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8/3/2019 Winter 2006 - 2007 Vistas Newsletter, Solano Land Trust
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/winter-2006-2007-vistas-newsletter-solano-land-trust 1/8
President’s Messa
Executive DirectoPerspective
New Board Memb
Farm-to-Table Se
ConservationEasement Monito
Working the Land
Buzzing with Bee
Activities and Ev
l. 13 #4
Winter
2006/07Rush Ranch Nature Centerconstruction underway Marilyn Farley, Executive Director
Solano Land Trust
celebrates 20 year
o protectingarmland, ranchlan
and open space in
Solano County
Construction or Solano Land Trust’s Nature and
Education Center at Rush Ranch got the greenlight on November 13 when Solano County issued
a much-needed grading permit. The building
permit ollowed on Dec. 1.
Ater an 18-month planning process, and
with the ability to draw down grant unds rom
the National Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR)
expiring on November 30, this was a very welcome
development!
Grading work got underway on November
15. We now begin an estimated six-to-eight
month construction period at Rush Ranch, which
You’re invited to the Rush Ranch Nature
Center ofcial ground-breaking ceremony!
Friday, December 15, 2006 at 11:30 a.m.
3521 Grizzly Island Road
Light rereshments will be served
Call SLT oces at (707)432-0150 ext. 201 or moreinormation.
•
•
•
will remain open during construction. We’ve
applied to NERR or an additional $250,000 orbasic construction, exhibits, landscaping and
urnishings.
onstruction of the Nature Center begins! Photo: Aleta George
8/3/2019 Winter 2006 - 2007 Vistas Newsletter, Solano Land Trust
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President’s MessageBob Berman, President
In 2006, SLT made good
progress in carrying out
its mission. For instance,
with the cities o Davis
and Dixon, we helped to
ensure the permanent
protection o nearly 450
acres o agricultural land
along Interstate 80 near
Kidwell Road, which
includes the McConeghy
and Ebey-Laughtin Farms. Plans are underway or
continued agricultural production and a new roadside
stand or agricultural products.
Construction o the nature center at Rush Ranch
is underway, thanks to grants received rom theNational Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR) and
the Coastal Conservancy. Construction began in
early November and we anticipate completion in
summer 2007. Our goal o establishing a $2-million
endowment und or the ranch received a signicant
boost in early 2006 when an anonymous donor gave
$250,000 and a pledge o up to $200,000 more i
SLT can raise matching unds. Our eorts to meet
that challenge continue.
An important part o our mission is the management
o lands that are home to endangered plants andanimals. This year we completed a management plan
or the Greater Jepson Prairie Ecosystem. The plan
will guide our management o the two properties
owned by SLT (Jepson Prairie Preserve and East Wilcox
Ranch), as well as two adjoining properties owned by
the Caliornia Department o Fish and Game.
We continue to work with Solano County to ensure
public access to Lynch Canyon. We expect the
property will soon be open to the public once
our agreement with Solano County is approved
(scheduled or Dec. 12). Consistent with ourLynch Canyon management plan, cattle grazing
will continue. We look orward to an ocial gate
opening in 2007!
These are only a ew o our accomplishments in
2006. We look orward to continued success in 2007
and beyond. We could not have achieved any o this
without the dedicated work o our board o directors,
great sta (led by Executive Director Marilyn Farley),
and the scores o volunteers who provide their time
and expertise. Thanks to all o you.
SLT welcomes new boardmember Darrin Berardi
Solano Land Trust welcomes its newest board member, Darrin Ber
Ater graduating rom Faireld High School, Darrin decided to ollo
the ootsteps o his ather, Peter Berardi, and become a chiropractor. P
opened Berardi Chiropractic Clinic in 1970, and in 1989, Darrin joinedpractice. When Peter Berardi passed away several years ago, Darrin took
the amily practice located on Webster Street in Faireld.
Darrin had to weigh the possibility o joining
another board careully. He is already extremely
busy with a ull-time practice, serving on the boards
o the Faireld Suisun Twilight Rotary Club and the
Faireld Suisun Chamber o Commerce, and chasing
ater his ve-year-old son, Dominic. So, Darrin
did what any sel-respecting businessman would
do—he consulted his wie. Ramona works with
the Solano County Oce o Education Regional
Occupational Program. Darrin and Ramona were
impressed with all that SLT has already accomplished and agreed that
important work to be involved in.
