The Truckee Donner Land Trust, with support from the Access Fund, completed a deal in early 2006 to protect over 240 acres in fee title and conservation easements. The acquisitions in Billy Mack Canyon now total over 300 acres, as the Land Trust purchased an additional 60 acres in Upper Billy Mack Canyon in May 2006. The Billy Mack Canyon parcels are incredibly rich in recreational, mammal habitat, water quality, and open space resources relatively close to Truckee limits.
The conservation easement will provide further protection for sensitive wildlife in the Canyon's Frog Creek. The wetland meadow, Billy Mack Flat, is home to beavers, which have recently dammed Frog Creek for their reservoir habitat. Other mammals observed in the Canyon include fox, pine martens, and a black bear cub.
The Canyon comprises a diversity of landscapes such as white pine (Pinus strobus) forest, mixed lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta) and fir forest. The recreation opportunities lying within the parcel boundaries include potential access to the Pacific Crest Trail and other Donner Summit hiking trails, backcountry skiing, and extensive rock climbing and bouldering.
Please come back for information on future trail plans and access to Billy Mack Canyon.
Negro Canyon (Upper Gregory Creek)
The Truckee Donner Land Trust closed escrow on 280 acres in Negro Canyon near Donner Summit that had been designated as a planned residential development site. This development potential prompted the Land Trust to contact the owners about purchasing the land. They found willing partners in Peter Royce of San Francisco and Dan Harmon of Truckee, who recognized the land's value as a gateway to the Castle Peak Wilderness Area and as a migratory corridor for the Loyalton-Truckee deer herd.
The property is just outside of Truckee's Town Limits in Nevada County (click on above View Map link). Because of its easy access both from the Interstate 80 and the Tahoe Donner subdivision, and the stunning views of Donner Lake, Castle Peak and Mount Rose, the Canyon is a popular recreational site among summer hikers, bikers and equestrians who use the Donner Lake Rim Trail that traverses the Canyon. Work on the trail began in 1996, and it will eventually include more than 23 miles on the ridges above Donner Lake.
The area is rich in wildlife, including black bears, coyotes, mule deer, bobcats, and porcupines. Gregory Creek runs through this High-Sierra chaparral canyon, which is an important migration route and fawning area for the Loyalton-Truckee deer herd. The Canyon also supports a healthy bird population, including at least four species of birds listed as protected by state or federal programs.
Negro Canyon, whose name first appears on official documents with the 1955 U.S.G.S. map, also has historical significance to the Truckee community. Local historians believe the name may be related to an African American resident of the Donner Lake area from the turn of the century (see "The Naming of Negro Canyon"). Many African American miners, adventurers and entrepreneurs came west during the gold rush era.
The Truckee Donner Land Trust extends great appreciation to the State of California for the Sierra Nevada-Cascade grant award for this acquisition.
Please call the Land Trust office at (530) 582-4711 to find out about hiking and other recreational opportunities in Negro Canyon.
The Naming of Negro Canyon
Looking to gain their freedom and establish a better life, African American miners, cowboys and adventurers came west during the Gold Rush era. Many arrived as slaves, hoping to strike gold in the mines and earn the $1,000 required by the nascent State of California to buy their freedom. Others became merchants or ranch hands. Throughout the Mother Lode, a number of towns are named for their African American inhabitants: Negro Bar, Negro Hill and perhaps Negro Canyon of Nevada County.
The name Negro Canyon first appears on official documents with the 1955 U.S.G.S. map. The canyon is approximately five miles west of Truckee and is wedged between Donner Summit and the Tahoe Donner residential community. Local historians believe the Negro Canyon name may be related to an African American resident of the Donner Lake/Truckee area from the turn of the century. A few African Americans came to the Old West as free men and established businesses. It is believed that a man named Albert Johnson was one such fellow.
According to the archives of the Truckee Republican newspaper, Johnson first appeared in the Truckee area in 1878. An African American man who came from Virginia City, Nev., he was well-known and respected around town and was a cook at the Truckee Hotel. He later worked as a cook on one of the steamers that operated on Lake Tahoe. In newspaper articles, he is referred to as a “colored veteran,“ probably of the Civil War.
Some time later he got out of the restaurant business and began renting cabins at a resort at Donner Lake near the output of Gregory Creek, which flows from Negro Canyon. Unfortunately though, his name does not appear on land or property records, making it difficult to establish if he has any official connection to the Negro Canyon name.
Johnson died on April 13, 1911 at the ripe old age of 94. In February, prior to his death, a party of men went out to Johnson's cabin at Donner Lake when a distant neighbor realized he hadn't seen smoke from the cabin for some time. Johnson was taken to the county hospital at Nevada City, where he died six weeks later. His obituary ran on the front page of the April 15, 1911 Truckee Republican, and stated: “Mr. Johnson is known to every one who has ever been up to his place as an excellent cook.” His rescue story, on February 25, 1911 was also front-page news. It stated: “For the past 20 years, 'Old Albert' and his cabin have been a landmark (at Donner Lake.)”
Sadly, due to a lack of official records, we may never know the true origin of the Negro Canyon name. However, Albert Johnson's history is an intriguing piece of Truckee history and the contributions of African Americans in the West. A number of books have been written about African Americans in the Old West. The U.S. History web site offers a selection of books on this history. To learn more, visit the site at http://www.ushist.com.
Winter CreekThis 17 acre parcel was donated by Truckee Partners, Inc. It is an important wetland that serves as a drainage basin and flood control component of municipal runoff during large storms and heavy runoff periods. The Winter Creek parcel hosts obligatory species of wetland grasses and shrubs. It occasionally hosts large mammals and mule deer foraging for water in the spring and early summer. It is located in the center of town directly south of Truckee Regional Park on Brockway Road.
Pineforest and Old Greenwood
In 2004, the Truckee Donner Land Trust received two important donations of land in the Truckee area, each enhancing the area’s wildlife and recreational opportunities.
Ken Inc., the developer of the Pineforest Project, donated 132 acres to the Land Trust. The donation encompasses land that the company planned to leave undeveloped in the Pineforest project. The property is adjacent to the middle school site off Alder Road and will provide a valuable trail and wildlife corridor to Tahoe Donner all the way out to Highway 89. The land also provides riparian habitat along Alder Creek that is important for wildlife and water quality.
East West Partners donated 260 acres north of I-80 adjacent to the Old Greenwood and Gray’s Crossing developments. East West is also making a sizeable donation to a stewardship endowment fund for management of the property, which will allow permanent public access through a maintained trail network. The project will seamlessly link to Truckee's planned trail network via a class one trail, which will be built by East West and maintained by the Truckee Trails Foundation.
Unlike our other projects where the Land Trust only acquires land for eventual transfer to public ownership, we plan to retain ownership and long-term management responsibilities for these properties. In this new important role, the Land Trust will work with the Town of Truckee and developers to create win-win situations: Property owners can continue to build in our recreational tourist community within the constraints set by the Town's and counties' general plans. At the same time, we are permanently protecting trail corridors and sensitive open space lands.
