Cache Creek Conservancy and its History

The Cache Creek Conservancy

The Cache Creek Conservancy is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization founded in 1996 and dedicated to restoration, preservation, and education of the Cache Creek watershed. The focus of the Conservancy’s work has been riparian restoration along a fourteen mile stretch of the Lower Cache Creek as mentioned in the Yolo County’s Cache Creek Resources Management Plan. The Conservancy operates from and manages the Jan T. Lowrey Cache Creek Nature Preserve. The Conservancy is governed by a 15-member Board of Directors and has a 7-member staff.

Cache Creek Conservancy History

The Cache Creek Conservancy was formed in 1995 by individuals representing stakeholders throughout the region. Individuals and groups representing the environment, government agencies, landowners, agriculture, and industries supported and were involved in Conservancy efforts. These people understood the need for a project-oriented environmental organization to focus on the previously mined stretches of Cache Creek.

In February, 1996 the organization officially became a nonprofit, public benefit corporation with primary goals to implement projects, provide environmental education, hold conservation easements, and manage land for wildlife habitat. Funding was provided by voluntary support from the four major mining companies operating on Cache Creek who agreed to contribute five cents per ton of gravel sold.

The Yolo County Board of Supervisors adopted the Cache Creek Area Plan in late 1996. Within the framework of the Cache Creek Area Plan, the aggregate industry is to financially contribute the Conservancy, which has continued to the present time. Additional funding over the years has come from grants, contract work, and your generous donations.

What We Do

Habitat Restoration

The Cache Creek Conservancy (CCC) is dedicated to restoring ecological function and enhancing the quality and quantity of wildlife habitat along Cache Creek. The Conservancy is the primary implementing agency of the Cache Creek Area Plan, an element of Yolo County's general plan. We are the “boots on the ground”, we manage and execute conservation, restoration, and enhancement projects from start to finish. This work includes: procuring grant funding, environmental permitting, site analysis and selection, site monitoring and maintenance, native plant propagation, and the management of invasive species’ populations.

Environmental Education

Experience the Creek is a comprehensive environmental education experience focusing on the ecology, culture, and the history of the Cache Creek watershed. Our environmental education team works to help teachers meet the State's Next Generation Science Standard (NGSS) curriculum, providing hands-on experiences that teachers cannot accomplish in the classroom. The program's activities emphasize interactive learning and support the NGSS. Students, working together in teams, learn first-hand by observing and using natural materials. The CCC currently offers approximately 25 "kid-driven" activities that can be adapted to age or grade level. As a result of our program, some of the students have gone on to become naturalists or biologists and continue to visit the Nature Preserve.

Tending and Gathering Garden

The Tending and Gathering Garden (TGG) is a collaborative effort between the Native American community and the Conservancy to demonstrate traditional land and plant management practices of California's native people. Situated on 3-acres in the Cache Creek Nature Preserve, the TGG is home to culturally significant native plants found within the Cache Creek watershed. These plants are used for basketry, food, fiber, shelter, medicine, and watercraft. The TGG serves as a source for cultural practitioners to gather plant material. It also provides a place for hands-on education including plant identification, plant use, and traditional management methods. These practices include pruning, coppicing and burning. No pesticides or herbicides are used in the TGG.