Open Space Committee recommends Board accept Old Woods Ranch conservation easement

The Carson City Open Space Committee voted unanimously to recommend that the Board of Supervisors accept a conservation easement for Old Woods Ranch, a 130-acre property near Highway 50, during its meeting on the evening of Aug. 25.

The recommendation advances a multi-year effort led by Nevada Land Trust to protect open space, watershed functions and potential future trail connections in the Clear Creek watershed. Nevada Land Trust representatives told the committee the project is part of a larger, $5.5 million package that includes two other conservation easements in Douglas and Washoe counties.

Alicia Rabanne, executive director of Nevada Land Trust, summarized the easement and the conservation process for the committee. “At its very most basic level, [a] conservation easement is a restriction placed on a piece of property to protect its associated resources,” Rabanne said. She told the committee the Forest Legacy Program awarded $4.1 million toward the three-easement project in 2021 and that the Forest Legacy award requires a 25%…