Eastern Sacramento County's rolling hills and grasslands are home to dozens of wildlife species, but more and more, their habitat is under threat by urban development.

Roughly 265 acres of green rolling hills in the area are the newest piece of property being set aside as part of a new multi-million-dollar effort to protect the land and its wildlife.

Steve Schweigerdt is with the Sacramento Valley Conservancy, a nonprofit trust that preserves land for conservation. The organization is using $2.7 million in state and federal grants to purchase an easement on the property known as the "Tudesko Ranch, which covers 265 acres and is currently used for cattle grazing.

"We're super excited about it because it's a large property that's right on the edge of the urban growth boundary," Schweigerdt said.

This newest land acquisition is part of a plan to create a 10,000-acre natural habitat corridor that runs from Folsom to Rancho Murieta and includes the Cosumnes and Deer Creek watersheds.

"A lot of animals are migrating up and down to adapt to the different food sources that are occurring at different elevations," Schweigerdt said.

Schweigerdt said the area is "mostly open valley grassland" that features vernal pools and is an important habitat for birds.

Eastern Sacramento County is seeing rapid growth in areas that had previously been open space, with thousands of new homes being built near Folsom, Rancho Cordova and El Dorado Hills.

"The grant source is set up so that farmers and ranchers can access this money, and they don't have to sell out to developers or other projects that are going to destroy their land," Schweigerdt said.

This preserve will help get closer to the statewide goal of protecting 30% of land from development by 2030.

"We need clean air, we need clean water and the places those things come from is nature," Schweigerdt said.

The Sacramento Valley Conservancy is hoping to protect even more land using money from the $10 billion Proposition 4 climate bond that was passed by voters last year.