In its largest commitment so far toward open-space funding, Placer County supervisors have voted to contribute $10 million toward public purchase of almost 1,500 acres in the Martis Valley east of Truckee.

The money will go toward a planned $23.5 million buyout by local and national land trusts of Waddle Ranch -- 1,482 acres of undeveloped meadow, wetlands and forest northeast of Highway 267.

"It's the most diverse and biologically rich riparian area in the Martis Valley," said Perry Norris, executive director of the Truckee-Donner Land Trust, which is partnering with the national Trust for Public Land on the purchase.

"With a 50-acre lake and streams, it's an important migration corridor and destination for a host of waterfowl -- bald eagles, sandhill cranes, loons, mallards and many other species," Norris said.

Contiguous to Tahoe National Forest land and Martis Creek Lake National Recreation Area, the land is zoned for more than 1,000 residences in Placer County's Martis Valley Community Plan.

"We owe a big debt of gratitude to (Placer County 5th District Supervisor) Bruce Kranz" for the county's $10 million contribution toward the purchase, Norris said.

"Less than half the property is in Placer County," Norris said. "It's likely the owners could have received a variance to build more in the Nevada County portion."

The funds will come from open-space fees that the county requires developers to pay as they build in the Martis Valley.

That process could have taken 30 years, said Kranz, a former state parks superintendent who chairs the board and whose district includes the Tahoe area.

But working with 2nd District Supervisor Robert Weigandt, Kranz bargained with developers, offering them discounts if they would pay the open-space fees before developing their properties.

Owned and ranched from the 1880s through the early 1960s by the Waddle family of Auburn, the land is currently owned by Pritzker Realty Corp., owner of the Hyatt hotel chain.

The trusts have a signed agreement with Pritzker for the buy, Norris said.

In addition to the county's contribution, Truckee-Tahoe Airport District and Sierra Nevada Cascade Grant Program have each contributed $2 million. And approval of a $6.5 million donation is expected today from the state Wildlife Conservation Board, Norris said.

But more money is needed before the Oct. 31 escrow closing date, Norris said.

"We've launched an aggressive fundraising campaign to raise the $2.5 million we need from the public sector to bridge the gap," he said.

High on the trusts' future wish list, Norris said, is protection of the northeast section of 8,000 undeveloped acres owned by Sierra Pacific Industries on both sides of Highway 267 in the valley.

"We'd like to see SPI develop only on the southwest side," he said.

Along with Waddle Ranch, "SPI's land on the north side of the highway is part of a 20,000-acre wildlife corridor that stretches from the Grey Creek watershed at the state line up to the Mount Rose Wilderness Area in the Carson Range," he said.

"Our overall strategy is to protect that 20,000-plus acres and keep development off the northeast side of (Highway) 267," Norris said.

That may not be just a pipe dream, he added, as "our partner, Trust for Public Land, has a long-standing, trusting and solid relationship with SPI."