Cache Creek Conservancy

Lower Cache Creek watershed. Click the image to see the entire Cache Creek watershed

Our region gains so much from Cache Creek...

• crop land,
• drinking water,
• nature,
• recreation, and of course,
• aggregate to construct the nation's roads and buildings and contribute to our economy.

As mining and farming continues alongside the Creek, so does the need to improve our efficiency to restore and recharge the watershed–to give back–for what we receive. Since 1996, the Conservancy's programs and projects have been an ever-improving resource for that endeavor.

Your donation helps the Conservancy take care of the Creek so it can continue to take care of us all.

The Cache Creek Conservancy was formed out of the need to restore the Lower Cache Creek after decades of unregulated gravel mining.

The first–and most difficult–project was the restoration of the Teichert (or Teichert Meadows) gravel pit and Salisbury ranch. Restoring that 130-acre parcel of land resulted in the Cache Creek Nature Preserve, followed shortly after with the Tending & Gathering Garden (TGG).

The Nature Preserve with its TGG is the Conservancy's signature project and one of Yolo County's hidden gems. The Conservancy continues to restore and develop five habitat types in the preserve.

• Oak Savanna
• Native Grassland
• Riparian Forest
• Wetlands
• An Urban Area
• Jan T. Lowrey Memorial Garden

The preserve has hiking trails and picnic areas and is often frequented by birdwatchers, photographers and artists. The urban area has a greenhouse and old barn museum with space for educational and family outdoor events. The Memorial Garden has a small amphitheater.

Expertise

What the Conservancy has learned through its efforts at restoring and developing the Nature Preserve, TGG and other portions of the Creek has...

• informed Yolo County's regulations for continuing mining projects,
• provided UC Davis with a learning place for science and traditional ecology students,
• provided Native Californians with a safe place to assemble, gather for its cultural needs and demonstrate to the world how their land practices mitigate climate change,
• and has served as a model for other restoration projects throughout the country.

Partnerships

The Conservancy also carries out portions of Yolo County's Cache Creek Area Plan to restore riparian and native vegetation along 15 miles of Lower Cache Creek.

• We partner with local governmental and non-governmental entities to remove invasive weeds and restore riparian habitat.
• Our wildlife monitoring programs not only keep us aprised of the health of our restoration efforts, we expand those efforts to other entities that need monitoring.
• We also hold easements for Swainson's Hawk, an endangered species.