In December of 2014, the Bach family generously donated 35 acres to BYLT for the purpose of protecting the land from development forever.
Bordering the community of Alta Sierra, Clover Valley Preserve is a lovely example of an oak and mixed conifer forest.
Now with the help of volunteers, the Land Trust is cleaning up garbage like mattresses and old tires dumped at the property over the years. Work has begun on a new trail expected to open this spring.
On the last day of 2015, volunteers turned out in force to work alongside Trails Coordinator Shaun Clarke on a bright but cold morning, to build the first 250 feet of the preserve’s new community trail.
“I think this is a good example of what BYLT does,” said Trails Coordinator Shaun Clarke. Earlier in December, he and volunteer Frank Hamlin scrambled through the brush on a steep hillside to GPS trace the first rough clearing of the trail.
South Wolf Creek bisects the length of the landscape, providing habitat for aquatic and terrestrial life. Botanical interests such as blue oak, black oak, live oak, red bud, coffee berry, native blackberry and maiden hair fern can be found there.
Located within a short walk of Alta Sierra Elementary School, the riparian area of Clover Valley Preserve offers the promise of nature and watershed studies, picnics and time outside the classroom for elementary school kids.
“We’d love to see children hiking to the creek to look for macro-invertebrates and amphibians. So many of us remember such wonderful experiences in nature when we were kids. The Land Trust would like to create places where kids today can have similar experiences,” said BYLT’s Executive Director Marty Coleman-Hunt.
The new trail will provide another outdoor recreation opportunity for the Alta Sierra community in addition to nearby Mathis Pond, Adam Ryan Preserve and Alan Thiesen Trail.
The trail is expected to be open to the public in the spring of 2016. Stay tuned.
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