Cosumnes River Preserve
Mike Conner, Project Director
The Cosumnes River Preserve is a groundbreaking conservation project of considerable magnitude. Currently, the preserve partners manage 46,000 acres.
The Nature Conservancy first became active in south Sacramento County in 1984. The organization purchased a conservation easement on 85 acres of valley oak riparian forest. In 1987, with the acquisition of more than 1,400 additional acres, the Cosumnes River Preserve was officially established.
In 1988, Ducks Unlimited joined as a partner in the project. The preserve has expanded through the efforts of the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, the California Department of Fish & Game, Sacramento County Department of Regional Parks and the California Department of Water Resources.
The overriding purpose of Cosumnes River Preserve is to cooperatively manage preserve lands as a single ecological unit for the protection, restoration, and maintenance of the quality and diversity of two rare communities in California: valley oak (Quercus lobata) riparian forest and freshwater seasonal wetlands.
Management goals include the protection and management of associated habitats types, such as grasslands, vernal pool, permanent wetland, and mixed riparian forest found within the Cosumnes Basin to promote growth of native flora and provide habitat for wildlife. The partners agree that this goal may ultimately be best accomplished by integrating management of wildlife areas with certain human and economic pursuits, such as agriculture, in a "buffer" area that will enhance and complement the land's habitat values.
