Stockton Creek Preserve

The Stockton Creek Preserve is a unique partnership project between Sierra Foothill Conservancy and Mariposa Public Utility District (MPUD). The completion of this 722 acre preserve and trail system provides domestic water supply protection, viewshed conservation, recreation opportunities, and fire hazard reduction. SFC worked in partnership with MPUD to develop the project and complete the initial 410 acre Stockton Creek Preserve acquisition with MPUD in December 2011. The preserve concept was such a community success that in 2019 SFC pursued additional competitive grant funding from the California Natural Resources Agency to expand the Preserve by 312 acres. Together, SFC and MPUD have protected 722 acres of watershed lands and leveraged over $500,000 in competitive grant funding to conduct forest health, fire hazard reduction, restoration, water quality, trail expansion and educational projects. MPUD now owns and manages the property for its public benefits in perpetuity, and SFC continues to seek grant funding for expansion and enhancement projects in accordance with the Preserve’s long term management plan. SFC and MPUD are very thankful to the Sierra Nevada Conservancy for awarding the initial funding for this now publicly accessible Preserve.

The Stockton Creek Preserve surrounds The Stockton Creek Reservoir, provides immediate watershed protection for the town’s primary domestic water resource. The Mariposa High School track team has been training on the property for years and they can now do so freely as the Preserve is open to the public. Visitors, residents, and students can enjoy a hike just on the edge of town on the network of trails on the preserve. The preserve includes a trail easement donated by the Fischer Family through their adjacent property so that the publicly accessible trails now extend from just above the MCHS to Hwy 140.

MPUD will implement fuels reduction and vegetation restoration projects to reduce the significant fire hazard that the property poses and prevent impacting the town’s water quality. MPUD’s projects provide management and mitigation of extensive damage to the SCP’s native vegetation. A previous vegetation management treatment in 2000 left a major fuel load on the property. In 2004 a fire spread from Mariposa to the property. Due to the legacy of fire suppression and fuel load on the property, the burn devastated native vegetation and precipitated a more homogenous re-growth of chaparral. The following runoff period resulted in more than double the amount of “naturally” occurring contaminants in the town’s water supply, resulting in a violation of the Federal Drinking Water Disinfection Byproduct Rule for a year. MPUD’s management of The Stockton Creek Preserve Management Project works towards restoring the native plant community and reducing the possibility of these kinds of catastrophic wildland fire effects and negative impacts to Mariposa’s water supply.

A great new Blog Post related to a recent Class held on the Preserve for your enjoyment!