Spring 2010 Sonoma Land Trust Newsletter

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Volume 36, No. 1

Spring 2010 Newsletter

he Sonoma Land rust pur-chased the spectacular 5630-acreJenner Headlands on December17, 2009, but it took a not-so-small miracle at the end to savethe $36 million deal. Te task o

assembling the unds needed orSonoma Countys largest conser-vation deal ever was almostundone by Caliornias mountingnancial woes.

Our State partners, theCaliornia Coastal Conservancyand the Caliornia WildlieConservation Board, awardedthe project a total o $16 millionin grants, but bond sales to und

the grants have been rozen. Ourpurchase agreement with thelandowners expired on Decem-ber 31, 2009. We were also indanger o losing $6.85 million inederal unds i we didnt meetour year-end deadline. Weneeded some serious bridgenancing not a short order intodays economic climate. Tatswhen Save the Redwoods

League, Te Wildlands Conser-vancy, and the David and LucilePackard Foundation steppedorward with loans to close thegap and enabled the closing oescrow to occur.

T O P R O T E C T T H E L A N D F O R E V E R

(Continued on page 3) (Continued on page 3)

The Drake Family property, newly protected by a conservation easement, is situated in an important

wildlife corridor between Annadel and Jack London State Parks, a priority area for conservation.

Photo by Georgiana Hale.

Jenner deal rescued

in the nick of timeby Raph Bnsn

Once someone alls in love with Sonoma County, they are oten movedto take steps to protect it. In 1996, Oakland residents Kathy and PeterDrake bought a getaway home or their amily in Glen Ellen and thenbegan looking or a place in the country soon ater. Tey ound 47 stun-ning acres on the north ank o Sonoma Mountain in Bennett Valley thatwas surrounded by open space. But a ew years ater they bought it, asubdivision was proposed nearby, so, in 2008, the Drakes purchased thescenic 34-acre lot adjacent to their property to prevent its development.

Tis was a orgotten parcel on the back side o the ridge, and we hadoptimistically hoped it would remain orgotten, said Peter.

Boasting sweeping views o the Mayacamas Mountains and AnnadelState Park, and situated on an important wildlie habitat corridor betweenAnnadel and Jack London State Parks, this property was considered apriority or conservation. Fortunately, the Drakes tax attorney suggestedthey consider donating a conservation easement on the new acreage toprotect it orever and they contacted the Sonoma Land rust.

Protecting what you love

Easement keeps Bennett Valley land wildby Shri Card


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A note from theExecutive Director

Help State Parks

Caliornia is broken and that is not good orland conservation. Caliornia has a longtradition o protecting the beautiul land-scapes that dene our state, rom the desert tothe Sierras to the coast. In 2006, votersoverwhelmingly approved Proposition 84 to

und conservation land acquisitions, the same year we reauthorized ourOpen Space District here in Sonoma County. Te District provided a goodpart o the unding needed to acquire the Jenner Headlands, and so, too,did the State. Except, we are still waiting or the State unds $16 million.

Tey are rozen because o the States dire nancial condition.Te December purchase was rescued by two o our partner organizations

Save the Redwoods League and Te Wildlands Conservancy they,along with the David and Lucille Packard Foundation, covered the $16million shortall pending uture bond sales.

Funds or the stewardship o the Jenner Headlands are being provided bythe Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation (which also contributed $4million toward the purchase), the Open Space District, Te WildlandsConservancy, and our many members who have contributed over the pastyear. With the benet o private philanthropy, we are not slowing down our

eorts to protect orever the beautiul landscapes o Sonoma County.

One practical solution to the x we are in is the proposed State Parksand Wildlie Conservation rust Fund Act, which will be on the ballot inNovember. It will authorize an $18 surcharge on each registered vehicle thatwill provide a $500 million dedicated revenue source to keep State Parksopen and well maintained. A benet will be ree entrance to the parks or allCaliornia vehicles. Te Sonoma Land rust strongly supports this measure.

Who we areBoard of Directors

Mark Jacobsen, chair, Robert Brent, HallCushman, Kirsten Lindquist, Pete Mattson,

Johanna Patri, Harry Richardson, Peter Rogers,Allison Sanord, David Smith, Margaret

Spaulding, Denny Van Ness, Carol Williams

StaffExecutive Director: Ralph Benson

CONSERVATION PROGRAMS TEAM

Conservation Director: Wendy EliotAcquisitions Director: Amy ChesnutStewardship Director: Bob Neale

Jenner Headlands Project Manager:Brook Edwards

Easement Program & GIS Manager:Georgiana Hale

Baylands Program Manager: Julian Meisler

Stewardship Project Manager: ony NelsonStewardship Project Manager: Shanti WrightProject Assistant: enley Wurglitz

