Placer Nature Center stays put

The Placer Nature Center is staying where it is after all. Facing eviction last fall on wooded property owned by the California Conservation Corps that the nonprofit has called home for 28 years, the environmental education organization dug in and put up a fight with the state to stay. Dave Matthews, Nature Center executive director, made the announcement this past week that the organization has worked out an arrangement to remain while a major rehab project on Conservation Corps buildings and grounds takes place. The Nature Center will spring for a chain-link security fence to address concerns by the corps about safety and hazards at the site. And the center will be able to stay put through the construction work and beyond, Matthews said. Still to come is a new agreement to lease the property from the corps. That's expected to be finalized by July 1, Matthews said. The corps' statewide director Bruce Saito was instrumental in forging an agreement allowing the center room during construction, he said. "We are grateful to the corps staff, managers and director Saito for their continued support of the organization and their willingness to help keep the mission of Placer Nature Center alive and well," Matthews said in a letter to supporters. "We look forward to our continued partnership with the corps and value their work and mission." A shortened summer camp season is being planned to help facilitate the early stages of corps reconstruction. Fall school and weekend programs will be running as usual at the site, located at the end of Christian Valley Road, north of Auburn, Matthews said.