Sacramento Valley Conservancy

Thank you to our Treasures of the Valley Sponsors
Please click here for the list.

Notice of Preparation
of the Environmental Impact Report
for the Deer Creek Hills Master Plan is available here.

SVC partners with SMUD and The Nature Conservancy to dedicate the 1,200-acre SMUD Nature Preserve at Rancho Seco Park

SVC will hold the easement protecting the critical vernal pool habitat and manage the cattle grazing to benefit wildlife species. The 7-mile Howard Ranch Trail allows the public to access the SMUD Nature Preserve from Rancho Seco Park. Click here for fact sheet.

Don't Miss our Preserve Tours and be sure to come to our Oak Woodland and Deer Creek Hills Master Plan Workshops! Click here for workshop materials.

Bird checklist and wildlife fact sheet available here.

Sacramento Valley Conservancy Named Best Small Non-Profit In Six-County Region
The Sacramento Valley Conservancy (SVC) was named the best non-profit with a budget under $750,000 in the six-county capital region by the "Models of Success" program, sponsored by the Sacramento Metro Chamber of Commerce and the Non-Profit Resource Center. Click here for the full press release.

Find out how you can help

Read the Full Press Release

Take a Hiking Tour of Deer Creek Hills – see the events calendar for the tour schedule

2008 Progress Report
We are constantly making efforts to add to our 9,745 acres of preserved land.

Board of Directors
We would like to welcome our newest Board Member Kate Hart.

The Conservancy was founded in 1990 on two basic principles - that open lands are necessary for quality of life and that we must care for the land today so future generations may enjoy its physical and spiritual benefits tomorrow.

SVC's mission is to preserve the beauty, character and diversity of the Sacramento Valley landscape by working with citizens, property owners, developers, public agencies and other nonprofit organizations. It creates dedicated open space by the acceptance of gifts, private purchase, facilitation of public acquisition, conservation easements and by cooperative efforts. It arranges for the preservation of these lands for agricultural, natural resource protection, recreation, and wildlife habitat purposes.

SVC is a private, non-profit land trust and buys land only from willing sellers. We work cooperatively with private landowners and public and private funding sources to create win-win solutions.

21st Century Open
Space Vision Map
View critical resources in the County.

Oaks Meet Walnuts at Elkhorn Basin Ranch
Sacramento Valley Conservancy and Yolo Land Trust Complete Purchase of Yolo County's Elkhorn Basin (Knagg's) Ranch
Click here for the press release.

Click the following links for additional articles about the Elkhorn Basin Ranch:

See link below for a recent Channel 13 news piece by John Iander about SVC's ecologist Carol Witham conducting fairy and tadpole shrimp surveys.
Off the Beaten Path: Shrimp Survey

Project Map

Take a look at the locations preserved by SVC efforts.

Deer Creek Hills Project:
Click Here for More Info, Including a Virtual Tour, Map, PowerPoint Presentation and Fact Sheet
Three years after Sacramentans voted not to develop it and two years after launching an effort to acquire it, the Sacramento Valley Conservancy announced the successful purchase of the last 2,008 acres of the Deer Creek Hills property, the final victory in the nonprofit organization's effort to preserve more than 4,000 acres of oak woodlands and grasslands in East Sacramento.

"Working against the clock through two years of fundraising, the Sacramento Conservancy has succeeded once again in fulfilling the community's will by completing the purchase of Deer Creek Hills," said county supervisor Roger Niello, co-chair of the Select Fund Committee for Deer Creek Hills. "The Conservancy's acquisition preserves land that will provide recreational and scenic opportunities for generations of Sacramentans."

SVC now faces the challenge of raising $3 million both to complete the management plan which will identify and develop future public use of the site, and to provide an endowment to help manage the site.