Nonprofit Tri-Valley Conservancy (TVC) is the only accredited land trust in Alameda County. In 2024, the group is celebrating 30 years of conservation efforts. The nonprofit’s mission is to support a viable agricultural economy by permanently protecting the fertile soils, rangelands, open space, and biological resources of the region. Originally founded as the South Livermore Valley Agricultural Land Trust in 1994, the public benefit corporation became the Tri-Valley Conservancy in 2003. As part of that process, TVC expanded its geographic coverage to the cities of Livermore, Pleasanton, Dublin, San Ramon, and the Sunol area.

Much of TVC’s important work is not visible to the public but is critical to its mission. “A lot of people don't know what Tri-Valley Conservancy is,” notes Communication Manager Victoria Tichy. “They might see our signs at some of the land we're protecting, but not really know the entirety of what that means as far as the extent of our advocacy and stewardship efforts.”

Conservation Programs Associate Tyler Gargiulo, for example, completes over 100 stewardship visits annual. That means he travels to specific areas to monitor the land TVC actively protects and helps ensure it is being cared for as outlined in the conservation easement. The nonprofit oversees more than 5,000 acres of protected property. In the process, staff members often work alongside employees from the City of Livermore, East Bay Regional Park Districts, Alameda County, and the Livermore Area Recreation and Park District.

The nonprofit’s accomplishments also include a program called Youth in Nature for fourth-grade students in Livermore Unified School District. TVC staff members lead three educational lessons for the students, two in a classroom and one on a hike. In the last school year, the program reached more than 1,000 students. TVC is actively trying to expand the growing program to Pleasanton and Dublin school districts as well.

In 2020, TVC commissioned two experts from UC Davis to assess the economic viability of the Livermore Valley wine region. The results of the study were published in 2022 as Realizing the Heritage: Grape Growing and Winemaking in the Livermore Valley. The report analyzed the vulnerabilities of the Livermore wine region, including economic pressures it is facing, and made several recommendations for the future.

TVC is exploring several potential initiatives in response, according to Tichy. One of them is a sponsored replanting pilot on 200 acres of vineyard. A significant percentage of local vineyards are approaching the end of their productive lives, notes Gargiulo.

“Some landowners are unsure if they want to spend the funds to remove old vines and then replant,” he says. “Replanting is important for the economic viability of this area, which is why we are trying to get this program off the ground.”

This summer, TVC relaunched a photo contest that lapsed several years ago. TVC’s Views in the Valley Photography Competition offers a $250 Grand Prize. Submissions are accepted until August 1, 2024. Adult contestants are charged an entry fee to cover the costs of the contest. There is no entry fee for junior photographers, defined as students in sixth through twelfth grade. TVC is looking for striking images of nature highlighting the diversity of life in the Tri-Valley. The contest’s People's Choice Award has been renamed the Barry Zupan Award in honor of the late Tri-Valley photographer Barry Zupan, whose photos have been instrumental in some of the visual imagery on TVC’s website and social media.

On November 7, TVC will be holding a Twilight Tasting Fundraiser from 4:30 to 8:30 pm at Page Mill Winery in Livermore. TVC staff and board members will be there to discuss their impactful work. Potential volunteers and donors are encouraged to contact the organization at any time.

For more information about Tri-Valley Conservancy, please visit www.trivalleyconservancy.org.

For more information about the Views in the Valley Photography Competition, please visit www.trivalleyconservancy.org/blog/views-in-the-valley-photo-competition-now-open.

Photo by Tyler Gargiulo