Darrin joined the undraising committee and is looking orwar
helping the board raise unds or the Rush Ranch endowment camp
and other programs. An avid hiker and mountain bike rider, Darrin is e
to get to know the SLT properties, and to help with establishing a regi
park district in Solano County.
Rush Ranch trail sign dedicationCome and see the new interpretive trail signs at Rush RanchFour new signs on the South Pasture and Marsh Trails wereunded by the San Francisco Estuary Project small grantsprogram and the National Estuarine Research Reserve.
The dedication ceremony will take place during theRush Ranch bird walk on February 3, 2007 rom9:00 a.m. to 11:00 am.
8/3/2019 Winter 2006 - 2007 Vistas Newsletter, Solano Land Trust
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Marilyn Farley, Executive Director
Executive Director’s Perspective
Farmers constantly face changeWhen I rst moved to the Faireld area in 1975, Suisun Valley pears were
harvested in one ell swoop and shipped o to the canneries. The wonderulBing and other sweet cherries were sold rom numerous arm stands. I
remember picking, pitting and canning 75 pounds in just one day, not an
easy chore with a pitter that did two cherries at a time!
A ew years later, I was astounded to learn that
herry armer Howard Babcock had ripped out his
rchard and planted grapes, even though he had
old his entire crop the year beore to Japanese
uyers or $7 a pound.
Today, the pear orchards are virtually gone.
However, 99 Cherry Orchard on Rockville Roadas more customers than it can supply, nearby
aechao Family Farm oers succulent strawberries,
usie Parker sells heirloom tomatoes at a bargain
rice, and Larry’s Produce packs in the customers
ear ater year.
Grapes are currently the dominant crop.
The Suisun Valley Grape Growers Association,
www.svgga.com, has been ormed to help market
his crop. The Suisun Valley Fund Advisory
Committee (a City o Faireld and Solano Irrigation
District venture) promotes the valley through their
Web site, www.suisunvalley.com, and Fun Family
arm Days.
Elsewhere in our valleys, armers have posted
or sale” signs.
As a consumer, I thought the cherry orchards
would be here orever. Recently, thanks to local
istorian Leslie Batson, I became acquainted with
thesis written in 1963 by William Adrian Bowen
a graduate o Faireld’s Armijo High School and
hen geography student at UC Berkeley) in which
e traces the history o ruit districts back to the
800s in Suisun Valley, Pleasants Valley, the English
Hills and environs.
Even then, state, national and even international
onditions aected demand or Solano County
roducts. As late as 1878, grain was the primary
rop. Bowen, who now teaches at Cal State
Northridge, recounts how Suisun Valley armer
A. T. Hatch began planting his entire 120 acres in
ruit trees “against the advice o his neighbors,”
and later expanded to 781 acres.
“Farms which had been languishing took on a
new vitality as armers began laying out orchards
on a scale never beore imagined…Lacking theinitiative to learn new arming techniques and
aced with disastrously low grain prices, however,
many o the valley’s older residents sold their
holdings and let the county rather than accept the
challenge o the ruit industry,” wrote Bowen.
Writing over 40 years ago, Bowen painted
a vivid picture o the 1800s when the Suisun
wharves were lourishing, the rai lroads
competed iercely or the right to ship early
ripening ruit to eager East Coast customers,
and a wide range o experimentation with ruits
and vines were underway.
What became clear to me while reading
Bowen’s thesis is that then, as now, armers
are required to experiment, make substantial
investments, react to changing conditions and to
persevere i they are to succeed.
What does all o this have to do with Solano
Land Trust? An important part o our mission is
to protect and preserve armland. We do this by
working with willing armers to place agricultural
conservation easements on their lands. In each
case, we work closely with three armers on our
board o directors and those who are part o an
active agricultural conservation easement (ACE)
committee carrying out our ACE plan.
In the next issue, I’ll talk about the signicant
tools available to SLT to carry out this work.
Support our Rush RanchChallengeCampaign
NOW!Solano Land Trust
needs your help with a
year-end contribution
to match a $200,000
challenge rom our
anonymous donor.
