Wildflowers are a-bloomin’

Winter rain, longer days and warmer temperatures — the perfect recipe for Sonoma County’s native wildflowers. What’s popping up on the Land Trust’s properties? Down near the Bay, thriving among the grasses and cattle, the Fremont star lilies are blooming at Tolay Creek Ranch. Walk over to Sears Point Ranch to see the Johnny jump-ups, California poppies and tidy tips. In the Valley of the Moon, Douglas iris and Diogenes’ lantern are showing their colors along Stuart Creek at Glen Oaks Ranch. Further north, miniature lupine will soon fill the farm road at Laufenburg Ranch, and blue-eyed grass and fiddleback will dot the fields. And on the Estero Americano’s coastal prairie, you just might find the rare harlequin lotus or early blue viola.

San Francisco Foundation awards matching grant — April 30 deadline

State funds frozen for land conservation programs are affecting many projects, including our plans to purchase the 5,630-acre Jenner Headlands. To help bridge this funding gap and keep our work moving forward, The Evelyn Tilden Mohrhardt Trust of the San Francisco Foundation has awarded us a $100,000 grant — but it must be matched, dollar for dollar, by April 30. We realize these are difficult times, but if you have the capacity to make a special gift or to renew your membership early, now is the time!

Protecting native plants at Pitkin

The 27-acre lower Pitkin Marsh supports globally rare coastal fens, or bogs, that harbor similarly rare plant species. Since purchasing the property in 2007, we’ve drafted a management plan and undertaken comprehensive vegetation surveys. This preparatory work culminated in our first workday on the marsh in late February. Nine skilled botanists joined SLT staff in carefully and methodically removing non-native plants that have been invading these isolated wetlands where the rare plants occur. It’s the first step in a multi-faceted strategy that will encourage this unique system and its occupants to thrive.

SLT volunteers support native plant nursery

Sonoma Land Trust’s Sears Point Ranch is home to the San Pablo Bay National Wildlife Refuge Native Plant Nursery, a collaborative project supported through numerous partnerships, including the Refuge, The Bay Institute, SLT, and many dedicated volunteers. Here, native plants such as sea lavender, lizard tail, western goldenrod, salt marsh baccharis and yarrow are grown for wetland restoration projects around San Pablo Bay. SLT’s stewardship volunteers, pictured here on a recent workday, have been an integral part of the nursery since 2005.

Check out our spring volunteer calendar

Getting to know our neighbors

Land and local communities are intimately tied together; thus, as part of our efforts to get to know the folks around the Jenner Headlands, SLT staff recently gave presentations to the communities of Cazadero, Duncans Mills, Muniz Ranches and Jenner. We have also begun contacting people with historical information of the area so that we can integrate that local knowledge into our management planning. Your help is still needed to secure the Jenner Headlands. We have raised only 25 percent of the $2 million required to close escrow this summer. Please help us reach our goal and help preserve this extraordinary landscape — for generations to come.

March 2009

Come on a wildflower hike with us!

Nowhere are the wildflowers more spectacular than on Cougar Mountain in the Baylands (Hwy 37/Lakeville Hwy). Join the Land Trust on one of our special Baylands wildflower hikes for the public on Saturday, March 28 or Sunday, March 29, 10 AM – 2 PM both days. These hikes are free of charge, but pre-registration is required. For more information or to register, email us.

Watch a video from last year’s hike.

Say cheese!

Once again, the Sonoma Land Trust will be taking part in the Artisan Cheese Festival in Petaluma, a weekend-long celebration and exploration of handcrafted cheeses, foods, wines and beers — and the land from which they come. Former SLT land steward Nathan Boone, now an organic farmer, will participate in the kick-off panel, “Preserving and Advancing the Artisan Foods Movement,” led by Clark Wolf, on Saturday, March 21 at 9 AM. The Land Trust will also have a booth at the not-to-be-missed Artisan Cheese Marketplace on Sunday, March 22, 11 AM – 4 PM. Come
on by!

A day about the coast

Land Trust acquisitions director, Amy Chesnut, will speak about the Jenner Headlands at Conservation Action’s Coastal Day workshop Saturday, April 4 from 10 AM – 3:30 PM. Other speakers include Peter Douglas, executive director of the California Coastal Commission; Tom Roth, senior aide to Rep. Lynn Woolsey; and Una Glass, executive director of Coastwalk. Lunch and a hike along the Kortum Trail, led by SLT co-founder Bill Kortum and his wife, Lucy, are included. Open to the public.

Learn more about this
special day