Progress Updates
FRLT and our conservation partners worked from 2003 to 2019 to protect 2,575 acres to create the Sierra Valley Preserve for wetland habitat, diverse wildlife, and public access to outdoor recreation. We’re now working together to build more trails and a new Nature Center and stewardship headquarters at the Preserve.
Scroll down and watch this page for frequent updates and photos of our progress building the new trails and Nature Center (opening Summer 2024!).
Arkin Tilt Architects artist rendering
Fast Facts
- What: A new hub for nature-based learning, recreation, and stewardship
- Why: To share Sierra Valley’s beauty, biodiversity, and cultural significance
- Where: At the Preserve’s northwest corner on County Road A-23, near existing infrastructure
- When: The Preserve is open year-round; Nature center to be opened in 2024
- Who: FRLT, Northern Sierra Partnership, The Nature Conservancy
March 2024
Springtime makes for busy hands
As the snow thaws, we are steadily progressing on projects that will bring the Nature Center to life. Volunteers completed the last batch of woven willow shade structures, led by local artist Nick LaHaise. Thank you to the many hands that crafted these incredible pieces, we can’t wait to see them in action!
Along with the shade structures that will adorn the outdoor areas of the Nature Center facilities, there will be outdoor signage that educates visitors and enhances their experience. The outdoor signs are off to production, and the exhibits team is hard at work finalizing the indoor exhibits (read the February 2024 update for more about the exhibits team!).
The indoor exhibits will also include a spectacular mural wall painted by Laura Cunningham, depicting the native flora and fauna of Sierra Valley. Laura’s work features beautiful scenic landscapes and wildlife, and her contribution to the Nature Center will be a highlight for locals and visitors for years to come. See more of her art on her website.
FRLT/Jenna Holland
FRLT/Jenna Holland
Courtesy of Northern Sierra Partnership
FRLT/Kevin Stammerjohn
February 2024
Developing beautiful and engaging exhibits
Farallon Media and Weldon Exhibits have been guiding interpretive planning for the Preserve. The Farallon team includes Eileen Campbell, Jenny-Sayre Ramberg, and Michael Rigsby, who worked together on interpretive planning at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Dean Weldon worked for more than a decade with the California Academy of Science before launching his own exhibit design and fabrication firm. We’re grateful to be in such experienced and skilled hands!
Courtesy of Weldon Exhibits
Courtesy of Weldon Exhibits
Courtesy of Weldon Exhibits
December 2023
Creating natural material shade structures
Led by local artist Nick LaHaise, volunteers gathered and wove willow panels to shade the guests of the Nature Center. The willow adventure began at Lemon Canyon Ranch in Sierraville, where volunteers harvested willow for the panels, bound them into bundles and then loaded the bundles into trailers. Then, at the Sierra Valley Preserve, volunteers wove the willow onto custom-made steel panels. Thank you to all the volunteers who helped create these shade structure panels!
FRLT/Jenna Holland
FRLT/Jenna Holland
FRLT/Jenna Holland
October and November 2023
Sealing in the straw bales
With the expert guidance and teachings of natural builders Myles Danforth, Amanda Fischer, and Darles Eaton, volunteers worked for two days to cover the straw bale insulation with the first coat of plaster. The top coats of the plaster were installed in mid-November with more help from hard-working volunteers. Thank you to all the participants for helping bring the Sierra Valley Preserve Nature Center to life!
September 2023
Many hands make light work
This was a special day for everyone involved! Participants split bales, arranged straw, and secured bales within the framed walls of the new Nature Center. The facilities feature straw bale insulated walls using a hybrid Straw-Cel method, where straw bales sourced from The Nature Conservancy’s Staten Island Farm in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta are stacked inboard of the wall. This will help keep the Nature Center warm during the harsh winters of Sierra Valley.
August 2023
Bringing the vision to life
Over the summer, we’ve been making exciting progress, with visible improvements taking shape. A new asphalt driveway to the Nature Center was poured, making way for the future parking area. The walls and roof of the Nature Center building are up, and the facilities are really starting to come together. From the inside of the structure, you can get a sense of what the views across Sierra Valley will be from inside the Nature Center. [Note: the North Entrance is not open to the public during construction].
