California’s first Black-led conservancy group works to make nature more inclusive

In 2023, California’s first Black-led conservancy group acquired hundreds of acres of land near Emigrant Gap in Placer County. Last week, the group's leaders were in Sacramento to mark Black Conservation Week. Jade Stevens is the co-founder and Executive Director of the 40 Acre Conservation League and joined Insight about the progress being made to get the property ready for visitors, and the conversations she is having about making nature more accessible to all.

This interview was edited for length and clarity.

Q: For people who aren't familiar with your organization, tell us about the 40 Acre Conservation League.

A: The 40-Acre Conservation League is California's first black-led land conservancy, and through our conservation and restoration efforts we're really focused on building stronger human connections so that we can build community support.

What makes it unique within conservation spaces?

We see the idea and goal of protecting biodiversity as important and just as important as increasing public access so that everyone can enjoy the outdoors. The way that we go about acquiring land, managing land is really keeping in the back of our mind “How can we make sure everybody has an opportunity to experience this?”

You first acquired this property in Placer County along I-80 back in 2023. What kind of work have you been doing in the year and a half since?

We manage property in Emigrant Gap that is roughly 650 acres. It's beautiful. Primarily forest land, has a lake of 30 acres and miles of trails to explore. And so we spent really the last year and a half doing a lot of forest restoration efforts. But also I'm just excited to mention that as we work on restoring the land, we're making plans to bring more recreation opportunities to the space.

Has there been any recreating at this point or is it just strictly a lot of work of restoration?

We've been doing a lot of restoration work. We've done a lot of fuel reductions because in the area there was a lot of overgrowth when we first acquired it and so as you enter the space you wouldn't have been able to even see through the trees to see the lake. When you come now to the space, it's a straight view to the beautiful lake and a view of the rest of the property.

When do you think you will be open to the public for recreation?

We think about it in phases, right? And so this phase has been a learning process and continues to grow the more that we learn about the land. And so once that is complete, we do see ourselves moving into the next phase of recreation. With the support of our partners and fundraising, we're looking at the next two to three years of being able to actually show something that people can look forward to as far as recreating.

What has the response been like from the community?

The number one thing that we've heard from our neighbors is the need for more recreation opportunities. Our neighbor is the Tahoe National Forest and if you drive through the area, we're really on the way to Lake Tahoe for a lot of people who are making summer plans or even winter plans. But, you know, in the area outside of that, there's just so much to explore, but not really any designated areas for people to recreate. And so, our neighbors are just as excited to see how we have been working with the land, evolving and looking forward to this idea of it being a demonstration for us and a park for them to hang out at.