DEVELOPMENT & COMMUNICATIONS TEAM

Development Director: Beverly ScottlandDonor Relations Director: Reta LockertDirector o Communicatons: Sheri CardoMembership & Development Manager:

Stacey Kauman

FINANCE & ADMINISTRATION TEAM

Director o Finance & Administration:Paul DeMarco

Ofce Manager: Dale Carroll

SLT MissionTe Sonoma Land rust protects the scenic,natural, agricultural and open landscapes oSonoma County or the benet o thecommunity and uture generations by: Developing long-term land protection

strategies;Promoting private and public unding or

land and conservation; Acquiring land and conservation easements; Practicing stewardship, including the

restoration o conservation properties; and Promoting a sense o place and a land ethic

through activities, education and outreach.

ContactSheri Cardo, Managing EditorSonoma Land rust966 Sonoma Avenue, Santa Rosa, CA 95404(707) 526-6930 Fax (707) [email protected]

www.sonomalandtrust.org

2 Spring 2010 Volume 36, No. 1 Printed on recycled paper using soy-based inks.

Ralph Benson


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TO PROTECT THE LAND FOREVER 3

Protecting what you love (Continued from page 1)

We are privileged to do our part to ensure that vistas of green hillside remain unspoiled, said Peter Drake. Photo by Georgiana Hale.

Te Wildlands Conservancy is

the largest nonprot landownerin Caliornia and a leader inoutdoor education. Tey havebeen most active in SouthernCaliornia; you will hear moreabout this remarkable organiza-tion as management plans or theJenner Headlands develop. Tevenerable Save the RedwoodsLeague has protected more than181,000 acres since its ounding

in 1918. Te David and LucilePackard Foundation, created in1964, seeks to use private undsor the public good. We aregrateul to these organizationsor their crucial role in protectingthe Jenner Headlands orever.

Ralph Benson is Sonoma LandTrusts executive director.

Jenner deal rescued in the nick of time

(Continued from page 1)

We wanted it to remain beauti-ul and untouched because it issuch an exquisite area, said Peter.Its important to us to keep some

o the ridgelines green and open,and to provide oxygen and landor animals and plants. It is justso important.

Teir teenage kids thoughtprotecting the property was a greatidea, too. Kids these days are somuch more environmentallyoriented this is very exciting orthem, he added.

Coastal oak woodland covers

more than hal o the total area,along with perennial and annualgrasslands, and 3040 dierentspecies o plants. With habitat osuch high quality, wildlie isabundant and varies rom ground-nesting birds and burrowingmammals to wide-ranging preda-tors, like grey ox, coyote, bobcatand mountain lion. Te Drakeshave even spotted river otters

eating craysh in the seasonal creekand pond.

Te conservation easement willeliminate in perpetuity any real

estate development and commercial,industrial and agricultural uses onthe land, which is just ne with theDrakes. Tey are also thrilled to beable to oer limited access to theLand rust or guided hikes so thatothers can enjoy the wild land andspectacular vistas, too.

Protecting this property is awonderul legacy that will contrib-ute to the ecological health and

beauty o Bennett Valley andSonoma Mountain or all time,said Wendy Eliot, SLs conserva-tion director. We are grateul tothe Drakes or their vision andgenerosity.

Sheri Cardo is SLTs director ofcommunications.


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4 Spring 2010 Volume 36, No. 1

Caliornia history is writ large allover our Sonoma County landscape in the place names, and build-ings, and stories that are taught toour children in history class. What

many o us may not realize, however,is that human history in SonomaCounty stretches back beyond theBear Flag revolt, beore the Spanishmission, beore Sir Francis Drake. Inact, it reaches back to the end o theIce Age, and reminders o that pastinhabit our landscape and thememories o Native Americans today.

Cultural resources are thosehuman things that exist upon the

land the buildings and artiacts,and the stories and the places wherethese occur. Te land itsel is otenthe ocal point o our belies andcustoms and is deeply rooted in thecommunitys identity and lie. TeSonoma Land rust has ocusedmuch o its eorts over the past 30years on protecting the natural

resources the hills, streams, nativeplants and landscapes. More recently,we are learning the value o thecultural landscape and how it inter-sects with the natural landscape

and the need to protect the culturalresources or present and uturegenerations, too.

Te cultural resources o our landtell both the human and natural story.Humans across the ages came toparticular places because o the naturalresources there, such as oak trees andacorns, year-round springs andsalmon runs. We oten nd signs oNative American occupation and use

near such places mortar bowls,projectile points, oyster shell. In act,because the natural resources in ourcounty are so rich, they have sup-ported large populations or thou-sands o years, and associated artiactsand sites are relatively common.

