River Fork Ranch Community Day a success, organizers say
Submitted by Carson Now Reader on Tue, 10/30/2018 - 11:30am
Much more than a nature preserve, River Fork Ranch Preserve near Genoa is an outdoor classroom, living laboratory, working cattle ranch, recreation destination and more.
Over this past weekend, a constant stream of people visited The Nature Conservancy’s River Fork Ranch Preserve during a four-hour community day event that featured guided hikes and activities for kids, delicious barbecue from local Trimmer Outpost, along with a great reason to spend a fall afternoon outdoors. The goal of the event was the highlight River Fork Ranch Preserve as a community resource.
“The preserve does an important job of protecting floodplain habitat and providing habitat for birds and wildlife,” said Martin Swinehart, who leads TNC’s outreach and volunteer programs. “But more importantly, it’s a place for the community that connects people with nature through partnerships, education, events, not to mention it’s just a beautiful place to get outside and go for a hike.”
River Fork Ranch showcases how people and nature can both thrive together. Trails along the river and around wetlands offer a tranquil place for walking or trail running. The site protects healthy, restored floodplain habitat for wildlife. The LEED Platinum-certified Whit Hall Interpretive Center demonstrates green development.
The preserve has many uses, including as an outdoor classroom for local students, a testing ground for sustainable agricultural practices, and a living laboratory for biology researchers. The Nature Conservancy is working to ensure the preserve is a place for the community to enjoy all nature has to offer.
“We’re always looking for ways to make sure we’re using River Fork Ranch Preserve to its full potential. If there are people in the community who have ideas for how their group or organization might partner with us to use the preserve in a way that helps get people outside, learning about or enjoying nature, we encourage them to contact us.”
For information about the Ranch call 775-322-4990 or email: nevada@tnc.org.
About River Fork Ranch Preserve and TNC’s work:
Seventeen years ago, the Conservancy ensured the long-term protection of more than 800 acres of wildlife habitat around the confluence of the East and West Forks of the Carson River near Genoa, NV by purchasing the River Fork Ranch. Using sustainable agricultural practices, the River Fork Ranch Preserve is now both a nature preserve and a working cattle operation.
The River Fork Ranch Preserve’s riparian corridor and patchwork of pastures, meadows and wetlands support a robust and diverse wildlife population including bald eagles, sandhill cranes, leopard frogs, monarch butterflies, mule deer, and Western Pond Turtles. The Whit Hall Interpretive Center (WHIC) located at the River Fork Ranch Preserve is the hub of The Nature Conservancy’s community outreach and experiential education efforts in the Carson Valley. The WHIC is open for school visits and other scheduled events and activities throughout the year and ensures the Conservancy is able to connect nearly 2,000 people to nature at this site alone each year, typically, at least 30 percent of these individuals are youth.
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