American River Conservancy

El Dorado Ranch Wildlife Area Improvements

What We Do:

• Conservation: Protect and restore open space, biodiversity, natural habitat, working lands, and cultural resources – over 30,000 acres protected since 1989.
• Stewardship: Manage land, monitor conservation easements, habitat restoration and enhancement, trail maintenance, water quality monitoring. ARC stewards 14,000 acres and over 35 miles of scenic foothill trails east of Sacramento, helping mitigate climate change impacts.
• Education: Provide place-based learning opportunities that connect thousands of learners of all ages with the outdoors, creating a more sustainable world for life today and tomorrow.

Who We Serve:  

ARC’s watershed conservation benefits over 2.41 million people who depend upon the American and Cosumnes Rivers as their primary sources of fresh water.

Grants Funded Will:

Create a new regional recreation opportunity for residents and visitors to access and connect with nature. Secured funding ($504,000 from CA Natural Resources Agency) covers engineering, design, planning, environmental compliance, permitting, project management, construction labor costs, and trail construction. Impact100 funding supports infrastructure, specifically:

• Grading, drainage, and materials for the El Dorado Ranch parking area and trailhead.
• Interpretive signage design and installation.

The El Dorado Ranch Trail Head and Parking Lot project is the most important component of ARC’s effort to establish the 7,000 acre El Dorado Ranch Wildlife Area. The Cosumnes River is the only river on the west slope of the Sierra Nevada without a hydroelectric dam, making it the only remaining “natural” river system in the Central Valley/Sierra Nevada region. El Dorado Ranch will establish the first public recreation opportunity on the “wild” Sierra foothill lands of the Cosumnes River.

It will achieve transformational impact:

The project will have transformational impact to the region, and will improve access and visibility for visitors, law enforcement, and emergency support services (Search and Rescue, CAL FIRE, El Dorado County Sheriff).