Watch this wonderful video of beautiful scenes from next door to Deer Creek Hills at the Jonas Ranch in East Sacramento County.

See weblink below or download attachment to see a gorgeous spread of Deer Creek Hills and a feature on Sacramento Valley Conservancy in the summer 2010 edition of "Saving Land" the main publication of the Land Trust Alliance.  SVC is a long-time member of the Land Trust Alliance and is newly accredited by the Land Trust Alliance Accreditation Commission. The Land Trust Alliance saves the places people love by strengthening land conservation across America and represents more than 1,600 land trusts nationwide.

Sacramento Valley Conservancy celebrates 20 years (1990-2010) of protecting our precious heritage land and water resources, local farms and ranches, and floodplain by offering special opportunities for you to see and share our preserves and success!

Come enjoy beautiful spring weather, wildflowers, creeks and sunsets with us at our Cowboy Breakfast at Deer Creek Hills corral on May 1, our Twilight Wine and Cheese Celebration at our newest preserve along Deer Creek on May 7 and our Summer Social on June 17^th. All events are free!  See inside and back page for registration information.

Your support makes our success possible. Dedicated and visionary local folks inspired to protect our special places for future generations founded the Conservancy in 1990. We started with a nine-member Board of Trustees, no staff, and no land protected. Today, we have a thirteen-member Board of Trustees, twenty-five member advisory council, seven staff members, over 1500 annual donors, over 100 annual volunteers and almost 11,000 acres of land protected.

And, we are very proud to announce that we are one of only ten accredited land trusts by the Land Trust Alliance Accreditation Commission in California. SVC was also named the best small nonprofit in the six-county capital region in 2003. Thanks to you for making all this happen!

During our first five years, we completed two land transactions.  Over the course of the next 15 years, we completed 28 land transactions, and raised over $30 million in land acquisition funds. Our average land transaction takes over one year to complete, many take as long as three to seven years. All have had at least three funding partners. Deer Creek Hills involved over 15 institutional partners and over 300 community donors. Elkhorn Basin Ranch involved seven funding partners.

You and future generations now own and have access to over 4400 acres of blue oak woodlands, creeks and cattle ranching land at the Deer Creek Hills Preserve. Project YES (Youth, Education and Stewardship) brings youth on day and overnight trips to the preserve. We also work with local farmers and ranchers on almost 7500 acres of land producing local rice, corn, walnuts, cattle and other crops. We manage these lands to maximize their habitat values and restore habitat in areas not viable for farming. These lands help sustain local farming, SVC and food, homes for wildlife and floodplain for us all.

We cannot continue operating and accomplishing our mission without you and your support. Keep up your good work by supporting SVC!

The Land Trust Accreditation Commission, an independent program of the Land Trust Alliance, announced on August 5, 2009 that Sacramento Valley Conservancy has been awarded accredited status.

"Accredited land trusts meet national quality standards for protecting important natural places and working lands forever," said Commission Executive Director Tammara Van Ryn. "The accreditation seal lets the public know that the accredited land trust has undergone an extensive, external review of the governance and management of its organization and the systems and policies it uses to protect land."

Acquisition Boosts Regional Agriculture, Flood Control, & Water Resources Planning Objectives -

Sacramento, CA (September 12, 2008)- The Sacramento Valley Conservancy (SVC), in collaboration with Yolo Land Trust, today announced that it successfully completed its purchase of the 1,682 acre Elkhorn Basin (aka Knaggs) Ranch in Yolo County.

For the full press release, download the Word document below.

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.

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.

TWO-YEAR OPEN SPACE QUEST COMPLETED IN EAST COUNTY

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.

For the full press release, download the Word document below.