The Placer Conservation Authority Board of Directors took action today to execute three purchase-and-sale agreements to acquire conservation easements on the Raccoon Creek property, formerly known as the Teichert property.
The Raccoon Creek property acquisition would approximately double the 4,318 acres in the PCCP’s reserve system and represents the largest remaining concentration of prime farmland in Placer County.
The property contains 1,299 acres of active agricultural production, as well as 2,536 acres of vernal pool complex, 283 acres of riverine/riparian complex, 67 acres of aquatic/wetland complex, 3 acres of oak woodland, and 6 miles of stream system with salmonid spawning or rearing/migration habitat in both Raccoon Creek and Doty Ravine.
“If successful, this is likely the most significant acquisition the program will ever make, due to the size of the property and the acreage of valuable resources that can be conserved,”
said PCCP Administrator and PCA Executive Director Gregg McKenzie. “If this property is not conserved, the zoning allows for it to be split and developed into 20-acre parcels.”
The property was previously permitted in 2003 to be a gravel mine and was known as the Teichert Lincoln Aggregate Facility Project. Teichert did not mine the property, and in 2023 Teichert requested to rescind all mining entitlements, which was approved by the Placer County Board of Supervisors on Nov. 28, 2023.
After the mining entitlements were rescinded, Ecosystem Investment Partners purchased the property from Teichert and has been negotiating conservation easements and habitat restoration projects on the property with the Placer Conservation Authority – a joint powers authority formed to administer the Placer County Conservation Program.
The PCA’s Feb. 6 action on the purchase-and sale-agreements allows staff to move forward with further analyzing the property, and to negotiate an agreement for habitat restoration work to provide streamlined mitigation for development and public infrastructure projects.
“This is an exciting opportunity for the PCCP and Placer County,” said PCA Chair and Placer County Supervisor Shanti Landon. “This will not only preserve our natural heritage but will also be a lasting legacy for our community, ensuring future generations can enjoy the beauty and biodiversity of our area.”
Funding for the acquisition of conservation easements over the entire 4,245 acres will come from mitigation fees collected from development and public infrastructure projects in western Placer County.
The PCCP plan area covers approximately 260,000 acres of western Placer County. Within the PCCP plan area, 47,300 acres will be acquired and added to the PCCP reserve system for conservation. Since the PCCP began implementation in 2021, approximately 4,318 acres have been added to the PCCP reserve system so far.
For more information on the Placer County Conservation Program, click here.