TPL Honors Sierra Foothill Conservancy (CA)

SACRAMENTO, 1/28/02 – The Trust for Public Land (TPL) honored the Sierra Foothill Conservancy (SFC) with this year’s Land Conservation Achievement Award at TPL’s Annual Winter Land Conservation Meeting today. TPL created this award in 1999 to recognize local land trusts that have made significant land protection accomplishments in California.

“I want to take this opportunity to thank TPL for this award. It will mean a great deal to our hard working board and staff. I have worked with several national and regional land protection organizations, and in my experience, TPL is the only one who enters into real partnerships with local organizations,” comments Chuck Peck, Executive Director of the Sierra Foothill Conservancy.

The Sierra Foothill Conservancy was honored for its regional leadership in land conservation and its important contribution to acquiring and stewarding critical lands. Since its inception in 1996, SFC has protected 5,692 acres in Fresno, Madera, and Mariposa counties through fee title acquisitions and conservation easements. The land trust is a leader in the Sierra Nevada through its work to bring together the Sierra Land Trust Council, a regional coalition of 15 land trusts. SFC also manages three nature preserves—Tivy Mountain Preserve, McKenzie Table Mountain Preserve, and the Mary Elizabeth Miller Preserve at Black Mountain—which are open to the public for classes, guided hikes, and special events.

SFC is also a partner to TPL’s Sierra Nevada Program. Most recently, TPL and SFC worked together on a project to acquire 320 acres of Patterson Bend along the upper San Joaquin River.

“Sierra Foothill Conservancy, with their strong commitment to conservation, has been and continues to be an exceptional partner to TPL,” says Reed Holderman, Executive Director of the Trust for Public Land-California.

The Sierra Foothill Conservancy was founded in 1996 to ease the impact of increasing population on the foothills of Fresno, Madera, and Mariposa counties and to provide refuge to native species, protect historic and prehistoric sites, and serve as a living classroom, while recognizing that traditional uses of private land, including grazing and farming, contribute significantly to retaining the characteristic foothill landscape and maintaining viable wildlife habitat.

The Trust for Public Land is a nonprofit land conservation organization, specializing in conservation real estate, applying its expertise in negotiations, public finance, and law to protect land for public use and enjoyment. TPL works with local, state, and federal agencies, and grassroots community groups to protect open space. Since it’s founding in 1972, TPL has protected more than 1.2 million acres nationwide, and more than 230,000 acres in California.