50th birthday celebration

Otto and Anne Teller were instrumental in the creation and success of Sonoma Land Trust. Otto donated the first property, Secret Pasture, to SLT in 1976.

Lucy and Bill Kortum were driving forces in protecting public access along Sonoma’s Coast and stopping the development of the nuclear power plant at Bodega Head. Bill was an early founder and served on the board for 20 years.

Joan Vilms was one of SLT’s original founding members who went on to work with us for nearly 20 years. She also went on to help found Napa Land Trust, Sonoma Ag + Open, Land Trust Alliance, and most notably, helped write the legislation that became California’s conservation easement law, still to this day, one of the most powerful tools we have for protecting land

Among the visionary founders was Marilyn Goode, who introduced Joan Vilms to Otto Teller, and helped to form the original group that filed for the 501(c)3. Her legacy lives on with her family ranch now known as the Van Hoosear Wildflower Preserve.

Nion “Bob” Thieriot was a founding supporter who helped shape its earliest conservation vision. In 1978, the Creighton Ridge Fire destroyed his home at Little Black Mountain and in April 1979, he donated Little Black Mountain to Sonoma Land Trust as a nature preserve, requesting that it be dedicated to community education and enjoyment.

The Hafner Family is one of many families that have made a multigenerational commitment to Sonoma Land Trust. Mary served on the Land Trust board for 14 years, bringing experience as a fundraiser and community volunteer. Meanwhile, Dick leveraged his editorial and journalism expertise to support the Land Trust.

The battle over the construction of a nuclear power plant on Bodega Head was a central issue of the ’60s and ’70s that brought people together to slow down the pace of development. Had it been built, it would have sat on the active San Andreas fault line, making it a high risk for massive destruction.

Reta Lockert was Sonoma Land Trust’s first employee, hired when the organization was still a small volunteer effort with no formal office. Over nearly four decades (1983–2022), Lockert became a central figure in the organization’s growth, remembered by colleagues as the “heart and soul” for her ability to connect people to the mission and cultivate the community that sustained its conservation work.