With some considerable pleasure, the Conservancy announces completion of a land exchange that will enhance the biological values afforded the species covered in the Natomas Basin Habitat Conservation Plan (NBHCP). The consummation of this transaction concludes an effort of over two years. In exchange for the Conservancy’s 242-acre Brennan tract, the Conservancy received 388 acres in two separate parcels known as the Nestor and Bolen West tracts.

The satellite photo shown here reveals changes in the Natomas Basin since last year’s satellite photo. The Conservancy purchases these “bird in the sky” photos each year, overlaying on them the approximate boundaries of the Conservancy’s land holdings. This provides the Conservancy with an excellent historical record, year by year, of the sanctuaries it has acquired for the benefit of the covered species in the Natomas Basin Habitat Conservation Plan (NBHCP). Others are using them as well to track general growth and development in the Natomas Basin.

Click here to view photo. (634 x 800 pixels; 63k)
Click here to view EXTRA LARGE photo. (2744 x 3462 pixels; 452k)

The Conservancy 2005 Implementation Annual Report is now available on line. See “Annual Reports” in the left-hand column under ”Helpful Documents” to access annual reports from 2001 to date.

The Conservancy’s biological monitoring contractors discovered the first giant garter snake (GGS) on the Conservancy’s Cummings tract preserve the week of May 8, 2006. The Cummings tract lies in the Conservancy’s Fisherman’s Lake Reserve Area, and the newly constructed managed marsh on the site wasn’t expected to see colonization by GGS for at least three year, perhaps five.