Out and About With the Mother Lode Land Trust

In the last week of May a team of Mother Lode Land Trust representatives checked in on our Long Gulch Ranch Preserve in Tuolumne County near the scenic town of Groveland. The Long Gulch Ranch Preserve is 575 acres of mixed conifer and oak woodlands. Originally protected for Great Gray Owl habitat, this property is also open to the public and used by hikers, equestrians and mountain bike enthusiasts. Recently we received funding approval from the Sierra Nevada Conservancy, for half the money needed to acquire Phase II of the Long Gulch Ranch Preserve, an additional 303 acres that is adjacent to our existing protected property.

The Mother Lode Land Trust representatives visited the Long Gulch property on Wednesday, May 24, 2023. We walked the trails with members of the Groveland Trail Heads (A mountain bicycling club).  We discussed potential recreational opportunities and the need for more trail maintenance. During this past winter we lost a lot of trees and many of these will need to be removed for better trail access. We have partnered with the Tuolumne County Resources Conservation District (RCD), and other community organizations to reduce the fuel load by removing many of these downed trees and brush. However, some of these trees may need to be removed prior to the beginning of this project.

We also met with Brian Fitzgerald, owner of the Long Gulch phase II parcels. Mr. Fitzgerald has been a very active partner throughout this conservation project. He has donated both significant time and money to help create the Long Gulch Ranch Preserve.  During this site visit he showed maps of the property and discussed access issues with the equestrian center. We had good discussions with local equestrian center folks on how to improve access for trail riding on the existing and future Long Gulch Ranch Preserve.

We also discussed land management issues like illegal camping and firewood cutting with the Pine Mountain Lake representatives, the large subdivision bordering the property to the west. We plan to add additional signage to better demarcate the boundary and develop a local volunteer workgroup. MLLT agreed that additional recreational use is helpful as it means more people are monitoring the property.

We will be working in Tuolumne County in the following months as part of our outreach efforts to landowners, agencies, and agricultural organizations in Tuolumne County. Our first public workshop is scheduled for 6pm on October 18. We will be announcing the location and sending invitations in the following months, stay tuned.