Home Place In August 2011, NCRLT acquired a 520-acre agricultural conservation easement on the Home Place property in Tehama County approximately three miles from the Red Bluff Sphere of Influence near the communities of Proberta, Gerber and Las Flores. The purpose of the agricultural conservation easement is to enable the property to remain in productive agricultural use by preventing uses of the property that will impair or interfere with its agricultural productive capacity, its soils, and its agricultural character, values, and utility. Funding for the purchase of the agricultural conservation easement was provided by the Department of Conservation’s California Farmland Conservancy Program and the Natural Resources Conservation Service’s Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program. <<<Read Press Release>>>

Comanche Creek In June 2011, NCRLT acquired a 146-acre agricultural conservation easement on the Comanche Creek property in northwestern Butte County in an unincorporated area approximately four-tenths of a mile south of the City of Chico and its Agricultural Greenline. The property has recently been planted with walnuts, but prior to that, it was an almond orchard. The purpose of the agricultural conservation easement is to enable the property to remain in productive agricultural use by preventing uses of the property that will impair or interfere with its agricultural productive capacity, its soils, and its agricultural character, values, and utility. Funding for the purchase of the agricultural conservation easement was provided by the Department of Conservation’s California Farmland Conservancy Program and the Natural Resources Conservation Service’s Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program. <<<Read Press Release>>>

Burrows Ranch In December 2010, NCRLT acquired a 3,356-acre conservation easement on the Burrows Ranch in western Tehama County.  The Ranch is managed “holistically” with the purpose being “diversity of enterprises” and capturing as much sunlight energy as possible.  The conservation easement encourages agricultural production, cattle grazing and habitat protection, and directly supports a diversified and vibrant agriculture and agro-tourism operation.  Conservation values protected by the easement include thousands of acres of blue oak woodland and savannah, as well as annual grassland, working farmland, chamise-redshank chaparral, spring-fed wetlands, intermittent and perennial streams, riparian habitat along Red Bank Creek and North Fork Elder Creek, scenic open space, and habitat supporting several special-status species including valley elderberry longhorn beetle, foothill yellow-legged frog, and California red-legged frog.  The project is also contiguous with land owned by the Bureau of Land Management and Mendocino National Forest, providing an essential buffer to help prevent the area from being compromised by incompatible land use. Funding for the purchase of the conservation easement was provided by the California Wildlife Conservation Board’s Oak Woodland Protection Program.  Additional support was provided by Defenders of Wildlife, CAL FIRE, Natural Resource Conservation Service, Partners for Fish and Wildlife, the California Rangeland Conservation Coalition, California Cattlemen’s Association, California Department of Fish and Game, and The Nature Conservancy.

	Big Bluff Ranch In December 2010, NCRLT acquired a 3,776-acre conservation easement on the Big Bluff Ranch in western Tehama County. Family owned since 1960, Big Bluff Ranch has transitioned from a seasonal farming and stocker cattle operation into a sustainably managed ranch utilizing year-round grazing and the Holistic Management Model. The outcome of this management regime is a healthy landscape with many marketable options including livestock products, hunting, fishing, and other non-consumptive activities, such eco-tourism in a vibrant, clean and healthy watershed. The conservation easement encourages agricultural production, cattle grazing and habitat protection, and directly supports a diversified and vibrant agriculture and agro-tourism operation. Conservation values protected by the easement include thousands of acres of blue oak woodland and savannah, as well as annual grassland, working farmland, chamise-redshank chaparral, spring-fed wetlands, intermittent and perennial streams, riparian habitat along Red Bank Creek, scenic open space, and habitat supporting several special-status species including valley elderberry longhorn beetle, foothill yellow-legged frog, and California red-legged frog. The project is also contiguous with land owned by the Bureau of Land Management and Mendocino National Forest, providing an essential buffer to help prevent the area from being compromised by incompatible land use. Funding for the purchase of the conservation easement was provided by the California Wildlife Conservation Board’s Oak Woodland Protection Program. Additional support was provided by Defenders of Wildlife, CAL FIRE, Natural Resource Conservation Service, Partners for Fish and Wildlife, the California Rangeland Conservation Coalition, California Cattlemen’s Association, California Department of Fish and Game, and The Nature Conservancy.
R&R Ranch In December 2008, NCRLT recorded the 640-acre R&R Ranch conservation easement. R&R Ranch is located in southeastern Tehama County and is surrounded by TNC’s Dye Creek Preserve to the south and DFG’s Tehama Wildlife Area to the north, west and east. The landscape is dissected dramatically by Long Gulch and has rocky outcroppings, a clearwater creek, pristine springs and diverse oak woodlands.
	Leininger Camp In July 2007, NCRLT acquired a 1,080-acre conservation easement on the historic Leininger Camp property along the western perimeter of the Ishi Wilderness Area in eastern Tehama County. The easement contributes to one of The Nature Conservancy’s (TNC) largest California conservation projects, the Lassen Foothills Project, which interfaces with our acquisition (the Ishi Wilderness Area is in the heart of the Lassen Foothills Project Area). Specific conservation values of the property include undisturbed grassland, blue oak woodlands, wetlands, natural stream courses and waterways, unfragmented open space, corridors for the unimpaired passage of wildlife, natural communities that provide habitat for native wildlife species, including the Tehama Deer Herd, raptors, waterfowl, and many species of common and rare plants and animals. Funding for the purchase of the conservation easement was provided by the Resources Legacy Fund Foundation’s Preserving Wild California Program (PWC) whose mission is “to preserve California’s wildlands and rivers, and to ensure their permanent protection by investing in systematic acquisitions of land and fostering supportive policies, organizations, and constituencies.” Take a Virtual Tour »

