The Nevada City sales pitch to land up to 70 jobs and a $10 million budget with the Sierra Nevada Conservancy headquarters will be spurred today with an artistic boot.

A four-color promotional booklet sent to conservancy directors and key state officials trumpets Nevada City's scenic grandeur, job base, schools and lifestyle as pieces of the perfect strategic location for the new agency.

Julie Soderlund of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's office said "I can't speculate" where the conservancy will eventually land, but that has not stopped a core group of Nevada City advocates from trying to acquire it.

The conservancy was created last September when a legislative bill was signed by Schwarzenegger with great hoopla on the banks of the Bear River near Colfax. The conservancy will try to land tax dollars and grants to protect the Sierra's natural resources, attract government projects and promote business.

Steve Frisch of the Sierra Business Council, which helped craft the conservancy, said four of the agency's 13 board members have yet to be picked, and an expected early May first meeting is now in doubt. When Schwarzenegger and the Assembly fill those slots, the board will be invited to have its first meeting in Nevada City, Mayor Conley Weaver said.

Once in place, the board will turn first to a headquarters decision and name an executive director, said Larry Burkhardt of the Nevada County Economic Resource Council. Frisch said criteria for the headquarters could include:

• The ability to get there and the proximity to Sacramento.

• Access to high-speed communications.

• The quality of the community.

• Affordable housing for staff members.

Dave Willis of the California Resources Agency, an initial architect of the conservancy, said he did not know which towns had applied for the headquarters, but Frisch said there are formal and informal proposals from Nevada City, Auburn, Colfax, Truckee, Placerville, Amador City, Ione and Jackson.

Burkhardt's agency wrote the text for the Nevada City promotional booklet and said, "we stressed it's a fit because of sensitivity to environmental issues, it's strategically located, a great place to live with a solid economy, a work force and space available at a competitive rate."

The whole conservancy idea was initially met with opposition by county Republican leaders and state Sen. Sam Aanestad of Grass Valley, who likened it to a land grab.

But Bill Bird of Aanestad's office said, "now that it has passed, Sam will be supportive of it.

"He is very interested in economic development for the fourth district and landing the conservancy headquarters would be a boon for the area and something he would support."

The volunteer-produced booklet, titled "Nevada City's Proposal for the Sierra Nevada Conservancy," is just off the presses of Grass Valley Group spinoff LectraMedia. The colorful booklet was put together by Chip Carman and John Paul of Spiral Studios of Nevada City, with photos from City Councilman David McKay.

Carman said he, Paul, Burkhardt and Shawn Garvey of the Sierra Fund realized it might be a long shot for Nevada City to land the conservancy headquarters when they conceived the booklet. But the work will also be used in the future to promote the city and in a Web site that Spiral Studios is doing for Nevada City.

"We have a lot to offer," Mayor Weaver said. "Our community is quite rich with people in the technical and communication fields, and we're doing everything to land the headquarters. It would benefit Grass Valley, as well."