At the Sierra Valley Preserve
Just south of the town of Beckwourth lies the only place in the wide expanse of Sierra Valley that is publicly accessible—FRLT’s Sierra Valley Preserve. Visitors to the 2,575-acre Preserve at the headwaters of the Wild and Scenic Middle Fork Feather River could already enjoy 360-degree views, nearly 3 miles of interpretive trails, and incredible birding from the wetland-edge wildlife viewing platform.
From 2020 to 2024, we worked with our partners The Nature Conservancy and the Northern Sierra Partnership to create even more trails and a new Nature Center for ecological learning, recreation, and stewardship at the Preserve.
Please join us in celebrating the new Sierra Valley Preserve Nature Center!
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Fast Facts
- What: A new hub for nature-based learning, recreation, and stewardship
- Why: To share Sierra Valley’s beauty, biodiversity, and cultural significance
- Where: At the Preserve’s northwest corner on County Road A-23, where some infrastructure already existed (new construction not near sensitive habitats)
- When: The new Nature Center opened in Dec 2024; the Preserve is open year-round
- Partners: FRLT, Northern Sierra Partnership, The Nature Conservancy
Photo by Liz Ramsey
Photo by Andrew Wright/Lighthawkphoto
Photo by Andrew Wright/Lighthawkphoto
A Nature Center at the Sierra Valley Preserve
A Headquarters at the Headwaters
We worked with partners for nearly two decades to create this exciting hub for nature-based recreation and learning at the Preserve, where visitors and locals alike can experience the wonders of Sierra Valley’s beauty, cultural richness, and biodiversity.
Exhibits
Programs
Facilities
Green Design Facilities
The new Nature Center and Preserve headquarters have been designed using green building strategies and to fit in with the natural and historic landscape of Sierra Valley and its iconic barns. The new facilities include:
- two large, light-filled rooms: an exhibit hall introducing visitors to Sierra Valley’s natural wonders and cultural history and a multipurpose events space for programs and activities
- outdoor spaces: a patio for taking in expansive views, wetland overlooks, birding blinds, picnic areas, and an outdoor classroom
- a headquarters for FRLT staff to offer public programs, manage and maintain trails and visitor amenities, and for the ecological stewardship and restoration of the Preserve’s diverse habitats and resources
New Trails and Exhibits
Beautiful exhibits and new trails invite visitors of all ages to:
- Get to know to the natural wonders of Sierra Valley and expand our skills as naturalists
- Learn about the relationship of Washoe and Mountain Maidu people to land and place in Sierra Valley
- Discover why conserving and restoring the Sierra Nevada’s natural systems is more important today than ever—to protect water supplies and biodiversity and increase our resilience to climate change
- Find out about green building strategies used at the Preserve, like solar power, straw bale insulation, water conservation and recycling, and waste reduction
- Get involved!
Special Programs and Events
With this new indoor space, we’ll be able to host exciting talks, workshops, and events in the evening and year-round, such as:
- Guided events to learn about topics like birds, botany, soils, astronomy, nature journaling, and plein air painting
- Field trips and workshops for K-12 students from throughout the Feather River region and beyond.
- Volunteer stewardship, trail, and restoration days
- A Sierra Valley Bird Festival and guided field tours co-hosted with experts like Plumas Audubon Society, San Francisco State’s Sierra Nevada Field Campus, and UC Berkeley’s Sagehen Field Station
- Events and lectures on topics from natural history to sequestering carbon in Sierra meadows for climate resilience
Timeline
- June 2021: Kicked off fundraising—the Campaign for the Sierra Valley Preserve
- Sept 2022: Secured permits and began construction
- Summer 2024: Complete construction and exhibits
- December 7, 2024: Grand Opening
I am thrilled with FRLT’s plans to expand access and educational opportunities at the Preserve. It will bring more visitors to the area and my business and will enhance the experience and connection for us all.
—Chelsea Johnson, owner of the Gilded Drifter Inn, Loyalton
The tremendous bird diversity in Sierra Valley has made it a magnet for birders from all over the west. By providing top-notch information, engaging programs and improved accessibility, the visitor facilities will enrich everyone’s experience, both visitors and residents alike.
—J.R. Blair, former Director, Sierra Nevada Field Campus, San Francisco State University
The Sierra Valley Preserve will be an outstanding new destination for nature-based tourism, drawing hundreds of new visitors to Sierra Valley every year, with benefits for everyone in the hospitality industry.
