37 acres, Established 2020.
Access: No public access
Conservation Values: Agricultural land, open space, wildlife and plant habitats, water resources and farmworker housing.
c’oom pe Preserve is located on the San Juan Ridge and is home to Mountain Bounty Farm. BYLT provided a long-term evergreen lease to Mountain Bounty Farm in 2020 with stipulations to ensure that the land remain productive farmland and that its management is ecologically responsible. Any leases to other farmers in the future would have the same stipulations.
c’oom pe (pronounced CH-oom pe) is a Nisenan place name and the Preserve was honored and renamed at the Open Spaces Wild Places Gala in 2022. The site holds significant historical and cultural meaning for the Nisenan Tribe of the Nevada City Rancheria. Bear Yuba Land Trust contributes a portion of the farm lease to the Tribe’s Ancestral Homelands Reciprocity Program, a community generated initiative to support and uplift the Nevada City Rancheria Nisenan Tribe, the original peoples of this land, through their tribally-guided 501(c)(3) nonprofit CHIRP (California Heritage: Indigenous Research Project). Learn more here.
John Tecklin began Mountain Bounty Farm in 1997. Today, his farm is the largest supplier of organic vegetables in Nevada County. 820 households, from Tahoe to Penn Valley, subscribe to his community supported agriculture (CSA) farm to receive a weekly box of fresh vegetables. His is the oldest and largest CSA in the Sierras. Mountain Bounty Farm is the second largest vegetable supplier to the BriarPatch Food Co-op in Grass Valley, and supplies a variety of other stores, restaurants, and farmer’s markets throughout the region. Under John’s direction, a new generation of farmers is assuming leadership of the farm. The farm is now collaboratively run by a team of talented young farmers. In addition to providing local jobs and training a new generation of farmers, Mountain Bounty Farm also hosts 4-6 school group tours per season, farm dinners in the field, community farm tours, and an annual Harvest Festival.