We are learning rom the ribesthat many people came to particular

places or the spiritual resources aswell. Nature plays a central part inthe ribal cultural context. Te landis not used merely or the extractiono resources it is the oundation

and embodiment o their spiritualbelies. So across the same landscapeon which we nd old barbed wireences and eldstone walls, we alsond evidence o Native Americanspiritual practices.

Historic and prehistoric sites arecommonly plundered or damaged oten out o ignorance, sometimesout o greed. SL and the ribeshave a core common interest the

protection o our natural landscapes.SL has been working closely withthe Federated Indians o GratonRancheria, the Kashaya Pomo andLeslie Smirno, a Sonoma State University graduate student, to under-stand how to better protect thecultural resources ound on thesespecial places. Leslie has prepared a

Respecting the cultural resources on our landsby Bb Na

Overwhelming evidence of Native American habitation and use over millennia has been found at SLTs Little Black Mountain Preserve, qualifying it as a

cultural landscape. Photo by Stephen Joseph Photography.


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cultural resources management planor Little Black Mountain Preservethat we are using to protect thecultural resources there and on our

other preserves.Condentiality is the rst tool oprotection. Because cultural sites areoten targeted, we simply do notreveal their locations. Tis is espe-cially important as many o the siteshave a spiritual and religious contextthat doesnt lend itsel to casualvisits. Tink o these places aschurches or places o worship places that need a higher level o

respect and appreciation.Another important protectionstrategy is to leave things where theyare ound. For example, dont pullapart the old barn to take a piece ostraight-grained old growth red-wood. Dont pick up the arrowheadand put it in your pocket. We canadmire these things, but we dontneed to possess them. Te act oremoving them ruins the archeologi-

cal context and violates tribal cus-toms, even i the artiacts themselvesare not destroyed.

At SL, we are learning how to

incorporate the presence and valueo cultural resources in our planningand activities, much as we do naturalresources. Inrastructure like roadsand trails can damage historic andprehistoric sites, both during con-struction and maintenance. So weavoid these places or design ouractivities to minimize impacts to them.

Tese remnants o our past serveto tell us stories o our place in the

world and provide us the opportu-nity to wonder. As we walk throughour woodlands and see the abundantacorn crop, we can think o how,2,000 years ago, someone might havebeen collecting acorns at this veryspot. When we stumble across thestone oundation o an old home-stead, we can wonder at the dierencein our lives, the dierence betweeniPods and kerosene lanterns. And we

can wonder at the similarity in ourlives, too having the good ortuneto live in Sonoma Countys splendor.

Bob Neale is SLTs stewardship director.

SLT preserves are home to such cultural resources as white root, an important basket-weaving plant, and obsidian artifacts. Photos by Shanti Wright.

he National HistoricPreservation Act, the Calior-nia Environmental QualityAct and the Sonoma CountyGeneral Plan are the primary

laws and policies that governthe protection o culturalresources. Te Sonoma Landrust, like all propertyowners in Sonoma County,must comply with these ruleswhen conducting activitieson our preserves.


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6 Spring 2010 Volume 36, No. 1

Campaign updateRedwoods to the Bay Saving Sonoma

Countys SignatureLandscapesby Bvry Scttand

$11.8 million raised

Sonoma County is so beautiul, butthe human ootprint on the land is

enormous. ogether, we must workto ensure that the land remainslovely, intact and healthy or genera-tions to come.

Redwoods to the Bayseeks to dojust this. Te campaign concentrateson protecting large, at-risk land-scapes throughout Sonoma County.Funds are used to purchase new

lands and care or existing proper-ties, protect plant and wildliehabitat corridors, add miles onetworked trails and provide morepublic access. Campaign gits were

key in permanently protecting ourmost recent land acquisition:

The Jenner HeadlandsTe was the single largest conserva-tion land acquisition in SonomaCounty. Te vast ecological values othis stunning 5,630-acre landscapewill help us and other species adaptto the eects o climate change.Instead o a handul o estate homes,

we have thousands o acres o diversehabitat and, in the uture, will havemany miles o hiking trails, allprotected orever.

None of this work is possible withoutdonations. Here are two excitingprojects to look forward to in 2010:

Te Cedars, an 11-square-mileland mass located north o Cazadero,is recognized by scientists as beingone o the most unique geological

and biological sites on the planet.Here, over millions o years, theearths mantle has pushed throughthe earths surace, creating a stun-ning and otherworldly landscape.

Te Cedars remote location oncemade it seem sae rom the land usesthreatening more populous areas oSonoma County, but no more. As

Sonoma Countys population grows,the loss o wildland habitat and openspace to rural residential developmentand vineyard conversions continuesto increase at an alarming rate.

Bohemia Ranch, an 862-acreproperty located along Bohemian

Highway, has been on SLs radaror many years. We may now havethe opportunity to purchase it sothat it can become the regional parkthat the surrounding community hasbeen hoping or.

