SACRAMENTO REGION, CA (MPG) - The Sacramento Valley Conservancy (SVC) has announced the permanent protection of 1,055 acres of vernal pool and open space between the Mather and Sloughhouse areas. 

This is the conservancy’s largest acquisition since the Deer Creek Hills Preserve north of Rancho Murieta was protected in 2004, according to Executive Director Kelly Hopkins. The conservancy plans to connect the newly acquired preserves to Deer Creek and other open spaces for wildlife corridors and regional trail networks. 

The preserves encompass five properties located off Grant Line Road, including sections of Carson Creek, tributaries to Deer Creek and the Laguna Creek Watershed, and portions connecting to the Kiefer Landfill Preserve. 

The protected area includes vernal pools, wetlands and swales that support threatened, protected and species of concern, including vernal pool fairy shrimp (Branchinecta lynchi) and tadpole shrimp (Lepidurus packardi), western spadefoot (Spea hammondii), burrowing owl (Athene cunicularia) and Swainson’s hawk (Buteo swainsoni). 

“Vernal pools are home to unique species found nowhere else on Earth,” Hopkins said. “They provide biodiversity, support local ag and become living classrooms where we inspire the next generation of stewards.” 

This project succeeded in finally dedicating the preserves after years of collaboration between the South Sacramento Conservation Agency (SSCA), the developer, the conservancy and many more, fulfilling the required mitigation for the Cordova Hills development project, which was approved by the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors in 2013.

 “SVC is pleased that these parcels have finally been protected, and we are excited to gain the Conservation Agency as a partner in the land protection process,” Hopkins said. 

The conservancy manages and monitors 7,326 acres of vernal pool and upland habitat, known as the Sacramento Prairie Vernal Pool Preserve, which includes 23 properties in the Mather, Rancho Cordova area and southeast Sacramento County area. 

Over the past 20 years, the conservancy has worked with mining companies, developers, resource agencies and organizations such as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, Sacramento County, the Sacramento Municipal Utility District and the California State Water Resources Control Board to protect and restore these rare habitats. 

Grasslands containing vernal pools are some of the most threatened lands in the region, and 237,000 acres of working agricultural lands have been lost to development in the Sacramento Valley between1988 and 2018. 

The conservancy is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and an accredited land trust dedicated to preserving agricultural lands, natural habitats and open spaces in the Sacramento Valley for future generations. Since 1990, the conservancy has protected over 17,500 acres, actively contributing to the region's environmental sustainability and resilience through land and conservation easement acquisition.