Conservation Co-Benefits Protected in Perpetuity by NCRLT’s Acquisition of Kittyhawk Orchards
Northern California Regional Land Trust announced finalization of a conservation easement with the landowners of Kittyhawk Orchards, protecting in perpetuity a key agricultural property along Keefer Slough in North Chico. This project was several years in the making prior to NCRLT being awarded a grant in 2022 through the California Strategic Growth Council’s Sustainable Agricultural Lands Conservation (SALC) Program administered by the California Department of Conservation.
Agricultural Conservation Easements (ACE) are a legal tool to shelter farms and ranches from current and future land conversion threats, preserve scenic vistas and rich agricultural resources, and establish a management agreement for collaborative stewardship objectives. The real estate transaction permanently extinguishes development and subdivision rights for the parcels included in the ACE, with landowners retaining ownership, leaving a unique legacy of open space for the North State.
Since 1990, NCRLT has worked with local community members to conserve land we love, totaling 41,245 acres. With this project, which borders a flood control channel, a locally-owned, veteran-owned family business and innovation-forward agricultural operation will be protected forever.
“We’re thrilled to see this property permanently conserved.” said Hannah Espinosa, Stewardship & Conservation Director at the Land Trust. “The landowners invested tremendous care in creating a beautiful, regenerative operation, and protecting it from development ensures that legacy endures. This conservation commitment keeps the land in agriculture and in the family for generations to come”
The zoning for these 267 acres of prime, irrigated land, fully planted in producing almonds and walnuts, is for very low-density rural residential use of 1-acre minimum lot sizes. With pressure for land conversion extraordinarily high due to Chico and surrounding communities facing structural housing shortages in the wake of the Camp, North Complex, and Dixie Fires, the property remains one of the few agricultural inholdings in a rapidly urbanizing area of Chico. The property is within the North Chico Specific Plan Area (adopted 1995) and lies approximately 1 mile from an active urban development planning project known as the North Chico Village. The Village has been the subject of a major and ongoing community engagement and visioning process since 2020, which is proposing moderate to high-density mixed use commercial and residential in the area.
“America loses 3 acres of farm and ranch land per minute to land conversion, and once it is gone, it is gone forever,” says Executive Director Cynthia Perrine. “Northern California Regional Land Trust remains committed to helping family farmers and producers keep their boots on the ground as stewards of healthy soils. While identifying land suitable for residential home construction is essential to meet development demands in our community, our strategic conservation plan calls for shielding productive agriculture and prime soils from development in our region as a best path forward for sustainable growth.”
The acquisition brings total agricultural acres conserved to 26,434 acres across 18 properties.
The Nicolaus Nut Company, a primary landowner for Kittyhawk Orchards, owns and manages several operations in Butte County, with Kittyhawk a proving ground for agricultural innovations. They initiated regenerative agricultural practice trials on the site, with a focus on biosolarization and cover crops to enhance soil health and support pollinators, testing outcomes before upscaling across their orchards. Working closely with the University of California, Davis, the operators implement and rigorously evaluate these tests, which have resulted in several peer-reviewed publications and encouraging results.
Beyond increasing efficiency, lowering costs, and lowering dependence on chemical inputs in their own orchards, the Nicholas Nut Company participates in these statewide research efforts with a goal to serve as a demonstration of the economic viability of implementing similar farming practices, and is engaging with the Center for Regenerative Agriculture and Resilient Systems (CRARS) at California State University to share their progress and successful methods throughout the region.
The lead landowner shares, “On behalf of the Kittyhawk Orchard owners, thank you Northern California Regional Land Trust team! It's been a long road to the finish line, and we're pleased to acknowledge your patient and detailed assistance along the way. These orchards will be preserved for ongoing agriculture while continuing to sustainably produce almonds and walnuts in the years to come. It's a win-win!”
Project funding was made available through the California Strategic Growth Council’s Sustainable Agricultural Lands Conservation Program (SALC) in collaboration with the Department of Conservation. SALC is part of California Climate Investments, a statewide initiative that puts billions of Cap-and-Trade dollars to work reducing greenhouse gas emissions, strengthening the economy, and improving public health and the environment – particularly in disadvantaged communities.
The Northern California Regional Land Trust, which celebrated its 35th anniversary in 2025, holds fee title to 600 acres and protects another 41,000 acres in conservation easements. Visit the Land Trust’s website at www.landconservation.org to learn more about how you can support important community projects, and advance their mission to protect working and wild lands forever.
About the Northern California Regional Land Trust
The Northern California Regional Land Trust is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that assists landowners and public agencies in the voluntary protection and conservation of agricultural land, open space, wildlife habitat, and other natural resources across Butte, Glenn, and Tehama County. To advance their mission, they negotiate conservation easements, facilitate land acquisitions or exchanges, and provide professional planning and technical assistance in natural resource management and conservation. They also support environmental education for people of all ages, host events that bring the community together to celebrate land, and work to increase public access to wild nature and to outdoor recreation opportunities in the region. The Land Trust is guided by a Board of Directors that generously volunteer their time, including Gerald Armour, Roy Ekland, Nicholas Malone, Ann Schwab, and Cindy Wolff, under the leadership of President Noelle Ferdon-Brimlow. For more information about the Land Trust’s work, how you can support regional conservation, or to explore ways to achieve your own estate planning and land protection goals, please visit their website at www.landconservation.org.
NCRLT recognizes that the lands in our service region have thrived since time immemorial under stewardship practices of our indigenous peoples, and we continue to work toward establishing right relations with all tribes here forward.
