Butte County

WHF maintains 5 preserves within Butte County.

BCAG Freshwater Marsh Preserve
BCAG Vernal Pool Preserve
Daley Ranch Butte Conservation Properties Unit 1 Preserve
Dove Ridge Conservation Bank

Butte County is located on the east side of the central Sacramento Valley. It stretches from the Sacramento River on the west to the lower reaches of the Sierra Nevada on the east. The valley floor is largely devoted to intensive agriculture. Cattle grazing and lumbering are the common activities in the foothills and mountains. The city of Chico is the largest community in the County and home to California State University, Chico.

BCAG Freshwater Marsh Preserve

The BCAG Freshwater Marsh Preserve is a 38-acre Preserve owned by the Butte County Association of Governments. It consists of riparian habitat and created and preserved wetlands. The Preserve was established to mitigate wetland impacts from transportation projects in Butte County. Based on surveys by biologists, the Preserve is home to a wide variety of wildlife, including migratory and resident waterfowl and other birds.

Habitats Found Within this Preserve

Reparian

Wetlands

BCAG Vernal Pool Preserve

The BCAG Vernal Pool Preserve is located north of Oroville adjacent to the BCAG Freshwater Marsh Preserve and encompasses 433 acres of preserved and created vernal pool habitat. The Preserve was established by the Butte County Association of Governments as mitigation for transportation project impacts to wetlands. Restoration Resources, the company that created the wetlands, currently owns the Preserve. Ongoing biological surveys show that the Preserve is home to a host of wildlife species, including the vernal pool fairy shrimp and vernal pool tadpole shrimp. Special-status plants known to occur in the Preserve include the Butte County golden clover and the Butte County meadowfoam.

Habitats Found Within this Preserve

Wetlands

Grasslands

Vernal Pools

Daley Ranch

WHF holds an easement on 349 acres of this Preserve, which is managed by Wildlands, Inc. The Preserve is a mitigation bank selling vernal pool preservation credits for projects in Butte and parts of other neighboring counties. The Preserve is known to support two species of special-status vernal pool crustaceans, the vernal pool fairy shrimp and the vernal pool tadpole shrimp. In addition to having vernal pools, the Daley Ranch bank also supports other wetland types. Several raptors, including the bald eagle, golden eagle, and prairie falcon are known to use the preserve.

Habitats Found Within this Preserve

Wetlands

Butte Conservation Properties Unit 1 Preserve

The Butte Conservation Properties Unit 1 encompasses several parcels that will ultimately become part of a larger conservation effort north of Chico. Currently, WHF holds an easement and has oversight responsibilities on 85 acres known as Unit 1A. The property is owned by Loafer Creek, LLC and managed by Restoration Resources. Unit 1A has preserved and created vernal pools and wetlands and provides habitat for the vernal pool fairy shrimp. The north fork of Rock Creek flows through a portion of the Preserve.

Dove Ridge Conservation Bank

Dove Ridge is a 2,400-acre conservation bank northwest of Oroville between State Route 99 and State Route 149. The Bank was established to preserve habitat for Butte County meadowfoam, vernal pool fairy shrimp, and vernal pool tadpole shrimp. Swainson’s hawks have been observed foraging over the Bank property. It also supports a number of other special-status species. The Bank is owned by Loafer Creek, LLC and managed by Restoration Resources.