Habitat Protection

SFAS has been involved in various local habitat actions and their funding over the last 10 years.

Legal Actions

West Roseville Specific Plan

The Sierra Club, the Sierra Foothills Audubon Society and Loomis sued to challenge Roseville’s City Council approval of the 3,162-acre West Roseville Specific Plan to develop housing for 20,810 people. The agreement with environmental groups calls for a fee of 0.5 percent of the gross sales price on every resale of a single-family home in West Roseville for 20 years following the initial sale. The nonprofit Placer Land Trust will collect the money and use it to buy and preserve open space, with a priority on vernal pool and grassland habitats in western Placer County.

Placer Vineyards

The Placer Vineyards called for the development of 5,230 acres in western Placer County. The Sierra Club and Sierra Foothills Audubon Society obtained a settlement to protect the natural and biological resources in the Plan area. The proposed modifications increase the overall mitigation for Open Space, Agricultural Land and Biological Resources by 35% (increasing mitigation from 1.00 to 1.35 acres of mitigation for each acre of development) while shifting the focus to conservation of ecosystems that provide habitat for multiple species. For example, the proposed measures focus on maintaining the ecological value of vernal pool grasslands as habitat, not just on preserving individual vernal pools.

Bickford Ranch

After a four-year legal battle, litigants in the Bickford Ranch case announced a settlement that will allow the development to move forward in exchange for $6.05 million for the preservation of oak woodland in Placer County on 700 acres of open space.

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Yuba Highlands Development

Friends of Spenceville, Sierra Foothills Audubon Society and the Sierra Club helped organize and provided funds for a campaign to stop the Yuba Highlands development of 5,100 units between Spenceville Wildlife Area and Camp Beale. The Yuba County Board of Supervisors approved the project in July 2007 on a 3-2 vote. That vote was followed by a lawsuit over the environmental impact report, referendum petitions, and, soon enough, the death of the project at voters’ hands. The developer ended up selling a 700-acre conservation easement on a portion of the land to the Trust for Public Land (TPL). They also signed an agreement in which the develioper agreed to place the rest of the property under a conservation easement as the TPL lines up more funding.

Conservation Projects

The Traylor Ranch Bird Sanctuary and Nature Reserve Conservation Plan

Management actions will be coordinated by the Loomis Basin Horsemen’s Association (reserve manager), the Sierra Foothills Audubon Society, and the Traylor Ranch Planning Committee. The primary management objective is to develop a natural area in Penryn to serve as a nature reserve and bird sanctuary with equestrian and pedestrian trail use. SFAS applied for and won a $5,000 grant and matched the funds with funds generated from SFAS year-end fund-raising.
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Restoring Riparian Habitat for Birds

The Sierra Foothills Audubon Society (SFAS), Placer Nature Center (PNC) and Traylor Ranch Committee (TRC) worked together to implement a PNC project, “Restoring Riparian Habitat for Birds” using a grant and providing matching funds. The first objective was to create a coordinated restoration plan for the Yellow-breasted Chat and Yellow Warbler to enhance Traylor Ranch Bird Sanctuary and Nature Reserve by planting vegetation for them. The second objective was to involve 500 5th -7th grade students who rotated through three stations (grassland ecology, stream ecology and cultural/recent history), all of which integrated the relationship of habitat to the bird life at Traylor Ranch.

Bruin Ranch on the Bear River

SFAS provided a substantial donation as seed money to Placer Land Trust and The Trust for Public Land to acquire 1,773 acres Bruin Ranch on the Bear River. Covered in blue oak woodlands, peppered by spectacular views from rough hewn cliffs, and traversed by streams of every size, Bruin Ranch rolls over the ridge between Auburn and the Bear River. This amazing property boasts three miles of Bear River frontage, a dozen miles of tributaries, and many ponds and wetlands.
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Conservation Projects

The Traylor Ranch Bird Sanctuary and Nature Reserve Conservation Plan

Management actions will be coordinated by the Loomis Basin Horsemen’s Association (reserve manager), the Sierra Foothills Audubon Society, and the Traylor Ranch Planning Committee. The primary management objective is to develop a natural area in Penryn to serve as a nature reserve and bird sanctuary with equestrian and pedestrian trail use. SFAS applied for and won a $5,000 grant and matched the funds with funds generated from SFAS year-end fund-raising.
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Restoring Riparian Habitat for Birds

The Sierra Foothills Audubon Society (SFAS), Placer Nature Center (PNC) and Traylor Ranch Committee (TRC) worked together to implement a PNC project, “Restoring Riparian Habitat for Birds” using a grant and providing matching funds. The first objective was to create a coordinated restoration plan for the Yellow-breasted Chat and Yellow Warbler to enhance Traylor Ranch Bird Sanctuary and Nature Reserve by planting vegetation for them. The second objective was to involve 500 5th -7th grade students who rotated through three stations (grassland ecology, stream ecology and cultural/recent history), all of which integrated the relationship of habitat to the bird life at Traylor Ranch.
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Bruin Ranch on the Bear River

SFAS provided a substantial donation as seed money to Placer Land Trust and The Trust for Public Land to acquire 1,773 acres Bruin Ranch on the Bear River. Covered in blue oak woodlands, peppered by spectacular views from rough hewn cliffs, and traversed by streams of every size, Bruin Ranch rolls over the ridge between Auburn and the Bear River. This amazing property boasts three miles of Bear River frontage, a dozen miles of tributaries, and many ponds and wetlands.
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Conservation Projects

The Traylor Ranch Bird Sanctuary and Nature Reserve Conservation Plan

Management actions will be coordinated by the Loomis Basin Horsemen’s Association (reserve manager), the Sierra Foothills Audubon Society, and the Traylor Ranch Planning Committee. The primary management objective is to develop a natural area in Penryn to serve as a nature reserve and bird sanctuary with equestrian and pedestrian trail use. SFAS applied for and won a $5,000 grant and matched the funds with funds generated from SFAS year-end fund-raising.
Image

Restoring Riparian Habitat for Birds

The Sierra Foothills Audubon Society (SFAS), Placer Nature Center (PNC) and Traylor Ranch Committee (TRC) worked together to implement a PNC project, “Restoring Riparian Habitat for Birds” using a grant and providing matching funds. The first objective was to create a coordinated restoration plan for the Yellow-breasted Chat and Yellow Warbler to enhance Traylor Ranch Bird Sanctuary and Nature Reserve by planting vegetation for them. The second objective was to involve 500 5th -7th grade students who rotated through three stations (grassland ecology, stream ecology and cultural/recent history), all of which integrated the relationship of habitat to the bird life at Traylor Ranch.
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Bruin Ranch on the Bear River

SFAS provided a substantial donation as seed money to Placer Land Trust and The Trust for Public Land to acquire 1,773 acres Bruin Ranch on the Bear River. Covered in blue oak woodlands, peppered by spectacular views from rough hewn cliffs, and traversed by streams of every size, Bruin Ranch rolls over the ridge between Auburn and the Bear River. This amazing property boasts three miles of Bear River frontage, a dozen miles of tributaries, and many ponds and wetlands.
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