Llano Seco In June 2006, the NCRLT unveiled its largest project, protecting 4,235 acres of the Llano Seco Rancho in Butte County. This conservation easement provides for 1,870-acres of agricultural production, 1,715-acres of cattle grazing and protects 736 acres of pristine riparian habitat. The Llano Seco Rancho is one of the last remaining intact Mexican Land Grant ranches in California totaling 18,434 acres, located south of Ord Ferry Road and east of the Sacramento River. Approximately three quarters of Llano Seco have some form of protection in place. Placement of this easement will ensure that virtually all of the Llano Seco’s 18,434 acres are protected from development and as a working landscape. Funding for the purchase of the agricultural conservation easement on Llano Seco was provided by the California Wildlife Conservation Board, the California Department of Conservation and the California Department of Fish and Game. Take a Virtual Tour »

Freeman Located on the northeast ridge of Butte Creek Canyon in Butte County, this 59-acre conservation easement was donated in 2004 and protects the natural condition of the land including ecological and evolutionary processes, hydrological processes, nutrient cycles and biotic interactions. Take a Virtual Tour »

Canyon Oaks This 27-acre conservation easement protects oak woodland, riparian habitat and grassland in the foothills east of Chico in Butte County. It was donated in 2003 by a developer in order to fulfill a mitigation requirement by the City of Chico to preserve a large population of Butte County checkerbloom (Sidalcea robusta), a rare plant from the mallow family.

Kanaka Bar Donated in 2002 by Amanda Pyle, this 53-acre easement is located along the West Branch of the Feather River and protects native habitats, as well as ecological and evolutionary processes important to the area’s biodiversity. Take a Virtual Tour »

Sky Hill Donated in 2002 by Amanda Pyle, this 32-acre easement located east of the Town of Paradise in Butte County overlooks Concow Creek and protects native habitats, as well as ecological and evolutionary processes important to the area’s biodiversity. Take a Virtual Tour »

Hanford This 100-acre conservation easement was donated in 1999 and preserves ponderosa pine forest and oak woodland in upper Paradise while overlooking the West Branch of the Feather River. The primary purpose of the easement is to preserve ecological and evolutionary processes, and the natural, scenic, and open space values of the property. Take a Virtual Tour »

Arthur Ashley Donated in 1998, this 2-acre conservation easement is located in Cherokee, Butte County. It is primarily for the preservation of native bio-diversity, viable populations of native species in natural patterns of abundance, ecological and evolutionary processes, preservation of natural and scenic values, and preservation of archeological and historical sites. Take a Virtual Tour »

Waterfall Donated in 1992, the purpose of this 0.59-acre conservation easement is to preserve the natural and scenic values of the property, which is located near Cherokee in Butte County.

Blue Oak This 0.39-acre conservation easement near Cherokee in Butte County protects natural, scenic and open space. It was the first easement recorded by NCRLT, which at the time was named the Parks and Preserves Foundation. Take a Virtual Tour »

Spring Valley Donated in 1995, the purpose of this conservation easement is to preserve the natural beauty and biodiversity of the land. The easement protects 0.57-acre of riparian habitat near Cherokee in Butte County. Take a Virtual Tour »

14-Mile House This 144-acre conservation easement was originally granted to the Butte County Land Trust in 1985 to preserve the land for its natural, scenic, agricultural, historic, forested and open space values. NCRLT (then called the Parks and Preserves Foundation) assumed responsibility of holding the easement in 1995. Take a Virtual Tour »

Hamlin Creek The primary purpose of this 8-acre conservation easement is the preservation of the bio-diversity of all native ecosystem types across their natural range of variation on the property, which is located near the Town of Paradise in Butte County.

Rancho Aguaje Originally donated in 2001 by local conservationist Amanda Pyle, this 51-acre easement is located on Jordon Hill opposite the Town of Paradise and protects native habitats, as well as ecological and evolutionary processes important to the area’s biodiversity. Take a Virtual Tour »