Protected Open Space in Truckee-Tahoe

Save Canyon Springs

Thanks to the incredible support from the community, Canyon Springs, 290 acres of open space in Eastern Truckee, is permanently protected after thirty-four years of grassroots environmental advocacy! On behalf of Mountain Area Preservation, the Truckee Donner Land Trust, SOS Glenshire, and the Martis Fund, we cannot express how amazed and grateful we are by the outpouring of support for this campaign, reaching the $11.6 million purchase price before December 15th, 2021. With this accomplishment, we are pleased to announce that everyone who donated to this campaign will be recognized on a trailhead kiosk on the property! Learn about the conservation benefits of protecting Canyon Springs as open space.

Joerger Ranch Open Space

After seventeen years of reviewing land use and zoning plans for Joerger Ranch, also known as Planned Community-3 (PC-3) in the Town of Truckee, a Specific Plan was approved and supported by MAP in 2015. Our Staff and Board negotiated twenty acres of land to be zoned as open space along State Route 267, protecting the viewshed and gateway to Tahoe. MAP also advocated for the preservation of the large trees stands along the Regional Commercial parcel, the removal of incompatible land uses, such as car and RV lots, less commercial zoning, and the need for workforce housing to serve the jobs created within the plan area. MAP will continue to review project proposals for consistency in the development area and advocate for the preservation of the open space zoning along State Route 267.

Old Greenwood & Gray’s Crossing

Through land use review, civic action, and settlement negotiations in 2005, MAP was able to further open space zoning, workforce housing, and community benefits at Old Greenwood and Gray’s Crossing. Both projects ultimately developed workforce housing, known as Henness Flats and Frishman Hollow. Other community benefits that resulted from MAP’s land-use advocacy include the donation of land for the Truckee Donner Parks & Recreation Community Center, which was originally proposed to be a shopping center. Both developments have protected open space, with 247 acres at Old Greenwood, 417 acres at Gray’s Crossing, and 71 acres at Airport Flats. Additionally, MAP advocated for the preservation of the charcoal ovens at Old Greenwood, low impact development methods, and no rodenticide use at the golf courses. Real-estate tax transfer fees were part of the community benefits MAP negotiated, which has generated more than $2 million dollars for open space and stewardship funding for the Truckee Donner Land Trust.