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A total of 331 acres in Doolan Canyon and the Springtown Preserve has been permanently protected as open space, creating an uninterrupted wildlife corridor of nearly 1,500 acres that conservation officials say will help protect species such as the California tiger salamander, California red-legged frog, western burrowing owl and vernal pool fairy shrimp.
The conservation easements, held by the Tri-Valley Conservancy, include 131 acres of land in Doolan Canyon, north of the junction between Dublin and Livermore, and 200 acres in the Springtown Preserve, in north Livermore. The easements are intended to mitigate habitat loss caused by developer Trumark Homes’ East Ranch housing project, a 573-unit residential development spanning about 165 acres in east Dublin.
“TVC is proud to add these open space lands to our more than 6,500 areas of protected lands in the Tri-Valley region,” Tri-Valley Conservancy Executive Director Rebecca Spector said in a statement.
The Livermore City Council in September 2022 approved Trumark Homes’ request to purchase the conservation easements for about $4 million, with the agreements establishing timing and terms for preparation of the easements, management plans
and long-term management funding through an endowment.
City officials confirmed on Tuesday that purchase-and-sale transactions for both easements have closed.
Long-term protection and management of the areas “supports Livermore’s long-standing open-space conservation goals, protects sensitive habitats and enhances the community’s quality of life,” city officials told Livermore Vine.
In the 300-acre Springtown Preserve, the 200-acre easement protects “some of North Livermore’s most unique alkali wetlands” and the rare plants and animals that reside there, TVC officials said in a statement.
The new 131-acre easement of mostly grazed, undeveloped grassland in Doolan Canyon is adjacent to 1,346 acres of land also protected under a TVC conservation easement, organization officials said.
The cumulative corridor of nearly 1,500 protected acres allows wildlife to move between food, water and shelter, a connection TVC officials said is especially important to the California tiger salamander and California red-legged frog. The property also features an approximately 0.3-acre pond and swale surrounded by new plantings.
Adjacent to the conservation easement, the East Bay Regional Park District owns an approximately 4.5-acre site dubbed the Olsen property. It announced the purchase in June and said the land could be used in the future as a staging area and the first segment of a public trail to the Doolan Canyon Regional Preserve. EBRPD offered its first guided tour into the preserve Oct. 3. It continues to study resources at Doolan Canyon in the interest of potentially opening the preserve for public access.
