Less than an hour’s drive northwest of Reno is Sierra Valley, home to the Feather River Watershed. While those driving through towns like Beckwourth and Chilcoot, Calif., have been able to admire the beauty of Sierra Valley from the car, there has been little opportunity to explore on foot—until now.
The Feather River Land Trust opened the Sierra Valley Preserve and Nature Center in December, making more than 2,500 acres and a new nature center available to the public.
The nature center is a mile south of Highway 70 in Beckwourth, situated on the edge of a vast wetland surrounded by mountains. The Middle Fork of the Feather River meanders through grasses, reeds and occasional pines, forming lazy pools that reflect the surrounding mountains. Hawks and coyotes can usually be spotted hunting, and there is a great variety of birds to watch. According to eBird, an online database for birdwatchers, Sierra Valley is a birding hotspot, and more than 200 different species have been identified there, including sandhill cranes (who nest there), hawks, ducks, snow geese, herons, egrets, meadowlarks and burrowing owls.
Inside the nature center are interpretive displays on topics that include wetlands, birds and the Maidu and Washoe tribes, whose ancestral lands include the Sierra Valley. During the grand opening celebration on Dec. 7, these interactive displays entertained children and adults alike. The nature center, which was made using straw-bale construction, also features a spacious multipurpose room for classes and events; its large windows offer a panoramic view across the valley and wetlands to the mountains beyond.
Outside of the nature center are more than four miles of trails, often wheelchair- and stroller-accessible. At about 4,900 feet in elevation, the trails will be clear (if perhaps a bit muddy) for much of the winter when Renoites are often short of options for snow-free trails. The preserve is also a place for snowshoeing and cross-country skiing when snow is on the ground.
The trails, trailheads and the exterior of the nature center feature interpretive signs illustrated by John Muir Laws, an author and illustrator of nature guides who donated his artwork to the preserve. The signs feature information about the birds who live in or visit the area, the wetlands, legendary explorer James Beckwourth, and the Washoe and Maidu people, among other topics.
Two decades and many donors
The preserve is the result of more than two decades of work and fundraising by Sierra Valley locals and was developed in consultation with the Washoe and Maidu tribes. According to Corey Pargee, the Feather River Land Trust’s executive director, the trust bought a 567-ranch in 2003, a 331-acre ranch in 2014, a 1,627-acre ranch in 2016, and 50 more acres in 2019. That last 50-acre purchase is now the site of the nature center.
Pargee said that the funding for the land purchases came from philanthropists including multiple family foundations, The Nature Conservancy, the Resources Legacy Fund and the Northern Sierra Partnership.
Feather River Land Trust board director Denny Churchill said that individuals also donated “five bucks here, 10 bucks there.” He explained that trust is part of the aforementioned Northern Sierra Partnership.
“We have several legacy fundings from people who are very well-off,” Churchill said.
Jill Slocum, a donor, is also a volunteer with the Feather River Land Trust and was helping at the grand opening. She has been helping bring field trips of school children to the valley for several years, and is excited because the new nature center will serve as a “hub for people to get an introduction to the valley and what’s out here.”
Slocum shared yet more ways she has seen funds come in for the purchases of land.
“There have been music festivals; there have been fundraisers of different sorts,” Slocum said. “There’s an old, restored building. … They had an evening concert there one night put on by some local people from Loyalton—beautiful music. Sandhill cranes were hooting their heads off. It was magical.”
Future enhancements and Washoe cultural elements
While there are no plans to expand the preserve, there are plans to enhance it. The east entrance is still being developed and is slated to open sometime in the spring of 2025, with a wildlife viewing platform—to get closer to birds without disrupting them, Pargee said. More trails will also be developed.
Two areas near the visitor center are designated as demonstration sites for the Washoe and the Maidu tribes. Washoe Tribal Chair Serrell Smokey said the Washoe Tribe will build a winter shelter there, called a “galis dungal,” out of cedar bark. According to Smokey, the preserve is important because much of the Sierra Valley was where the Washoe Tribe’s allotments under the 1887 Dawes Act were. Few Washoe live in the area today, so the preserve will provide important cultural education for the tribe.
One of the traditional foods the Washoe people ate in Sierra Valley is a plant called camas; they baked the plant’s bulbs in underground ovens. Smokey said that none of those ovens exist today, and tribal members are excited to have the opportunity and space to build some in the preserve.
He also said the nature center will host tribal events and workshops.
Early reviews
More than 500 visitors attended grand opening in December. One attendee from Reno, Sherman Swanson, teaches classes about riparian habitats in Nevada and California.
“The setting is spectacular,” Swanson said. “It’s got wetlands and riparian habitats, and these green places close to water are so special, because the green helps the blue, helps the wildlife, helps the everything.”
Faith and Piers Strailey attended with the Plumas Audubon Society, helping to organize bird walks and loan binoculars to visitors. Piers said that the preserve is important because “it’s a gathering point. It’s an information point.”
He said the partnership between Audubon and the Feather River Land Trust builds opportunities for birding and conservation in many aspects.
“I do think that it needs to be emphasized that the bird diversity, this being the largest wetlands in the Sierra Nevada, has significance for a lot of people who care about wildlife,” he said.
Sierra Valley Preserve and Nature Center, located at 495 Beckwourth Calpine Road, in Beckwourth, Calif., is open 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Thursday through Sunday. The entrances and trailheads are open every day from sunrise to sunset. Upcoming events include a full moon hike with the Full Moon Howlers at 3 p.m., Sunday, Jan. 12; monthly speakers from the California Native Plant Society; Birds and Beans (a monthly birding walk with coffee); and the Wild and Scenic Film Festival at a February date to be determined. For details, visit www.frlt.org/outdoor-adventures-lost-sierra/sierra-valley-preserve-nature-center.