Work is also set to begin to expand and improve trails, including installing wildlife blinds at the East Entrance (on County Road A-24) and on a new trail near the new Nature Center. These wildlife viewing blinds will allow visitors to get closer to the fauna of Sierra Valley without disturbing them.
FRLT/Kevin Stammerjohn
FRLT/Kevin Stammerjohn
Kevin Stammerjohn
July 2023
Growing the team!
In July, FRLT added Jenna Holland to the team as the new Public Programs Manager. Jenna will manage all of FRLT’s public programming, based at the Sierra Valley Preserve, including a new volunteer and docent program, school visits, nature-based events (coming soon). She will also help facilitate community events with FRLT throughout the region. Jenna has decades of experience in non-profit fundraising, communications, events, strategic planning, and public outreach. She has lived in the Sierra Valley for over ten years and has grown deep roots in her local community. Welcome to the team, Jenna!
May 2023
Nature Center framing begins!
After the long winter—and many years of planning—we’re excited that visible progress on the Nature Center is at last being completed onsite. The concrete slab has been poured and set. Now the walls are going up and framing is progressing. Behind the scenes, we’re working with our exhibits team to develop the interpretive panels and exhibits that will fill the Nature Center, plaza, and trails. These will highlight the ecological and cultural uniqueness and importance of Sierra Valley, as well information about the green building design. As part of the exhibits, photographer and videographer Alex Rubenstein has been visiting the Preserve seasonally to capture imagery and footage to be used in the future Nature Center.
FRLT/Kevin Stammerjohn
Lucy Blake/NSP
Lucy Blake/NSP
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Winter 2023
Retrofitting the stewardship workshop
When winter came early last fall—and lasted a long time with heavy snow and rain—our construction team shifted from laying the slab and framing in the Nature Center, to retrofitting the stewardship workshop, including an onsite staff apartment and adding public restrooms to the exterior of the building. Retrofitting the building was a pivot from the original plan, due to dramatic increases in the cost of materials. Instead of demolishing the existing warehouse building and constructing a new one, we worked with our architects and construction team to retrofit the existing structure with energy efficient design and in keeping with the style of the Nature Center and other facilities.
FRLT/Kevin Stammerjohn
FRLT/Kevin Stammerjohn
FRLT/Kevin Stammerjohn
Visit the Sierra Valley Preserve
Open sunrise to sunset
With world-class birding, flower-filled meadows, and scenic walking trails, FRLT’s Sierra Valley Preserve is a wonder. The wetlands here form the headwaters to the Wild and Scenic Middle Fork Feather River.
Photo by Andrew Wright/Lighthawkphoto
Together we can make it happen!
Join us! Help create a nature center for ecological learning, recreation, and stewardship at the Feather River headwaters
Explore More
A new Nature Center at the Sierra Valley Preserve
A new Nature Center and Preserve headquarters is planned where visitors and locals alike can experience the wonders of Sierra Valley and deepen our understanding of the natural world and our place in it.
2023 Conservation Successes
Take a look back at 2023 with us and celebrate all you helped make possible this year in the Feather River Watershed.
Sierra Valley Preserve Conservation Story
Sierra Valley Preserve is an ecologically rich 2,575-acre preserve protected for its unique wetland habitats and Feather River headwaters. On the Pacific Flyway, the Preserve offers spectacular birding.
Sierra Valley Conservation Partnership
We’re conserving working family ranches in Sierra Valley, which hold the Sierra Nevada’s largest wetlands and montane meadows and sustain incredible biodiversity.
2023 Events
Get out and experience the beauty of the Feather River Watershed with FRLT's events. From birding and botany to history and building community there's something for everyone!
May 4 | Clean-up Day at the Sierra Valley Preserve
Join us in caring for the lands we love with a Preserve and Road Clean-up Day on May 4!
2024 Events
Get out and experience the beauty of the Feather River Watershed with FRLT's events. From birding and botany to history and building community there's something for everyone!
Protecting PG&E Headwater Lands
We worked with PG&E and Maidu Summit Consortium to protect 43,000+ acres of important Maidu homelands, headwaters, and habitats for public benefit.
Lake Almanor Conservation Story
Lake Almanor is one of northern California’s most beloved gems. The PG&E owned reservoir and its diverse wildlife habitats are now protected forever with a conservation easement.
