NEVADA LAND CONSERVANCY NEWS RELEASE
Thousands of Nevada residents and visitors drive between Reno and Carson City daily. Thanks to the Rusk Family part of that picturesque Washoe Valley drive will remain undeveloped in perpetuity through Nevada Land Conservancy’s acquisition of a conservation easement. The Rusk family has made the commitment to protect their land that borders both the Washoe County Wilson Commons Park and Highway 395 through a 45 acre conservation easement. A conservation easement is a legally binding agreement that limits future development while protecting a property’s ecological or open-space values.
Thanks to funding from the voter-approved Nevada Division of State Lands Conservation and Resource Protection Grant Program, also known as “Question One” and the Farm & Ranchland Protection Program, administered by USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service, the Rusk land will be maintained as productive ranchland and open space. Each program provided 50 percent of the fair market easement value to keep the land in agricultural use.
In addition to agriculture a variety of wildlife depend on the open spaces and lush habitat provided by the Rusk Ranch. Washoe Valley is important habitat for more than 215 bird species that depend on Washoe Valley’s wet meadow and grassland habitat that extend onto the Rusk Ranch.
Nevada Land Conservancy has protected 1,713 acres of open space and natural resources in Washoe Valley since 1999 through Southern Nevada Public Lands Management Act projects and the Greil Ranch conservation easement on the east side of Washoe Valley State Park. Established in 1998, the Nevada Land Conservancy is a private, non-profit land trust dedicated to preserving and protecting Nevada’s open spaces and special places for future generations. As the state’s first “Nevada-Born” land trust, the Conservancy meets open space needs by working closely with area landowners, businesses, environmental organizations, and public officials. The Nevada Land Conservancy has protected more than 39,000 acres to date through acquisition, facilitation and partnership! For more information on land conservation or the Nevada Land Conservancy mission, please visit www.nvlc.org or call (775) 851-5180.