Amounts donated by
Christmas day will be
matched in 2006! This
Challenge Campaign is
part o our $2,000,000
drive to create an
endowment to take
care o this wonderul
marsh property
now and or uture
generations!
8/3/2019 Winter 2006 - 2007 Vistas Newsletter, Solano Land Trust
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Farm-to-table: How products from local farmand ranches get to the table First in a series Wendy Low, Land Transaction Spec
Young olive orchard at Suisun Ranch, 2005Photo: Wendy Low
Solano Land Trust holds conservation easements on
many types o Solano County arms and ranches rom
walnut orchards on the edge o the Central Valley to
ranches in the Montezuma Hills, where lambs and goats
are raised. The story o how their products get to your
table is just as varied. This article is the frst in a series
showcasing this process and inorming readers where
they can purchase the products.
Nestled along Suisun Creek in the ertile
valley foor, the Suisun Valley Ranch conservation
easement protects nearly 150 acres o orchard,
vineyard and row-crop ground owned by theSmith amily, who purchased the land rom
Solano Land Trust in 2002. Stephen Smith says
that the biggest advantage o buying land with a
conservation easement is that it makes agriculture
more aordable.
The easement eatures both agricultural and
habitat protection. Special protection has been
given to the acreage along the creek, whose
remarkable riparian woodland is ull o valley oaks,
willows, and cottonwoods. Along with other nativeplants, these trees play a critical role in preventing
erosion o the creek channel as well as providing
habitat.
When I have been out walking the perimeter
o the property during our annual easement
monitoring, I have ound the expansive views
peaceul. Up rom the line o trees along Suisun
Creek, the Rockville Hills orm a backdrop along
the western horizon, leading up to the peaks
o Twin Sisters in the northwest and the Vaca
Mountains to the north and northeast. This i
landscape I remember growing up around h
with orchards and vineyards that seem ar remo
rom the bustle o Interstate 80 to the south
Farming at Suisun Valley Ranch is divers
by leasing 95 acres o row-crop ground to
arm stands, growing wine grapes on 30 acres
devoting ten acres to a young olive orchard.
This all, they sold their rst small grou
olives to Gordon Valley Farms. According to
Johnson o Gordon Valley Farms, the young t
will be harvested by hand because olive t
cannot be shaken until they are at least ouve years old. Not only is harvesting by hand l
intensive, but no olives can be let on the gro
or on the tree because o the threat o inesta
by olive ruit fies. In addition, the ruit has t
processed within 24 hours.
Gordon Valley Farms trucks the olives to
o three processors: Olive Mill at Pacic Farm
Orchards in Gerber; Saint Gregory Olive Far
Lake County (run by Eastern Orthodox mo
and, Frantoio in Mill Valley. Once the olives been crushed, the olive oil is packed in 55-ga
plastic drums and sold to distributors that
to institutions and ches or to SePay Grove
Faireld. SePay is a Native American word mea
“this morning,” a name chosen because
specialize in extremely resh oils bottled in s
batches. They sell olive oils and vinegars
Gordon Valley Farms under their Suisun V
label. Based on their atty acid content, oils
Gordon Valley Farms are considered prem
extra-virgin olive oil.
Where to fnd it:
SePay Groves olive oil & vinegars,
370 Chadbourne Road, Suite D, Faireld
or www.sepayoliveoil.com
Find local arm stands and wines online at
www.suisunvalley.com
8/3/2019 Winter 2006 - 2007 Vistas Newsletter, Solano Land Trust
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SLT spends a day on the farm
Rob Goldstein, Land Transaction Specialist
Oaks grace hillside at Hoskins RanchPhoto: Wendy Low
On a warm and sunny October morning, Wendy Low and I drive up Pleasants Valley Road past orchards,
armhouses, and elds o cows. Every year, SLT sta and volunteers pay at least one visit to each o our
asement-protected properties to see i the land and structures have changed. On this particular day,
Wendy and I are visiting Ethel Hoskins who owns 367 acres o scenic, rolling rangeland.
has changed only or the better. John shows us a
hillside creek where he has planted oaks and other
native plants. He takes us to another creek by the
house where he and a crew removed a massive
inestation o invasive giant reeds, Arundo donax.Back at the homesite, Ethel serves us lunch and
we talk more about the property.
