At the Sierra Nevada Conservancy’s (SNC) quarterly Board meeting held March 6, the Board awarded a grant of $2,299,993 to the 40 Acre Conservation League to complete forest health work on its 650-acre property just west of Emigrant Gap in Placer County.
“This grant advances SNC’s goal of expanding access-for-all throughout the Sierra-Cascade,” said SNC Executive Officer Angela Avery. “The Tahoe Forest Gateway is a beautiful property along Interstate 80 and these funds will help the 40 Acre Conservation League restore forest health and wildfire resilience as they develop a culturally relevant, accommodating, and welcoming place for the public to enjoy everything the area has to offer.”
With the help of earlier grants from the SNC and the Wildlife Conservation Board (WCB), the 40 Acre Conservation League was able to purchase the land—called Tahoe Forest Gateway—in early 2024. As the only Black-led land conservancy in California, the 40 Acre Conservation League has a dual mission of conserving and restoring natural lands and developing inclusive and welcoming access for recreational and educational opportunities in nature.
“Our vision aligns with quite a few state, local, and county strategic plans, and more specifically with the Sierra Nevada Conservancy’s,” said Jade Stevens, president of the 40 Acre Conservation League. “That is emphasizing protecting and preserving the area but also enhancing the public use and enjoyment of the land, while also helping to increase access to disadvantaged and underrepresented communities that want to have more space and more public access opportunities.”
This specific grant from the SNC will pay for fuels-reduction treatment on 189 acres, complementing 374 acres currently being treated under a grant from the WCB. The project will reduce overgrown stand density, reduce brush and ladder fuels, improve existing tree health and species structure, replant native species, and improve wildlife habitat. By reducing fuels on the property, it will help protect the region, which includes roughly 60 nearby homes, Interstate 80, adjacent Tahoe National Forest land, and the communities of Blue Canyon and Nyack, from potential damaging wildfire.
“Providing forest resiliency and wildfire prevention funding achieves the dual goals of mitigating wildfire risk in one of the most wildfire threatened regions in the state and empowering a diverse-led organization with the ability to fulfill a broader mission of increasing access and equity in the outdoors,” wrote Assemblymember, 11th District, Lori Wilson, in support of this award. “This represents a ‘win-win’ opportunity that aligns with the efforts of a broad consortium of legislators to diversify the outdoors.”
Once the forest-health work is done, the 40 Acre Conservation League plans to invest more into the property to add recreational and educational amenities, which will most likely include a nature center, camping sites, hiking and mountain biking trails, and water amenities to complement a scenic 30-acre lake onsite.
“We want to meet the communities where they are,” added Stevens. “What that means is creating experiences that are not only safe and welcoming but culturally relevant and accommodating. We will look at ways for us to create those experiences that make people feel more comfortable to enjoy the outdoors.”