—Lauren Knox, former City Manager, Portola
I’ve been supporting the FRLT mission for several years. The best way to ensure long term conservation of such a unique space and its natural resources is through on-site field education. A dedicated center for this educational end would be a fantastic resource for K-12 and general population use.
—Scott Chadwick, Neighbor and local landowner
Our Goals
Protect Natural & Cultural Resources
Protect and manage an ecological refuge for water, wildlife and people at the headwaters of the Middle Fork Feather River
Connect People to Nature
Nurture and deepen people’s relationship to the land through nature-based education, recreation, and stewardship activities
Ecotourism & Economic Growth
Enhance the local economy by creating an outstanding new destination for nature-based tourism
Collaborate for Climate Resilience
Foster collaboration with landowners, public agencies, scientific institutions and other entities
Help Protect and Care for this Extraordinary Place
The Feather River Land Trust owns and cares for the Sierra Valley Preserve with the help of our generous supporters. We’re excited about this spectacular interpretive and educational center to share the wonders of Sierra Valley with visitors and local residents alike. It will be a boon for ecotourism and our rural economy, and a treasured destination in our region for years to come.
But we can’t do it without you.
We need your support!
Please join us in protecting and caring for this Preserve and other important Feather River lands for clean water, wildlife, access to nature, and healthy future for generations to come. Thank you for donating today!
Photo by Jeff Bue
More about the Sierra Valley Preserve
The 2,575-acre Sierra Valley Preserve was created to protect its unique habitats, richly diverse plant and bird life, and the headwaters of the Wild and Scenic Middle Fork Feather River. And to deepen people’s relationship to nature and understanding of the region’s cultural history through public access and education.
A paradise for birders and nature enthusiasts, Sierra Valley holds the largest complex of wetlands in the Sierra Nevada, and is home to the greatest diversity and abundance of birds in the entire Sierra. The Sierra Valley Preserve offers the only year-round public access where people can get out on the land and experience this breathtaking landscape and its extraordinary biodiversity.
At the North Entrance, visit the Nature Center, learn about Sierra Valley’s unique ecology and cultural importance, and find out about events and activities. Nature Center hours: Thursdays through Sundays, 10am to 3:30pm.
The West Entrance (accessible from County Road A-23) opened in 2020, with a beautiful welcome kiosk and 2 miles of interpretive trails including the Rebecca Wenk Botanical Trail, the Bluff Trail, and the Jenner Mountain Overlook (to be finished in Spring 2025). In 2024, the new 2-mile long Westside Wetlands Trail connecting the historic Bulson House to the Nature Center was added.
Coming soon at the East Entrance: follow a short, accessible trail to a wildlife overlook perched over the wetlands.
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Working Together for the Sierra Valley Preserve
FRLT worked together with local landowners, the Northern Sierra Partnership, and The Nature Conservancy over many years to assemble the 2,575-acre Sierra Valley Preserve, strategically located where the braided channels through the Sierra Valley wetlands converge to form the Wild and Scenic Middle Fork Feather River. In 2019, FRLT acquired the most recent addition—the 50-acre Marshall property on the northwest corner of the Preserve, the location for the new Preserve headquarters and nature center.
Next, FRLT and our key partners worked together to enhance this special landscape and create a permanent new Nature Center for ecological learning and stewardship in the northern Sierra, a place where people of all ages come together to learn about the natural world that sustain us all.
Together, we launched the Campaign for the Sierra Valley Preserve to bring this vision to fruition and build the new indoor facilities and exhibits, stewardship workshop, new interpretive trails, wetlands overlooks and birding blinds, an outdoor classroom, and other visitor amenities. With three generous donors sponsoring a Campaign Challenge to kick off the campaign, we leveraged private funds from many generous individuals and foundations with public funds to meet our goal and bring this vision to fruition.
Planning informed by our local community
In planning for expanded public facilities at the Preserve, we conducted an extensive community outreach process with recreationists, community leaders, business owners, teachers, non-profit leaders, educators, neighbors, local government officials, and other interested community members to brief them about the project and solicit their input. These findings are helping to guide priorities for the Preserve and inform its management and public access plan.
Expert partners in ecological and interpretive design and cultural history
We’ve been fortunate to work with some of the best firms in the industry for ecological and interpretive design, including Arkin Tilt Architects, Farallon Media, and Weldon Exhibits. The team includes experts who have created interpretive exhibits at the Monterey Bay Aquarium and the California Academy of Sciences, and consulting representatives from the Mountain Maidu and Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California.
Together, we do good things!
Join us! Help sustain this Nature Center and conserve important lands at the Feather River headwaters
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