted Northern flicker, California quail, Cooper’s Hawk, Great Horned Owl, water ouzel, Black-headed grosbeak, great blue heron, and more.
Back to Top  

Hahn Easement
Conservation Easement
158 Acres, 2007

Holger and Tracy Hahn donated a conservation easement on 128 acres along Deer Creek. The property is situated within the lower elevations of the mixed conifer belt and the upper elevations of the blue oak belt. Consequently, it includes vegetation and habitat types characteristic of both.

In addition, the property includes 3,500 linear feet of riparian habitat along Deer Creek, a perennial stream that originates above Nevada City, flows into Lake Wildwood and eventually to the Yuba River. The property is adjacent to large agricultural (primarily rangeland) parcels on the east and to smaller rural-residential parcels on the remaining three sides.
Back to Top  

Wild Rock Ranch
Conservation Easement
495 Acres, 2000

The Wild Rock Ranch Open Space Conservation Easement became a reality at the end of December 2000. A gift of the Paine Family, the 495 acre easement is designed to keep the property in productive open space as a working ranch. Unlike our park and trail easements, Wild Rock is not open to the public.

The cattle ranch is considered a ”working landscape“, meaning that in addition to very scenic vistas, it provides for jobs and (food) production. The owners have provided for a future option of building a home, in a specified area, on the range land.

The hundreds of acres of well-managed pastures provide an extra bonus for area wildlife. The property contains several large ponds, riparian corridors and great areas of oak woodlands.
Back to Top  

Willow Tree Ranch
Conservation Easement
600 Acres, 1998

The owner of approximately 600 acres on McCourtney Road wanted to protect the land he used as a cattle ranch for many years and that he loved. So toward the end of his life he worked with the Land Trust to create a legacy for his family. He placed a conservation easement to protect the agricultural operation by preventing incompatible uses or future development.

The ranch was purchased in 2008 by Animal Place, a nonprofit organization for abused and discarded farm animals, which moved in during the summer of 2009. Rescued individuals and indigenous wildlife share 600 acres of forest, meadow, pasture, hills and a small lake.
Back to Top  

Hart Family Pitcher Plant Fen
Conservation Easement
10 Acres, 1998

Not all protected plants and animals are warm and fuzzy. The Land Trust recorded an easement on 6 acres of bog, with another four acres of buffer around the periphery, near Grouse Ridge, all to protect a rare plant that smells like dead meat and eats bugs.

This particular green-colored, insect-eating plant, Darlingtonia californica, needs very special habitat to survive and represents the southern-most range of this species.

The owner of the site very patiently worked with the Land Trust to allow time to finalize all the legalities and secure the funding needed to protect this site. This was the first lands project with the (NCCA) Nevada County Conservation Alliance to utilize The Nature Conservancy matching grant funding.
Back to Top  

Round Mountain
Conservation Easement
160 Acres, 1994

When you take North Bloomfield Road north of Nevada City toward the South Yuba River, you might get a glimpse of Round Mountain from across the broad gentle basin of Rock Creek. Its rounded ridge is a local landmark on the south side of the river canyon just downstream from Edwards Crossing.

Janaia Donaldson and Robin Mallgren acquired four 40-acre parcels over a five year period. Completed in late 1994, Round Mountain East became the first conservation easement project for the Land Trust.

The easement, designed to protect scenic and wildlife values, prohibits development such as house building, subdividing, ranching, waste dumping and similar activities. The land is situated completely within the critical winter range for the Nevada City deer herd.

The long-range goal of the easement is to create and maintain a healthy, natural forest ecosystem with an emphasis on enhancing wildlife habitat.
Back to Top  

Feld Family Easements
Conservation Easements
39 Acres, 2001

The Feld Family easement represents contiguous parcels with a particularly pristine section of Dry Creek running through them. In response to our outreach to landowners along the creek, the Felds not only agreed to protect the 300-foot corridor we requested, but also extended the conservation easement protection to cover nearly all of their holdings.

Located in the southwestern part of the county, this site is several parcels downstream from the Hannan Wildlife Preserve, and helps to build on BYLT’s long-term goal of protecting this important corridor for a wildlife migratory corridor.

The Feld’s parcels are heavily forested, with good tree canopy over the creek. Wildlife abounds in the area, including a beaver pond just upstream from one of their parcels.
Back to Top

Chaparral Hills Preserve
Conservation Easement
10 Acres, 1995

In 1995 Pamela Morgan donated a conservation easement on this Yuba County property. The land is located in the Sierra Nevada foothills near Oregon House where the population is rapidly growing. The vegetation here consists of scattered oaks and gray pines with a large open grassy meadow crossed by seasonal, intermittent streams.

This property is classified as critical habitat for deer migration in Yuba County and throughout California. Ms. Morgan donated the land with the intent that the natural, ecological and aesthetic values of the property be preserved indefinitely.

Dittemore Preserve
Conservation Easement
2.6 Acres, 2000

Dittemore Preserve is located in Alta Sierra just behind the Alta Sierra Country Club Golf Course. The property is comprised mostly of ponderosa pine and black oaks. There is a beautiful annual grassland and a great trail that runs along the NID ditch.

This property is located just adjacent to our Adam Ryan Preserve, a fee title property with public trails. This Preserve provides wonderful habitat for many birds including Cooper's hawk, lark sparrows, and Bewick's wrens.