MADERA COUNTY MOUNTAIN COMMUNITIES – Madera County is very excited about a project we are working on near Manzanita Lake in North Fork ManzanitaExhibit A VICINITY MAP-11×17.
In late February of this year, the County was deeded 146 acres of forest land from PG&E as a part of a Bankruptcy settlement agreement. Along with the land acquisition, the County applied for and received a $502,882 grant from the Pacific Forest and Watershed Lands Stewardship Council. One of the requirements to qualify for both the land donation and the grant funds, the County was required to enter into a Conservation Easement (CE) with the Sierra Foothill Conservancy. The CE ensures that the property will remain largely undeveloped in perpetuity, and that the lands be conserved for a broad range of beneficial public values.
Among those values are protection of the natural habitat, preservation of open space, outdoor recreation by the general public, sustainable forestry, and historic values. Using these values as a guide, the goals of the grant include fuels reduction and brushing; pedestrian and equestrian trail and parking lot construction; and construction of one campground which is a small 5-site walk-in campground. Manzanita Enhancement Map The County is proud to partner with the North Fork Rancheria of Mono Indians on this project.
Our team is considering all the above as the first phase of a project which will likely span longer than a decade to complete. Additional phases will maintain the values above and will add segments to the trail and/or other embellishments without developing more than 5% of the entire site. At the time of full buildout, a camp host will live on the site for property management purposes.
It’s great to see this new development in the North Fork community! This ties well with the North Fork Community Trail System proposal developed in 2010, and would connect Manzanita Lake along the Flume Road and the proposed Forest Service hike and bike trail into the town of North Fork. The Conservation Easement and the Community Trails System would certainly draw visitors to our town!