Returning to the oice, our easement
stewardship work continues. We report the results
o our monitoring visits to the landowners and
to those who provided unding or the easement
purchases, eld landowner questions about their
conservation easements and how they aect use o
their properties, and address landowner concerns
to deal with issues beore conficts arise.
On a recent Tuesday morning, volunteer Jim
Steinert and I visit Craig McNamara’s arm on
Putah Creek southeast o Winters. I’m worried
about spending a day away rom the oce when
Wendy and I are overloaded with work acquiring
new conservation easements. But when Jim and
I get out o the car and greet Craig, I see the
orchards, the old arm buildings, and the area
where schoolchildren restored a creek with native
plants, and smile with excitement or another day
in the eld.
We arrive at the homesite where century-old
arm buildings surround a beautiul Victorian
ouse. Ethel greets us and invites us into her
kitchen where she serves us home-cooked pastries
nd tells us about recent events on the ranch.Then, the ranch manager, John Knowles, arrives
o drive us around the property.
From rangeland outside Rio Vista to walnut
rchards south o Winters, SLT protects agricultural
and across Solano County by buying conservation
asements. But the work o protecting a property
oes not end when SLT completes a conservation
eal. Throughout the year, SLT sta monitors the
roperty to ensure that the easements are truly
rotecting the property’s agricultural values.
When SLT protects a property with an
asement, sta takes photos at specic points to
ocument the baseline conditions o the landscape.
On annual monitoring visits, sta returns to each
the photo points and compares the current
onditions to the original photos. Most oten, sta
nds that the property has not changed, or has
hanged in ways allowed, such as the planting o
ew crops or the construction o a barn.
As John drives us up impossibly steep hills
o the dierent points, we see that the property
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Corraling teams to work on the land
Boy Scouts build structures and
character on SLT propertiesThe past year has
seen a lurry o Boy
Scouts accomplishing
Eagle projects at Lynch
Canyon and Rush Ranch.
Boy Scout service and
Eagle projects are a
great oppor tuni ty
o r yo ung peo p le
and their amilies to
work together and
provide long-lasting
improvements or public
benet on Solano Land
Trust properties. I you
want to accomplish a project on SLT lands, contact
Land Steward Ken Poerner at (707) 580.6277.
At Rush Ranch…Matt Bojorquez bui l t our movable
benches.
The Kit House rear patio got a new shade
awning installed by Matt Knopp and Troop
853.
Mike Hardy and troop improved the Suisun
Hill Trail by building a new segment on the
backside o the hill, making better use o the
terrain than the original route.
Chris Jaber and Troop 864 reurbished the
Blacksmith Shop with new paint, a ew new
panes o glass and a gutter or the roo.
•
•
•
•
Making way for peoplewith disabilitiesPhoto: Joe Gordon
Workforce Investment Board
bolsters stewardship crewThe Solano Land Trust stewardship crew
grown in number this winter with several wor
provided by the Solano County Work
Investment Board (WIB). WIB received a edgrant to assist Solano County landowners
recovery eorts ater last year’s horric w
storms. Starting in August, up to our wor
have been helping us with several storm rel
projects. The Rush Ranch Marsh Trial levee a
in three locations last winter resulting in clo
o that section o trail. The WIB crew helpe
move several tons o soil into the breaches
secure it in place.
The hills in Lynch Canyon always move a each winter, but last winter, they didn’t just m
they lurched. Besides the two landslides bloc
the entrance road underneath Interstate 80 (w
Caltrans quickly cleared and eventually repai
a very visible landslide came down rom the
o the hill near the corral. Another slide occu
above the Middle Valley Trail at the bath
springs enhancement area, which we had en
and planted with woody vegetation two y
ago. Since the site is not visible rom the traididn’t immediately know that the sliding hill
taken out hal our new ence. Every day or
weeks, the WIB crew climbed the steep h
repair the destroyed ence. Now they know m
about barbed wire ence construction than
ever wanted to. The WIB crew will be helpin
through March.
