The Land Trust of Napa County is pleased to announce the donation of a conservation easement by Pam Heminway, her daughter Tracy Barnes and son Jeb Barnes. This latest donation is the second conservation easement donated by the family. Combined with the first easement that Jay and Pam Heminway donated several years ago, today, a total of 170 acres are protected on the property where the family produces their well-known Green & Red wines.
“I want to thank Pam, Tracy and Jeb for their farsighted generosity in donating this easement to protect the beauty and natural values of their land,” said Doug Parker, CEO of the Land Trust. “This land is in a key location for both water and wildlife and we are very pleased to be able to help the family protect these values into the future through permanent land conservation.”
The new easement adds another of the family’s parcels into protection and this particular easement eliminates all future development potential on that parcel, in line with the family’s aspirations to protect the property’s natural values in perpetuity.
“My desire,” said Pam Heminway, “was simply to preserve the land’s wild beauty for future generations to enjoy just as my family has, from old trees, to free animals, to wildflowers and more.”
Starting in the Chiles Valley and rising to the hills above, the property includes a portion of Chiles Creek and is in a key location within a priority wildlife corridor. Chiles Creek is a perennial tributary of Lake Hennessey and one of the main sources of water for the lake, which is the chief local source of water for residents of the City of Napa.
The property consists of dense oak woodland habitat with pockets of rocky grassland. The forest contains significant components of madrone, coast live oak and black oak.
The property abuts an easement donated by the Eisele family that extends northeast toward the Cedar Roughs Wilderness Area near Lake Berryessa. Together, both properties are key to ensuring a permanent wildlife corridor across the area.
“This easement helps protect both the beautiful Chiles Valley and the waters that flow into Lake Hennessey,” said Parker. “In addition, it is a key step toward a larger-scale effort to ensure long-term protection of an important wildlife corridor stretching from Lake Hennessey to Lake Berryessa.”