At the heart of the last contiguous swath of blue oak woodlands in the region, Bruin Ranch is teeming with flora, fauna and hope these days.

The 2,300-acre ranch is the object of a fund-raising effort by the Placer Land Trust to preserve a sprawling parcel with majestic views and the Bear River running through it. The ranchland not only provides sanctuary and a migration corridor for wildlife. It’s also grazing land that serves as a working cattle ranch.

Now in private hands, the ranch is being offered for sale to the land trust. The Auburn-based land-preservation non-profit is trying to raise $2 million from private sources by the end of the year to help pay for the purchase.

This past week, supporters of the trust gathered under the oaks at the historic Cooper Amphitheater at the Auburn School Park Preserve to kick off the organization’s Bear River Capital Campaign.

The campaign will fund a major new program to protect Bruin Ranch streams, agriculture and watershed habitat while creating new recreational opportunities in the Bear River and Coon Creek watersheds.

The land trust has joined with the Trust for Public Land and the Nevada County Land Trust in a partnership that is intent on funding the purchase of the Bruin Ranch in Placer County and the 652-acre Garden Bar Preserve in Nevada County. The two properties connect to existing preserved lands and could create 6,500 acres of contiguous open space.

Fred Yeager, Placer Land Trust board president, said his organization was excited when it found out the Harvego family of Sacramento – owners of the Bruin Ranch – were willing to work with them on a land sale. The family went so far as to make the formal announcement of the fund-raising drive at a reception in their restaurant Ten22.

“The board is also aware of what a large undertaking this is,” Yeager said. “There’s a need not just to have the funds to acquire the property but to take care of it afterward.”

Last Wednesday’s reception in Auburn provided a big boost to the trust’s fundraising goals. Two separate donors stepped forward to offer to match donations.

Auburn residents Bob Gilliom and Patty Schifferle, through their Emigrant Trails Greenway Trust, pledged to match donations up to $50,000 through May 15.

A second challenge grant for donations up to $50,000 was made by Rocklin’s Armrod Charitable Foundation.

If the full amounts are matched, the Bruin Ranch fund will receive $200,000 in donations to go with about $400,000 that has already been received.

“The Bear River and Coon Creek are incredibly beautiful and valuable natural resources right in our own backyard and we now have a chance to permanently protect some of their most critical stretches for our kids and grandchildren,” Gilliom said.