Bear River land preserve effort swings into action
An important puzzle piece in Bear River shoreline preservation between Nevada and Placer counties is moving into place. The Nevada County Land Trust’s drive to buy 652 acres of property skirting the northern bank of the Bear River got a boost last weekend with a benefit concert at a Penn Valley winery headlined by Grammy Award-winning band Asleep At The Wheel. Now it’s up to local donors to help the land trust move closer to the $100,000 goal it has set to buy the land for $3.1 million by next spring, Executive Director Marty Coleman-Hunt said Tuesday. The trust has been given verbal commitment from the state Wildlife Conservation Board that $3 million in additional funding would be made available through voter-approved bonds, she said. “We’re hoping the state budget will start to level out and they’ll release the funding,” Coleman-Hunt said. “It looks like we’re riding the recession out on this one.” The Stars at the Peak concert featuring the Texas swing band drew a sell-out crowd, helping to bring the Nevada County Land Trust about halfway toward its $100,000 fund-raising goal on the Bear River property it hopes to purchase and preserve, Coleman-Hunt said. “We had to turn people back at the gate,” Coleman-Hunt said. The 652 acres would sit adjacent to 1,500 acres of land on the Nevada County side of Bear River that is already in a conservation easement. And across the Bear River, near the Highway 49 Placer-Nevada County line, another 912 acres has been preserved. In addition, the Placer Land Trust is working with the Trust for Public Land to preserve a further 2,500 acres contiguous to that. “What’s really cool about the (652-acre) parcel is that it finishes up a puzzle of acreage that will be preserved forever,” Coleman-Hunt said. The targeted parcel covers two miles of Bear river shoreline and has been used for generations as a cattle-grazing area. The Emigrant Trail once used by pioneers traveling to California runs through the land and crosses the Bear River through the parcel being sought for preservation. Jeff Darlington, Placer Land Trust executive director, said the Auburn-based organization is supportive of the new purchase because it would extend a natural corridor for north-south migration of wild animals between watersheds. More information on the Bear River preservation fund can be obtained by contacting Coleman-Hunt at (530) 272-5994.
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Gus: A map depicting the 652 acre parcel and the adjoining 1500 acre conservation easement would be very helpful. Good article nonetheless.
Can we walk on it?
$3,000,000.00 dollars for a piece of a Trail for Wild Animals from the STATE WILDLIFE CONSERVATION COMMISSION ????No wonder the state is Broke. How many of these various commissions and agencyies are there out there??Are they worried about a place for Wild animals to go or do they just want more spaces to keep All Of Us PEOPLE OUT?
Good article, perhaps there could be some further fundraising efforts done to complete, and what kind of access is the public going to have and who is going to pay for the maintenance and insurance of the property? Is that part of the board responsibility?
here you go, ChuxxR
Nevada County Land Trust Trails
http://www.nevadacountylandtrust.org/landtrusttrails.html
According to their website (NCLT) the property is planned to have "hiking and equestrian trails, nature viewing, picnic areas, and historical and archeological study opportunities and tours. The site is currently restricted and viewing require prior arrangements be made thru our office, Public access will become increasingly available as conservation plans solidify and funding becomes available."
Of course, one can just type a nearby feature name into google maps and get a nice aerial view now by following the Bear River from Camp Far West Lake (easy to find on a map) to the Bear River Crossing at 49 highway.
So, as I read it JQP must have permission, to walk on said land, from NCLT or PLT. I take it that the land has been removed from the public domain. I always raise a wary eye when I see PLT involved. Too often land trusts are used by some with the agenda of keeping the land to themselves or neighbors. The LT's are a noble concept except when they interfere with the public's freedom. Using them to increase personal property values or avoid property taxes all together is the downside of allowing a small group to control these resources. Owners of property next to a land trust hit the jackpot and are instant millionaires. Follow the money.
The Wolf Creek/ Bear River watershed is a beautiful area and it should belong to all of us. I have had the pleasure of becoming familiar with it as a surveyor. I thought it eventually would be where the proposed Route 102 would cross the canyon and bring much needed relief to I 80 and Hwy 49, especially through Auburn.