Meadow Ranch

Locale
The Sierra Nevada Mountains and this region in particular are known for their extraordinary beauty and recreational opportunities. The Lake Tahoe-Truckee area offers numerous ski resorts, shopping, gaming, hiking, camping, and more. These nearby features only further enhance the
magic of the Sierra that is right outside your frontdoor!

Calpine (population 200) is the nearest town and offers limited shopping. The historic town of Truckee has everything that you might need for supplies as well as many restaurants, bars, boutiques, and art galleries. The town
of Graeagle is 20 minutes north of the ranch and offers restaurants, numerous golf courses, and more. Nine miles further and you gain access to the Lakes Basin Recreation Area with 20 small lakes for hiking, fishing, biking, swimming, boating, hunting, and camping.

General Description
Meadow Ranch is a 238-acre property located at the western edge of the Sierra Valley. The great Sierra Valley is at an altitude of approximately 4,850 feet and is surrounded by mountains ranging in elevation from 6,000 to 8,000 feet.

The ranch terrain is a combination of a lush, wide open meadow and beautiful forestland with Ponderosa Pines, aspens, and other native trees and willows. Fletcher Creek meanders through the meadow along with a number of mountain streams. These features along with two stock ponds underscores the water resources of the ranch and why it attracts wildlife.

The driveway is gated and leads to the ranch compound where the main house, detached garage, shop with apartment above, pump house, and tennis court with observation deck are found. The perimeter of the entire ranch is fenced along with an area within the perimeter to manage horses.

Improvements
Main Residence – The 3,000+/- square-foot home features three bedrooms and three baths. Vaulted ceilings, sugar pine paneling, and rock fireplaces create the quintessential mountain home while the large windows that look out onto the meadow bring in abundant light and offer wonderful views.

The large living room has beautiful rock walls and a large fireplace. There is plenty of room to design your gathering space around fire, add a reading nook and game table, and place some comfortable seating around windows for wildlife viewing!

The sugar-pine walled den is adjacent to the living room and extends your entertaining options. It has a built in wet bar with refrigerator.

The entire kitchen and dining area are bathed in light and provide a truly welcoming environment. The fully-equipped kitchen with gas stove and serving island are well designed. The lovely dining area with fireplace creates warmth and ambiance that will encourages family and friends to linger at the table and enjoy a meal while spending irreplaceable time together.

Three spacious bedrooms are fully carpeted for comfort and feature large windows for natural light. The master bedroom provides direct access to the deck and has a great view of the meadow.

Decks are your outdoor rooms for entertaining and relaxing. In this case, they are also the ultimate platform for enjoying the panoramic combination of meadow, mountain, and sky that make this property so special.

The deck wraps more than half way around the house and is accessed from the interior through the kitchen, den, and master bedroom.

Tennis Court 
A fenced-in tennis court and basketball hoop adjoin the main house and include a covered viewing platform.

Caretaker Residence & Shop
A two-bedroom, two-bath caretaker/guest apartment is located above a large shop that is capable of housing an RV. The apartment, which could also provide rental income, features a kitchen, washer/dryer, and deck that overlooks the property.

Wildlife and Conservation
The ranch with its beautiful meadow and forest provides an extremely valuable habitat for wildlife and plant life.

Mule deer are perhaps the most frequent visitors however many central Sierra Nevada native species are likely to visit the ranch including black bears, beavers, martens, coyotes, foxes, marmots, and raccoons. Bald Eagles, Stellar Jays, hawks, Sandhill cranes, ducks, geese, and robins are just a few of the bird species you’ll see.

Fletcher Creek and the streams that flow through the ranch provide wonderful aquatic and riparian habitats for frogs, fish, and much more. The owner believes there are trout in the creek.

Conservation
To protect these valuable habits, the ranch has a conservation easement that was put in place in 2010. The purpose of the Easement is to protect the natural resources of the ranch while maintaining its rangeland for productive use. Among the conservation values
protected by the Easement are the native forest, meadow, and riparian ecosystems; wildlife habitats; water resources; and the scenic viewshed.

The details of the Easement, which are available for review, underscore the intrinsic value of the ranch as a remarkable natural resource. The Easement notes that the ranch contains portions of Fletcher Creek and Spring Channel which feed into the headwaters of the Middle Fork of the Feather River, a designated Wild and scenic River and source of drinking water for California residents.
The Easement further recognizes the Ranch’s value in protecting native and endangered species including the Greater Sandhill Crane, Spotted Owl, two species of woodpecker, and more.

Water Rights
The Property resides within the Sattley planning watershed, a sub-watershed of the Middle Fork Feather River hydrologic area. Runoff from adjacent mountain slopes form the main hydrological component of the Sierra Valley, and Fletcher Creek constitutes the Property’s primary drainage system, though Spring Channel and several other unnamed watercourses also contribute water to the Sierra Valley’s larger wetland complex and, eventually, the Middle Fork Feather River. The Property’s water rights are designated by the Middle Fork of the Feather River decree; a copy of the decree, dated January 19, 1940, and recorded February 1, 1940, in Book 39 of Deeds, Page 1, Sierra County Records, may be requested. Under the degree, water must be used for “beneficial uses” – including activities such as limited or full grazing – in order to protect the property’s water rights; under the decree, water conservation or the dedication of flows for instream (wildlife) uses do not represent a “beneficial use.”

Broker’s Comment
For those who love the Sierra, this ranch has it all. The sights, the sounds, and the smells that make up the unique mountain experience are out your back door. The proximity to the San Francisco Bay Area and Sacramento make it an easy weekend getaway, but frankly with high-speed Internet, you’ll have trouble leaving!