Jean Schulz offers $2 million matching gift to advance campaign

Local philanthropist Jean Schulz has offered the Sonoma Land Trust a $2 million matching gift to advance SLT’s recently announced $18 million fundraising campaign, Redwoods to the Bay: Saving Sonoma County’s Signature Landscapes. This pledge, which must be matched dollar for dollar, will bring the total amount raised thus far to $10.3 million.

The Redwoods to the Bay campaign will protect the 5,630-acre Jenner Headlands, help keep Sonoma County’s landscapes intact, link up protected lands to provide wildlife corridors and trails, preserve the county’s rural character and create a legacy of open lands for future generations.

“This is not a gift I make lightly,” says Schulz, a longtime supporter of the Land Trust. “I am frankly worried about the ongoing development pressures on our lands and about our need to preserve large open spaces. I want our grandchildren and their children to be able to enjoy the same stunning vistas that you and I treasure today.”

Click here to learn more about the campaign

SLT compiles plant book for Estero Americano Preserve

Thanks to generous assistance from SSU intern Karissa Westphal, plant specimens collected from the Estero Americano Preserve have been catalogued in an “Herbarium Book” field reference guide. The project arose out of a coastal prairie plant ID training and monitoring project designed to evaluate the effectiveness of cattle grazing for coastal grassland enhancement. Specimens were collected and pressed, verified for identification, labeled and scanned so that future participants of the project will have a helpful aid for noting species present at the preserve.

Find the book here

Conservation planning at Pitkin Marsh

Building on the success of SLT’s 2007 acquisition of 27-acre Lower Pitkin Marsh, staff is currently working on a conservation plan for the entire Pitkin Marsh region, an area well known for its rare and endangered plant species and unique wetland habitats. Drawing on input from local and state partners, the conservation plan will identify the region’s key natural resources and primary threats, and outline a conservation strategy to achieve further protection. In the months ahead, the Land Trust will be sending outreach letters to landowners in the Pitkin Marsh area introducing us as a new neighbor and providing information about conservation options.

Youth group helps steward the Baylands

North Bay Conservation Corps’ “Project Regeneration” students visited the San Pablo Baylands for three service project workdays this summer. SLT partnered with the National Wildlife Refuge’s native plant nursery to provide invasive plant removal and native plant propagation tasks for the students ages 11–18. The program helps youths gain strong work and environmental ethics, self-confidence and leadership skills.

Learn more about the Corp

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September 2009

Researching blacktail deer at the Estero

Do blacktail mothers watch out for each other’s kids? Are they altruistic? Graduate students from the University of Winnipeg in Manitoba are conducting behavioral ecology research on blacktail deer at SLT’s Estero Americano Preserve, the Bodega Marine Lab, and other sites in the Bodega Bay area.

Read more

Sears Point EIR Meeting

The Sears Point Wetland and Watershed Restoration Project Environmental Impact Report/Statement is now available for download on SLT’s Web site. Two years in the making, the document details all effects of the restoration project and our plans to permanently protect the Sears Point properties. It will be presented at a public meeting Sept. 22, 6:30pm, at the Sonoma Community Center in Sonoma.

Learn about Sears Point project here

SLT volunteer joins Americorps

Theo Michaels came to the Land Trust this past January and filled a significant need as the stewardship volunteer program “co-coordinator.” She tackled a backlog of projects and recurring duties to keep the program functioning during the height of our busy season. This experience inspired her to join the Americorps “Volunteers in Service to the Environment, Restoration & Ecosystem Management” program this fall. Though we miss her, we wish her the very best!

Theo wrote a poetic piece about what she learned at SLT; read it here.

Got an extra fridge?

SLT is seeking a donation of an energy-efficient full-size refrigerator for Glen Oaks Ranch. Please contact Reta Lockert if you have one taking up space and would like to make a tax-deductible gift.

More tools needed

Some tools have been donated — thanks very much! — and we could still use some more for our expanding volunteer program. If you have extras of any of these items, please contact Shanti to put them to work:

• Weed wrenches
• Shovels
• Loppers
• McCleods
• Rakes
• Mallet
• Pick mattocks