Project at a Glance

• Year conserved: 2010

• Acres: 902

• Project partners: Feather River Land Trust, The Nature Conservancy

• Owned by: Feather River Land Trust

• Things to do: Hiking, birding, picnicking, road biking

Conservation History & Values

The Feather River Land Trust teamed up with The Nature Conservancy to purchase Heart K Ranch in 2006, initially with bridge funding from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation. Support from the Northern Sierra Partnership, the Wildlife Conservation Board and hundreds of individual donors completed the protection of this spectacular property in 2010.

The Feather River Land Trust now manages the property with the goals of protecting crucial habitat for native fish and wildlife, decreasing the risk of wildfire, increasing watershed restoration, improving grazing practices, enhancing recreational access and encouraging greater use of the historic ranch house. Feather River Land Trust is also conducting environmental education with local students, working with the local Maidu community to protect and enhance existing cultural resources and using Heart K Ranch for water quality and carbon sequestration projects that demonstrate the importance of these natural services.

Recreation & Restoration

The Heart K Healthy Forest Project, launched in 2012, is working to restore forest and riparian habitat using a blend of Traditional Ecological Knowledge and contemporary science-based methods. The project involves a diversity of partners including the Feather River Resource Conservation District, Plumas Audubon and the Greenville Rancheria, among other local partners.

Years of fire suppression and commercial timber harvesting have damaged the structure, composition and function of forest ecosystems at Heart K Ranch, leaving them overgrown and vulnerable to catastrophic wildfire. The Mountain Maidu, who lived here prior to European settlement, used fire and other traditional practices to maintain the health of the forest.  The term Traditional Ecological Knowledge, or TEK, describes the knowledge held by indigenous cultures about their immediate environment and cultural practices that build on that knowledge. 

The ultimate goal of the Healthy Forest Project at Heart K is to restore species that are culturally valuable to the Mountain Maidu, provide a place to practice traditional ecological practices, and in the process, restore habitats and species that have been adversely impacted by the absence of fire. The project has worked to stabilize a quarter mile of eroding stream banks, thin approximately 100 acres of upland forest and employ local indigenous people. 

By including TEK in its land management, the Feather River Land Trust is not only enhancing the health of the forest, but bringing together Mountain Maidu, the U.S. Forest Service, Plumas Audubon and other local experts to preserve cultural sites and protect habitat for avian species. Ultimately, the project partners hope to reintroduce fire back onto the landscape, as is currently being practiced on adjacent lands, to maintain forest health and diversity.