Bear Yuba Land Trust cares for land in ways that ensure the sustainability and resilience of our core conservation values, including:
- Monitoring and defense of conservation easements
- Actively managing lands to encourage and sustain ecological health and diversity
- Engaging our community in programming that sustains natural resources such as wildlife habitat and water
BYLT Preserves
BYLT works to ensuring the stewardship of 4,000+ acres that are held in Preserves. Ongoing projects include restoration of Little Wolf Creek at Garden Bar Preserve and work to reduce wildfire risk and protect crucial wildlife habitat with forest thinning projects at Rice’s Crossing Preserve and Deer Creek Park Forest Reserve.
On BYLT Preserves, our Stewardship staff strives to create sustainable, resilient landscapes which are managed for forest health and wildlife habitat, protect our rivers and streams, sequester carbon, and protect and enhance pollinator populations by planting native pollinator gardens.
Conservation Easements
With each conservation easement, BYLT and the landowner take on the responsibility and obligation to protect the conservation values of the property. Protection is ensured by ongoing stewardship of the land.
Communication, stewardship education and support are essential components of a successful conservation easement program. On working lands (agricultural and timber lands) it may mean input on the development of a management plan. BYLT may be able to provide and/or identify expertise and other resources for such efforts.
At a minimum, BYLT annually contacts the landowner and/or property agent and monitors each property to ensure compliance with the terms of the conservation easement. All of this is documented, compiled as part of the record for each easement and provided to land owners.
Stewardship Endowments
Significant time and resources are required to fulfill the legal obligations of an easement. For this reason, BYLT establishes endowments to cover the costs associated with our monitoring and reporting responsibilities. The establishment of a stewardship endowment is an essential component in the conservation easement development process thereby ensuring that resources necessary to protect the conservation values persist just as the Land Trust’s responsibilities persist. Because BYLT is a non-profit, 501(c)3 organization, contributions to these endowments are tax deductible.