Popular Sierra trailhead sold to Tahoe National Forest

[ERIC]

Popular Sierra trailhead sold for $2.1M to Tahoe National Forest

http://www.tahoedailytribune.com/news/2 ... m-to-tahoe

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TRUCKEE, Calif. — The land around one of the northern Sierra Nevada’s most popular trailheads has been taken off the market and sold to the Tahoe National Forest.

The Trust for Public Land and Truckee Donner Land Trust, working as part of the Northern Sierra Partnership, announced the deal last week.

For more than 15 years, the thousands of hikers who used the Castle Valley trailhead were greeted by a “For Sale” sign offering the land for $7.5 million, with a phone number to call. To deter potential buyers, some wrote a “1” in front of the “7.”

But the two organizations bought the property from its private owner for $2.1 million, far less than the sign’s figure, and sold it to the Forest Service for the same price.

“Our mission is to protect land for people and this is a great example of that. This forever protects a beautiful doorway to one of the most stunning landscapes in the northern Sierra,” said Gina Fromer, California Director of The Trust for Public Land. “We appreciate our partners who helped us, and we want to do more work like this.”

The purchase of 412 acres protects the beginning of a well-used, year-round trail network that leads people to some of the most popular and easily accessed backcountry in the northern Sierra, including Castle Valley and Castle Peak, the Pacific Crest Trail, the Sierra Club’s Peter Grubb Hut, the Hole in the Ground trail and the Donner Lake Rim Trail.

The Pacific Crest Trail Association said the acquisition will protect views and improve access to one of the most popular sections of the Pacific Crest Trail.

“This is arguably the most popular trailhead in our corner of the Sierra. There will be a host of issues we will look forward to working with the Forest Service to improve the visitor experience,” said Jeff Brown, Truckee Donner Land Trust’s Board President.

The $2.1 million came from the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), the federal government’s main source of money for land protection. Congress recently...

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[balzaccom]

Great news. We've climbed both Castle Peak and Andesite Peak in summer and winter. Lovely area.

[maverick]

Yes, this is great news!
Glad to read the TNF purchased it and not some private developer, who may have limited access or try to commercialize it.

[dave54]

As a side note -- the Land and Water Conservation Fund has funding from many sources, including a (small)portion of the entrance fees to NPs and campground fees. The largest source of funding by far is offshore oil leases and the royalties from the gas/oil extracted from those leases. So the next time you read of a lease being denied for environmental or other reasons, there is a negative effect on the LWCF. All decisions involve tradeoffs.

I am not advocating either for or against offshore leases, just pointing out their is a cost even with denying. All factors should be considered, not just the ones make 30 second sound bites on the nightly news.