Ken Poerner, Land Ste
At Lynch Canyon…Will Kane and Troop 8 installed blue
boxes. Joe Gordon’s troop built handicap acces
trails to three picnic tables.
•
•
Building anew trailPhoto: Mike Hardy
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Catch the buzz at Rush Ranch with beeexpert Robbin Thorp
Aleta George, Editor
everal years ago, I joined 40 others in the old
Rush Ranch barn to learn about bees rom Robbin
Thorp (Proessor Emeritus, UC Davis). As soon
s we arrived and began to huddle on the tiered
enches, the resident barn owls spooked and
wooped out into the day.
I you yearn to learn about bees and their
mportance in our region, I highly recommend you
ome—rain or shine—to this year’s presentation
n the Rush Ranch barn on Sunday, January 14 at
:00 p.m. (Next year, classes will be held in the
rand-new Nature and Education Center!) Thorp’s
wo-hour presentation, complete with an amazing
lide show, will show you the world o bees like
ou’ve never seen it beore.
Did you know there are more than 20,000
escribed bees in the world? That’s more than
ll the mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians
ombined! There are masked bees that drink nectar
nd pollen and store it inside their abdomens. The
ea-cutter bee stores pollen underneath its belly.
Most solitary bees make brood chambers in the
round and provision their ospring with balls o
ollen, then leave the young to end or themselves.
That’s why they are called solitary bees.
Bumblebees, says Thorp, make excellent
pollinators. They use “buzz pollination” to shake out
the pollen rom the fower, moisten the collected
pollen and attach it to their hind legs. Next time
you see one in your garden, take a closer look and
you’ll see the pollen gathered atly on its hind legs.
A emale bumblebee incubates her eggs by vibrating
her thorax and abdomen to generate heat.
Thorp obtained his PhD at Berkeley in 1964. For
his thesis, he discovered the association between
yellow carpet and Andrena blennospermatis, the
native solitary bee that specializes in pollinating
this vernal pool lower. The concept o bees
specializing on fowers dates back to the 1920s,
says Thorp, but nobody had studied vernal pool
bees and fowers until he began his studies.
Although he retired in 1994 ater 30 years o
teaching at UC Davis, Thorp continues to research
vernal pool bees and pollination, the biodiversity o
bees on Santa Cruz Island, the contribution o native
bees to crop pollination and the population decline
o bumble bees. In addition to volunteering his time
or an annual bee talk at Rush Ranch, Thorp also helps
with docent training at the Jepson Prairie Preserve.
Simple pump moves water in Lynch Canyonand Afghanistan
There has been a strange, yet soothing sound emanating rom Lynch Creek since last summer. It’s not
he swish o water fowing in the creek, but the steady opening and closing o hydraulic valves in a
rototype pump installed in August 2006 by Solano Community College MESA (Mathematics Engineering
cience Achievement) students. The MESA program has been active at Solano Community College orhe past ten years.
The MESA students are involved with a humanitarian project to install the same type o pump or
illagers in Lalander, Aghanistan. The project, dubbed the Lalander Humanitarian Project, was lauched
n September 2005 by the Laayette-based group, Trust in Education. The MESA students are perecting
pump capable o delivering water rom a low-lying river up to the village, where the reliability o
unning water will improve the health and hygiene o the community. Trust in Education plans to install
he pump in Aghanistan in March 2007.
With only two moving parts, the pump relies on the orces o nature, operating with neither
lectricity nor uel. Although the project was ultimately designed to assist the villagers in Aghanistan,
we may soon nd more o these pumps on Solano County rangelands.
Ken Poerner, Land Steward
Green sweat bee on gum plant.Photo: Dennis L Briggs
Alfalfa leaf-cutting bee.Photo: Dennis L. Briggs
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Preserving Farmlands and OPen sPace thrOughOut sOlanO cOunty
Solano Land Trust
1001 Texas Street, Suite C
Faireld, CA 94533(707) 432-0150
Non–Pro
Organiza
US Posta
PaidFairfel
CA 945
Permit # 0
Jepson Prairie PreserveTake a sel-guided tour in the “Docent Triangle” any day o
the week during daylight hours. Docent-led wildfower tours
will resume in the spring. For more inormation on tours or
upcoming docent training in early February, contact SLT at
[email protected] or (707) 432-0150 ext. 202.
