TRUCKEE, Calif. — After two years of negotiations with property owners, the Truckee Donner Land Trust announced on April 28 its purchase of the last remaining private parcel in Pole Creek. Now, the acquisition secures conservation of the entire watershed.
The nonprofit land trust, which works to protect open space through land acquisitions, easements and exchanges, acquired the 61-acre property for $700,000. The purchase ensures protection of the roughly 2,000-acre Pole Creek watershed, as surrounding lands are already held by public agencies, including the U.S. Forest Service.
Located just north of Olympic Valley, Pole Creek connects the Sierra crest to the Truckee River. The newly acquired land includes subalpine meadows, mixed conifer forest and the headwaters of Pole Creek — habitat for Lahontan cutthroat trout, a threatened species under the U.S. Endangered Species Act.
“If a private owner had come in and developed the property, it would have significantly impacted the watershed’s sensitive ecosystem,” said Greyson Howard, communications director for the Truckee Donner Land Trust.
The area is also a year-round recreation destination, with the protected parcel located near the Sierra Club’s Bradley Hut.
Funding for the acquisition came from private donors and a significant grant from the Martis Fund.
“All the work we do is supported by our donors and the folks here in Truckee, and elsewhere, that deicide that open spaces are important for all of us,” said Howard. “Yes, we are the organization, but it’s really the community that makes things happen.”
Truckee Donner Land Trust plans to maintain ownership of the property and manage it in partnership with the Forest Service and other nonprofit partners like the Watershed Council.
“While we’re not a government agency, we consider our lands public,” said Howard. “So, for the general public, it becomes public land in our ownership.”
Written by Petra Molina for Sierra Sun
Leave a Reply