TRABUCCO PRESERVE
CONSERVATION PROJECT
Trabucco Preserve
Location: Mariposa County, CA
Timeframe: 2008 - 2020
Consultant: Kellenberg Studio
Status: Complete
Role: Planner and Developer
PROJECT DESCRIPTION:
Trabucco Ranch Preserve is a 524 acre Conservation Development outside of the historic town of Mariposa in the Sierra Nevada foothills. It consists of four 40-80 acre ranchettes and the 324 acre Mt Bullion Ranch.
The Preserve is located about 12 minutes north of the town of Mariposa on Hwy 49 close to the hamlet of Bear Valley. It is within an hour of both UC Merced campus and Yosemite National Park.
The Land Character is of two types: 1) gently rolling open ranch land studded with mature oak trees and oak woodland, and 2) gentle graduating to steeper slopes of adjacent Mount Bullion. The Preserve is nestled in Bear Valley, a small, beautiful valley that was a center of gold mining activity during the gold rush of the 1800's. The land is currently leased for cattle grazing and ranch owners will likely continue to do so as a prime land management tool.
A Conservation Development is a type of large scale subdivision that seeks to protect the ecological and open space character of the land by protecting it with a conservation easement. This easement prohibits further subdivision and degradation of the landscape other than that defined by the preserve master plan and restrictions. In the case of Trabucco Preserve the conservation easement is managed by a non-profit land trust, the Sierra Foothill Conservancy.