Tis year, you can helpyourlandtrust protect these two incomparableproperties. ime is o the essence.

Please make a donation today usingthe enclosed envelope.

Beverly Scottland is Sonoma LandTrusts development director.

Jean Schulz extends matching gift deadline $1.5 million raised toward $2 million pledge

Tank you to everyone who made agit at the end o last year moving uscloser to the goal o raising $2million to match this extraordinary

pledge. Jean Schulz has generouslyextended the deadline to give usmore time to raise the remaining$500,000. Each git saves land and

protects our large open landscapesor uture generations. [email protected] or(707) 526-6930, ext. 108.

$9 Million

$3 Million

$1 Million

$6 Million

$11.8 Million Pledged

$12.3 Million Next Milestone

$15 Million

$18 Million

Bohemia Ranch. Photo by Georgiana Hale.


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Making a differenceon the landIn our volunteers

own words Cpid by Grgiana Ha andShanti Wright

he Sonoma Land rusts com-munity o volunteers is one o ourgreatest assets. In 2009, our volun-teers contributed more than 2,500hours to help achieve our missionto protect the land orever. Fromconservation monitoring, the Go-

to Gang and stewardship volunteerprojects, to research and collabora-tive partnerships, SLs dedicatedvolunteer teams are key to our landstewardship success. Volunteers helpaddress ongoing stewardship needs,such as invasive plant control, trailclearing, inrastructure maintenanceand vegetation management.

Trough collaborative partnerships

with other nonprots and academia,skilled volunteers, researchers andinterns help to gather natural resourceinormation or land managementand the advancement o science.

Here, a handul o our volunteersshare their perspectives on why theyparticipate in their own words.

I began volunteering because I dont

have the kind o income that wouldlet me make substantial cashdonations, but I have some skillsand experience to oer. What Iveound is that people who will puttheir time and labor into somethingthey believe in are the best kind ocompanions you could want people whose hearts are in theirwork are a joy to be around.

Earle Cummings

It is a ne way to contribute to avery worthy cause while keepingactive and enjoying the camarade-rie which necessarily ows rom it.

Chuck Quibell

Te experience has helped me seeall the work that goes on behind thescenes to allow our open spaces toourish.

Bill Daniel

Ive donated money to SL ormany years and elt it was my dutyto give back to an organization that

is so ocused on green space andprotecting local ecosystems.

Nils-Michael Langenborg

I volunteer in the eld because the

Land rust experts make it easy andthe jobs assigned make a dierence. Linda Hale

Te work done on these outingsoers the rare combination oconnecting with and caring ortreasured properties, and being parto a making-a-dierence group ogood and compatible people.

John Knigh

SL is one o the best organizationsin Sonoma County great vision,great sta and great parties. SLtreats its volunteers very well when I do things with SL, I eelgood ... its that simple. Ive traveledin dozens o countries and cantestiy that Sonoma County is oneo the most exquisite sites on theplanet and I want to do my part to

keep it that way. Sharon Bard

Georgiana Hale and Shanti Wright areSLT stewardship managers.

(L-R) Volunteer conservation monitors Julie English and Sharon Bard. Go-to Gang member Earle Cummings.


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Nonproft

u.S. Pstag

PAID

Prit #201

Ptaa, CA966 Sna Av., Santa Rsa, CA 95404

www.SnalandTrst.rg

T O P R O T E C T T H E L A N D F O R E V E R

The land is acultural resourceby Nick Tipn

Sonoma Land rusts missionincludes preserving and protectingland and promoting a sense o placeand a land ethic. o help achieve ourmutual goals, local Native Americanribes have been working with Land

rust sta to more ully protect thecultural resources ound on SLpreserves located within the ancestral

lands o Native Americans.Our ancestors have lived on this

land or thousands o years andhave developed cultural practices tobe in harmony with the land. Ourcultural resources and practicesinclude tangible objects, such asstone tools or plants. Tere are alsoareas called traditional culturalproperties that are locations ogreat signicance to our cultural

practices that are more important.It is easy to identiy a cultural

resourceo Native Americans i wecan visually see it or touch it, as withobsidian artiacts or baskets. radi-tional Native Americans recognizethe land itsel as their most important

cultural resource.Te Land rust and local ribes

are working as partners to accomplish

our common goal o protecting andpreserving the land. Te land and allo its components has provided orus in the past and we must worktogether to protect and preserve ourrelationship to it. We look orwardto continuing our work with SL toaccomplish this.

Nick Tipon chairs the Sacred Sites

Protection Committee of the FederatedIndians of Graton Rancheria.

See page 4 or more inormationabout how the Sonoma Land rusttakes care to respect the culturalresources on our lands.

Tolay Creek Ranch by Scott Hess Photography.

Documents

Spring 2010 Sonoma Land Trust Newsletter