NCRLT Easements

NCRLT currently holds 14 conservation easements in Butte and Tehama counties covering over 5,800 acres. Our smallest easement is four acres, while our largest acquisition, Llano Seco Rancho, is 4,235 acres. Funded by several agencies, the Llano Seco Rancho easement promotes agricultural production and cattle grazing while protecting Great Valley Mixed Riparian Forest, a state threatened habitat-type. Approximately 18,434 acres in all, this rancho is one of the last remaining intact Mexican Land Grant ranches in California.

In addition to conserving working landscapes and prime farmland such as Rancho Llano Seco, we are also interested in conservation easements that protect natural resources and regional biodiversity. As such, the remainder of our easements preserve natural oak woodlands, riparian areas, conifer forest, grasslands and a large population of special-status Butte County checkerbloom. The majority of these properties are in the Sierra Nevada foothills.

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.”

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Sky Hill
Donated in 2002 by Amanda Pyle, this 38-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.

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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.

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Arthur Ashley
Donated in 1998, this 4-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.

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Waterfall
Donated in 1992, the purpose of this 9-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 5-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.

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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 15 acres near Cherokee in Butte County.

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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.

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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.

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