Supporting efforts to protect, improve, and preserving local fish and wildlife
Auburn, Calif. – The Placer County Fish and Game Commission awarded four local organizations $1,000 in grants each to support their efforts in protecting, improving and preserving local fish and wildlife and outdoor education in the Placer County area.
The awards were announced at the Fish and Game Commission’s meeting earlier this month.
“Placer County has tremendous wildlife habitat and outdoor recreation opportunities that help make living here so fantastic,” said Alexia Retallack, Placer Fish and Game Commission chair and District 5 representative.
“These organizations help ensure that our outdoor resources continue to thrive and to be available to everyone, today and in the future.”
Alexia Retallack, Placer Fish and Game Commission
Award recipients include Gold Country Wildlife, Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care, the Placer Nature Center and Save Auburn Ravine Salmon and Steelhead.
Gold Country Wildlife
Gold Country Wildlife cared for almost 4,000 animals in 2023 and received more than 13,270 calls for assistance with wildlife. Animals cared for include reptiles, raptors, waterfowl, mammals and songbirds.
Placer County residents rely on Gold Country Wildlife to tend to the abandoned baby birds, kits and cubs in the spring, and injured wildlife throughout the year. Gold Country is a 365-day-a-year facility and also receives birds and animals from the surrounding counties of El Dorado, Nevada, Yuba and Sacramento.
Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care
Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care provides similar support for orphaned and injured native birds and mammals in the Tahoe area. The organization also offers wildlife education throughout the Lake Tahoe Basin and Carson Valley areas for children to adults, with an emphasis on how to coexist with wildlife and reduce human impact.
The Placer Nature Center
The Placer Nature Center provides community-based, volunteer-supported environmental education programs to children, schools and community groups. The Placer Nature Center is developing a new education program called PURRR – Pick-Up, Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. The program focuses on instilling stewardship and teaching practical skills and behavior to care for Placer County’s natural resources and the environment.
Save Auburn Ravine Salmon and Steelhead
Save Auburn Ravine Salmon and Steelhead looks to restore the salmon and steelhead runs natural to the Auburn Ravine. Their primary focus is to remove barriers and construct fish passage features for the Gold Hill Dam so that the native fish can migrate to the almost 10 miles of spawning habitat above the dam. This project could restore access allowing fish to migrate inland again as far as Auburn.
The Placer FGC is advisory to the Placer County Board of Supervisors on all matters affecting fish and wildlife in Placer County. The FGC grants are offered annually in the fall.
FGC meetings take place on the fourth Thursday of each month, at 6 p.m. in the Placer County Planning Commission meeting room, located at 3091 County Center Drive, in Auburn.
