Volunteers Pull Two Miles of Old Barbed Wire at Clover Valley
Volunteers cleared roughly two miles of abandoned barbed wire fencing at Clover Valley Preserve, reopening the ground for freer wildlife movement.
American River Canyon Alliance
Anyone who has walked the American River canyons knows the quiet damage that old fencing does. Rusted wire outlives the ranches that strung it. It snags deer, tangles young animals, and cuts the land into pieces long after anyone needs a boundary. So it is good to see neighbors pulling that legacy out of the ground.
The Placer Land Trust reports that volunteers removed approximately two miles of abandoned barbed wire fencing at Clover Valley Preserve. The 402-acre property was protected by a conservation easement in 2025. Clearing the old wire opens the land back up, allowing wildlife to move freely across it again.
The work drew a strong mix of local groups. Friends Aiding Wildlife in Nature, known as FAWN, joined the effort. So did the Sierra College ECOS Club and Gold Country Rotary. Students, service club members, and wildlife advocates working the same fence line is exactly the kind of partnership that keeps a preserve healthy over time.
This is stewardship at its most basic and most useful. No heavy machinery does this job well. It takes hands, gloves, and a willingness to spend a day hauling out what no longer belongs.
We share this story because it mirrors the work our own canyons need. Protecting land is the first step. Caring for it, season after season, is the longer one. Our thanks to Placer Land Trust and every volunteer who showed up.