Lynch Canyon Open SpaceCurrently Lynch Canyon is open to the public during sta-
or docent-led activities only. Stay tuned or news o Lynch
opening to the public on a regular basis.
Volunteer Trail Care DaysSecond Saturday o the month:
Jan. 13, Feb. 10, Mar. 10. 9 a.m. – Free
Assist Land Steward Ken Poerner with trail care. Snacks are
provided. For inormation call Ken at (707) 580-6277.
Scenic HikesFourth Saturday o the month:
Dec. 23, Jan. 2, Feb. 24. 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. - Free
Join Dave Warner on his popular Lynch Canyon hikes. For
more inormation contact Ken Poerner at (707) 580-6277.
Sky Valley Cordelia Hills Open SpaceThe newly acquired King and Swett Ranches are part o the
Sky Valley Cordelia Hills Open Space and are currently open
to the public during sta- or docent-led activities only.
For more inormation contact Sue Wickham at
[email protected] or (707) 432-0150 ext. 207.
Scenic HikesSaturdays, Jan. , Feb. 3, Mar. 3 9:00 a.m. – Free
Meet at the Park-and-Ride at the Hiddenbrooke Parkway/
American Canyon Road exit at I-80. Co-sponsored with the
Bay Area Ridge Trail Council.
Volunteer Workdays Jan. 20, Feb. 1, Mar. 1. 9 a.m. until fnished - Free
Get some resh air while helping with restoration and trail
clean-up. No experience or tools necessary.
BOard memBers
Bob Berman, President
Ian Anderson, Vice President
Jane Hicks, Secretary
Frank Morris, Treasurer
Sean Quinn, Immediate Past Pres.
Frank J. Andrews, Jr.
Darrin Berardi
Jeff Dittmer
John Isaacson
Russell Lester
staFF
Marilyn Farley, Executive Director
Terry Chappell, Field Steward
Rob Goldstein, Land Transaction Specialist
Wendy Low, Land Transaction Specialist
Kirsti Muskat, Bookkeeper
Ken Poerner, Land Steward
Ben Wallace, ConservationProject Manager
David Welch, Interim Finance Ofcer
Sue Wickham, Project Coordinator
Susan Wilkinson, Development Director
Aleta George,
Editor, SLT Vistas
Logo design based on
original art by Don Birrell
Rush Ranch Open SpaceRush Ranch is open to the public Tuesday to Saturday
8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Suisun Hill Trail (across Grizzly Isla
Road rom Rush Ranch) is open seven days a week, daw
dusk. For additional inormation visit www.rushranch.o
Access Adventures: Challenging the
Limits of Disability Michael Muir leads a recreational horse-drawn carriage
program or people with disabilities. For more inormat
go to www.access-adventure.org, or contact Mike at
[email protected] or (707) 426-3990.
Birds of Rush RanchSaturday, Feb. 3. 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. - Free
Joanne Castro, local bird expert and Napa-Solano Aubu
Chapter member, will introduce the birds o Rush Ranch
Suisun Marsh. Bring binoculars, scopes, and eld guide
available. Expect muddy conditions. Meet at the barn.
Blacksmith Shop Demonstrations
Third Saturday o the month:
Dec. 1, Jan. 20, Feb. 1. 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. - Free
Participate in the art o blacksmithing with local blacksm
California’s Native BeesSunday, Jan. 14. 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. - Free
Robbin Thorp (Proessor Emeritus, UC Davis) will presen
a slide show and talk on the native bees o Caliornia (
page 7 o this issue).
Marsh ExplorationSaturday, Feb. 24. 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. - Free
Sarah Davies o the National Estuarine Research Reserv
will lead visitors on an exploratory adventure to the Su
Marsh. Be prepared or cool weather and wear sturdy sh
Volunteer WorkdaysFirst Saturday o the month:
Jan. , Feb. 3, Mar. 3. 9 a.m. until fnished - Free
Get some resh air while helping with ranch and trail
maintenance. No experience or tools necessary.
Save the Date for the annual Rush Ranch open
house on Saturday, April 28, 2007.