The story behind California’s only Black-led land trust

After a year of watching state leaders respond to protests following the police murder of George Floyd, Jade Stevens decided to take action by addressing equity issues in an area she was passionate about — the outdoors.  

“It felt, at times, that more could be done to make my friends more comfortable to go visit one of our state or national parks,” Stevens said.

As a Black woman, she also had had her own unnerving experiences, such as feeling shunned by store owners in Southern California during a cycling trip through rural areas.

So, two years ago, Stevens founded the 40 Acre Conservation League, the first and only Black-led conservation land trust in California. The trust’s goal is to protect California’s lands in an inclusive way, by creating greater access and business opportunities for people of color. The league will close on its first major purchase in January — a 650-acre expanse surrounded by Tahoe National Forest in Placer County.

The group’s name recalls the Union Army’s failed “40 acres and a mule” promise as the Civil War ended. Emancipated people in parts of the South were supposed to receive land and a loaned mule. Some formerly enslaved people did receive land, but President Andrew Johnson rescinded the army promise immediately following President Abraham Lincoln’s assassination. 

Stevens called her organization a “modern day Special Field Order 15,” the name of the order initially promising the land.   

The Placer County land, roughly 70 miles northeast of Sacramento, is filled with lakes, miles of trails and other opportunities for outdoor recreation, Stevens said. While prior owners kept the trails private, the 40 Acre Conservation League plans to open them to the public eventually. The 40 Acre Conservation League will manage the heavily forested land, focusing on habitat preservation and wildfire prevention. 

They are set to purchase the land, which is split into several irregularly shaped parcels, from a group of sellers collectively known as GW Investments Inc. The purchase price is $3 million. Stevens was unable to provide further information on the sellers.

California’s Wildlife Conservation Board, an arm of the state government that allocates funds for preservation-driven land purchases, awarded the 40 Acre Conservation League a $2.25 million grant in late August to acquire the Placer County expanse, which is known as the Tahoe Forest Gateway Leidesdorff Property. Their funding, along with a grant from the Sierra Nevada Conservancy, helped the 40 Acre Conservation League purchase the land. 

Rebecca Fris, acting executive director for the Wildlife Conservation Board, said the board has been trying to include greater diversity in funding decisions. 

“When you look at folks that are hunting and fishing and hiking in California’s open spaces, it’s been a predominantly white population,” Fris said. 

The overwhelming majority of national park visitors are white, and while Black people make up 13.6% of the population, a 2022 federal study of randomly selected National Parks showed 1% of visitors surveyed were Black. The figures were not broken down for California. 

The disparity in California’s outdoor spaces has been apparent to Stevens, a marketing professional who often bikes along the southern California coast. 

During one trip from Los Angeles to San Diego, as she stopped for snacks with her two cyclist friends, “I remember store owners closing their doors, asking us if we were supposed to be in that area,” Stevens said. 

Stevens said she’s “one of the only Black women who are out there cycling, and I think that made me think more about why is that the case? Why am I the only one? Why do I not feel welcome or safe?” 

Stevens grew up south of Los Angeles and recalls childhood visits to a family farm in Louisiana, where older relatives stressed “how important it was to appreciate the land and to keep the land within our family.”

The world of large land ownership is also not diverse, according to Blake Milton, a business appraiser who is a member of the 40 Acre Conservation League’s four-person, all-Black board. 

As it acquires land, the 40 Acre Conservation League aims to incorporate businesses owned by people of color — possibly through concessions, nature centers, lodges, camping or touring businesses — and create more “culturally relevant experiences for recreational activities,” Stevens said. The 40 Acre Conservation League plans to conduct surveys and research and to listen to target communities to find the best method to attract visitors, Stevens said. 

Another important step is a survey to find out how much forest management, such as removing or reducing overgrowth, has to be done, Stevens said. While sponsorships and fundraising are supporting the surveying stage, “It’s a little bit early to say what the budget will be” for maintaining the land, she said. 

In terms of the future, “We’re looking at land opportunities, acquisition opportunities statewide, but really thinking about it in the sense of the Bay Area, Sacramento, Los Angeles — these major cities that are highly populated with Black communities,” she said. The group is working toward the state’s goal of conserving 30% of California’s lands and coastal waters by 2030, also known as the 30×30 initiative. 

Milton said the hope is for people of color to not only be able to enjoy the space and feel welcome but also to find work opportunities.  

“There’s the typical mindset that people of color aren’t the ones that are desiring to be in this space — I mean being in the outdoors,” Milton said. “I think it’s not necessarily a lack of desire, but kind of the lack of accessibility and the lack of feeling like it’s somewhere that they’re welcomed.” 

Assembly Member Mike Gipson, a Democrat from Los Angeles County who is a member of the California Black Caucus and supported funding the 40 Acre Conservation League’s purchase in the state budget, added that the land trust’s work is tearing down the myth that “African Americans or people of color don’t do anything in the great outdoors, don’t appreciate it, are not versed when it comes down to environmental justice.”  

He said the 40 Acre Conservation League is a game-changer and hopes the next generation will continue appreciating the beauty of the state’s natural spaces.

“We’re going to have a seat at the table to elevate our willingness, but also our commitment in this space,” Gipson said.