Placer Land Trust Offers a Vision for Balancing Growth and Conservation
by Mary Ellen Kelly

Vernal pools in Placer County provide critical habitat for a variety of birds, including this great egret. Photo courtesy of Placer Land Trust.

CALIFORNIA - How do you balance the demands of rapid population growth with the need for preserving critical open space? A solution that’s working in Placer County, one of California’s fastest growing areas, is collaboration. By teaming up with developers and city planners, the Placer Land Trust recently recorded a conservation easement on 227 acres owned by the City of Roseville.

This is the third successful project of the land trust’s new West Placer Habitat Protection Program, and the fourth project they’ve completed with a public agency as landowner. Through this program, the Placer Land Trust has preserved upland habitat, vernal pools, annual grasslands and grazing land.

The 227-acre piece contains critical vernal pool habitat for fairy shrimp and Swainson’s hawk. It is part of Roseville’s 1,700-acre Reason Farms preserve that will provide a flood control retention basin along with recreational trails for hiking, biking and horseback riding. The protection of this property also offers mitigation for the loss of similar habitat in western Roseville.

Placer Land Trust Board members inspect vernal pool flowers. Photo courtesy of Placer Land Trust.

This model for public-private land conservation is a cornerstone for the Placer Land Trust’s growth and success. Executive Director Jeff Darlington regards developers, city planners, and County, state and federal agencies as strategic partners – as well as other conservation organizations. The Trust works with them toward the long-term goal of protecting undeveloped land before it’s too late. “Our success has risen exponentially with our ability to work with other groups to leverage funds and common missions,” he explains.

“One of our biggest partners is Placer County, which is proactively looking to protect the rich environment that we enjoy here in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains. We’ve developed relationships with the County and others that have let us accelerate the pace of land conservation,” Darlington says.

According to Darlington, approximately 95% of the vernal pool habitat in California is already gone. “We’re down to the last five percent -- and we don’t want to lose it.” Local conservation groups and businesses play an important role in saving this habitat, as well as public agencies.

As for the future, the Placer Land Trust currently is working toward preserving an additional 1,000 acres in Roseville with an emphasis on sustaining environmentally-friendly agricultural practices. (posted 12/21/05)