The Carson City Open Space Committee voted unanimously to recommend that the Board of Supervisors accept a conservation easement for Old Woods Ranch, a 130-acre property near Highway 50, during its meeting on the evening of Aug. 25.

The recommendation advances a multi-year effort led by Nevada Land Trust to protect open space, watershed functions and potential future trail connections in the Clear Creek watershed. Nevada Land Trust representatives told the committee the project is part of a larger, $5.5 million package that includes two other conservation easements in Douglas and Washoe counties.

Alicia Rabanne, executive director of Nevada Land Trust, summarized the easement and the conservation process for the committee. “At its very most basic level, [a] conservation easement is a restriction placed on a piece of property to protect its associated resources,” Rabanne said. She told the committee the Forest Legacy Program awarded $4.1 million toward the three-easement project in 2021 and that the Forest Legacy award requires a 25% match. Nevada Land Trust has secured a $682,500 grant from Conserv Nevada and a $500,000 gift from the Greg and Warren Nelson family, Rabanne said.

Rabanne said the exact purchase price and final easement values will be set by appraisal; the project team was preparing to begin appraiser meetings. She told the committee the landowner is prepared to donate a portion of the value but the final delta — the difference between fair market value and the easement price — will be defined by the appraisal.

Lindsey Boyer, Carson City open space manager, told the committee staff can monitor the new easement alongside neighboring Horse Creek Ranch. “Right now the monitoring for Horse Creek takes about a half a day. So with a full day we’d be able to monitor both at the same time and then put together a report,” Boyer said. She added the department could contract monitoring if staffing levels changed.

Committee members asked detailed questions about allowable development, impervious surface limits and the role of an associated forest stewardship plan. Rabanne described the easement as a zoning of reserve rights and prohibited uses tailored to the landowner’s stated vision. She discussed three internal zones proposed for the property — a recreational area, an agricultural/homestead area and a caretaker site — and said the easement includes a limit on impervious surface across the property that will be determined by the baseline conditions identified at closing.

Landowner Jeff Schultz, who spoke during public comment, thanked partners and noted the property’s family history. “My name is Jeff Schultz. I’m one of the 13 owners in this property,” Schultz said. He told the committee the project has been under development for many years and that the family had been patient; he also recounted family history about the original purchase, saying “Granddad just didn’t have the money back then to buy the whole thing. He bought it for $9.”

Nevada Land Trust representatives told the committee they had worked with state and federal partners — including the U.S. Forest Service and the Nevada Division of Forestry — to secure grant funding and to prepare an updated forest stewardship plan that will be referenced in the easement to guide fuels reduction, noxious-weed control and vegetation-management work.

Boyer told the committee the city will not be required to contribute matching funds to close the Old Woods easement because Nevada Land Trust’s fundraising has covered the required match. The committee then voted to recommend that the Board of Supervisors accept the conservation easement as drafted; the motion passed on a voice vote.

The easement will return to the Board of Supervisors for final action once appraisals and the closing process are complete. Nevada Land Trust said it hopes to close the Old Woods easement before the end of the calendar year, contingent on appraisal timing and federal/state grant processes.

Notes: The committee’s recommendation was forwarded to the Board of Supervisors; the transcript shows the motion carried unanimously. Appraisal and final funding numbers were described as pending in the meeting.