Martis Valley

Martis Valley Accomplishments
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The story of Martis Valley is also the story of how Sierra Watch came to be.  Learn more about our history here.

Sierra Watch was founded in 2000 after a group of Sierra residents and local homeowners learned about impending plans to develop Tahoe's Martis Valley with thousands of new resort houses.  We mobilized hundreds of volunteers to participate in the public planning process, commissioned biologists and planners to create an alternative blueprint for responsible development, and even filed public interest lawsuits to uphold state law.  Most important, Sierra Watch sat down with our conservation allies, Martis Valley landowners, and local political leaders to collaborate on creative resolutions to pressing planning issues.

In the summer of 2006, a final settlement agreement was reached, litigation ended, and Sierra Watch declared an unqualified success.  The results are unprecedented: permanent protection for thousands of acres of priority conservation land, caps on future development, and $100 million in funding to help protect more of the Martis Valley landscape and create much-needed workforce housing.  This is truly a watershed moment for the Tahoe-Truckee Region.

A Great Day In Martis Valley  On November 1, 2007, our friends at the Truckee Donner Land Trust and Trust for Public Land took down the old "No Trespassing" sign off the gate to Waddle Ranch and replaced it with a new sign, "Open to the Public".

Waddle Ranch, 1,400 acres in the middle of Martis Valley, is hereby permanently protected--today, tomorrow, and forever!

We're not finished securing our conservation vision for Martis Valley, but this is a big piece of the puzzle.