The Nature Conservancy Announces The Bill Douglass Trail at McCarran Ranch Preserve

The Nature Conservancy in Nevada (TNC) has named a trail along the Truckee River on its McCarran Ranch Preserve for trustee, volunteer and supporter Professor William A. “Bill” Douglass. The name honors Bill’s engagement with TNC for more than 40 years, including more than 25 years as a trustee, and his work to help protect the lands, waters and biodiversity of Nevada.

Douglass, of Reno, Nev., is a founder of TNC’s Nevada chapter. He made his first gift of $25 to the organization in 1982. In 1984, when TNC sought to establish a chapter in Nevada to continue the important conservation work that had started with the protection of the Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge, Bill agreed to support the new chapter with his time, talent and philanthropy.

Since 1994, Bill has consistently been a member of TNC in Nevada's board, apart from a five-year hiatus. Over the course of the chapter’s history, Bill served as board chair from 1999-2008 and from 2013-2015. The Nature Conservancy is extremely grateful to Bill for his decades of volunteer leadership.

Bill helped TNC to lay the groundwork for significant conservation action in Nevada including supporting Question 5, Nevada’s first conservation bond in 1990, and Question 1 in 2002. Together the two efforts generated hundreds of millions of dollars for conservation efforts in Nevada. Bill also helped to facilitate the acquisition of the River Fork Ranch Preserve in Minden, the McCarran Ranch Preserve in Sparks and the Gary and Lajetta Atwood Preserve in Beatty. Bill’s efforts have helped to conserve lands and waters across Nevada that support the rich biodiversity of life that make this state so special.

An avid angler who has traveled the world to fish, Bill wrote in 2004 that he looked forward to one day walking hand-in-hand with his grandchildren on the McCarran Ranch Preserve to “savor the Truckee River of my finest youthful memories.”

It is with deep gratitude that TNC names the Bill Douglass Trail on McCarran Ranch Preserve in honor of all that Bill accomplished on behalf of nature.

“The Nature Conservancy is honored to be supported by long-time members and volunteer leaders who help us to accomplish extraordinary feats of protection and conservation that ensure that nature is there for people to enjoy and for the plants and animals that depend on open spaces,” said Mauricia M.M. Baca, Nevada State Director for TNC.

“Bill Douglass has been a visionary champion for conservation across our state and has helped to protect millions of acres of land for people, animals and plants," she said. "Without Bill, the state of Nevada would look different and would not offer nearly as much quality of life for people.

“Now, when people come to enjoy the free-flowing Truckee River and the birding and the fishing that the restored habitat along the Truckee offers, they can think of Bill and see the contributions that a person can make.”

McCarran Ranch Preserve was acquired by TNC in Nevada in 2002 and became the chapter's first restoration project on the lower Truckee River. In the past two decades, TNC has protected 17 miles of river corridor and restored 10 of those miles by reconstructing the river channel and revegetating the floodplain. Since 2012, TNC has been proud to provide public access at the preserve, a stretch of river that had not been available to the public for more than a century. Recreational opportunities include hiking, fishing, birdwatching and canoeing. The preserve is complete with site-specific educational exhibits, an outdoor amphitheater that is a center for public events and a trail system that guides visitors through the heart of the restoration area—past the new meandering channel and a series of wetlands that support an abundance of wildlife.