Spring 2012 Newsletter - Sonoma Land Trust

Volume 38, No. 1
Spring 2012 Newsletter
Planning the future of the Jenner Headlands
Big trees, clean water and hiking on your own
by Sheri Cardo
Savoring some alone time at the Jenner Headlands, this Analy High School student helped plant
native grass plugs and native buckeye trees as part of a volunteer workday with the Global Student
Embassy. Photo by Kristin Martinez.
Sonoma Land Trust acquired the spectacular Jenner Headlands on December
17, 2009. That day marked the end of five years of challenging
negotiations — and the beginning of an intensive two-year process of
determining how best to enhance the ecological resources of this highly
diverse landscape while opening it up for public recreation.
No non-native grass has grown beneath the feet of our stewardship team.
Working in partnership with staff from The Wildlands Conservancy, we
immediately offered guided hikes to get people out on the property, and
also convened technical advisory committees to begin learning all that the
Headlands has to offer.
It’s been a “wild” two years and the public’s appetite for getting out on
the Jenner Headlands has been considerable. More than 1,500 people
have visited the property on more than 80 hikes. Along with outings led
Win-wins with
interns, docents and
citizen scientists
Interns have been an essential part of the
outings program at the Jenner Headlands.
Student interns from Sonoma
State and Santa Rosa Junior
College have contributed greatly
to our work on the Jenner
Headlands, from coordinating
and leading hikes to conducting
water quality monitoring surveys.
In turn, we have provided them
with valuable on-the-ground
experiences that will inform their
college days and future professional
lives. Similarly, local bird
experts have had the opportunity
to explore the Headlands and
volunteer their time as citizen
scientists to help us develop a
comprehensive bird species list.
By using bird species as indicators
of habitat health, we can better
manage the mosaic of habitats
found on the Headlands.
This year we are beginning to
(Continued on page 3) (Continued on page 3)
T O P R O T E C T T H E L A N D F O R E V E R

Who we are
Board of Directors
Denny Van Ness, chair, Robert Brent,
Neal Fishman, Ken Freeman, Mark
Jacobsen, Kirsten Lindquist, Pete Mattson,
Bill Osterland, Darren Peterie, Harry
Richardson, Maggie Salenger, Allison
Sanford, Wendy Smit, Margaret Spaulding
Staff
Ralph Benson, Executive Director
Kristine Acquino, Acquisitions Project Associate
Karen Arrington, Development Manager
Sheri Cardo, Director of Communications
Dale Carroll, Accounting Assistant
Amy Chesnut, Acquisitions Director
Paul DeMarco, Director of Finance &
Administration
Kara Doolin, Stewardship Assistant Project
Manager
Brook Edwards, Jenner Headlands Project
Manager
Wendy Eliot, Conservation Director
Georgiana Hale, Conservation Easement
Stewardship Manager
Julie Jehly, Acquisitions Project Assistant
Joseph Kinyon, GIS Manager
Reta Lockert, Donor Relations Director
Julian Meisler, Baylands Program Manager
Bob Neale, Stewardship Director
Tony Nelson, Stewardship Project Manager
Elizabeth Newton, Office Manager
Beverly Scottland, Development Director
Ingrid Stearns, Outings Coordinator
Shanti Wright, Stewardship Project Manager
SLT Mission
The Sonoma Land Trust protects the scenic,
natural, agricultural and open landscapes of
Sonoma County for the benefit of the
community and future generations by:
• Developing long-term land protection
strategies;
• Promoting private and public funding for
land and conservation;
• Acquiring land and conservation easements;
• Practicing stewardship, including the
restoration of conservation properties; and
• Promoting a sense of place and a land ethic
through activities, education and outreach.
Contact
Sheri Cardo, Managing Editor
Sonoma Land Trust
966 Sonoma Avenue, Santa Rosa, CA 95404
(707) 526-6930 Fax (707) 526-3001
info@sonomalandtrust.org
www.SonomaLandTrust.org
A note from the
Executive Director
Knowing the land
Champagne corks pop and press releases fly
when we buy or accept a conservation
property, whether at the Baylands, on the
Coast, in the Redwoods or in the Sonoma
Valley — but in a sense, that’s just completing
Chapter 1 in a much longer book. Once we
own the land, a whole different kind of work
begins. That’s Chapter 2 — when we get to know the land on many levels
and start implementing restoration stewardship.
This newsletter features a Chapter 2 story about one of our major
acquisitions, the Jenner Headlands. For the past two years, while opening
the property to group hikes, we have been getting to know that landscape
with the help of experts in forestry, grasslands and the coastal prairie,
water and the creeks, and the recreational possibilities. What we have
learned is summarized in a comprehensive Integrated Resource Management
Plan that will guide Sonoma Land Trust and our partners at The
Wildlands Conservancy in the recreational development and active
stewardship of the Jenner Headlands.
There is no end to this deeply satisfying work that all of the staff and
volunteers and members of Sonoma Land Trust join together to do.
Sonoma Land Trust is now the third largest private landowner in Sonoma
County. With the help of our members, the lands that have been entrusted
to us will be managed professionally, with a deep scientific and practical
knowledge of each place, and with a love of the land.
This is how we protect what we all love about Sonoma County.
Ralph Benson
Introducing our new outings coordinator
Sonoma Land Trust welcomes Ingrid Stearns as
outings coordinator for our On the Land program.
Ingrid brings with her a background in nonprofit
management, software quality assurance, event coordination
and nature interpretation. She is applying
this variety of skills to our public programs and the
upgrade of our outings management systems. Ingrid
has helped lead hikes at the Jenner Headlands since
August, 2010 and is excited to now be working to bring people out to
Sonoma Land Trust’s many other preserves.
2 Spring 2012 • Volume 38, No. 1 Follow us
Printed on recycled paper using soy-based inks.

(Continued from page 1)
Finding badgers living on the coastal prairie means we will need to carefully situate cattle fencing
and the coastal trail so that neither cows nor visitors interfere with this solitary species. Photo by
Ryan diGaudio.
by Sonoma Land Trust and The
Wildlands Conservancy, partner
organizations, including Stewards of
the Coast and Redwoods, Coastwalk
and LandPaths, have also conducted
hikes to help deal with the pent-up
demand for experiencing the splendor
of this spectacular landscape.
“There is so much to explore that,
every time I’m out there, I discover
something new,” said Sebastopol
resident Matthew Woods, who has
participated in multiple hikes and
volunteer workdays at the Headlands.
Planning for conservation
The acquisition of land is always a
significant accomplishment worth
celebrating, but the acquisition is
just the beginning of our work.
Sonoma Land Trust applies a focused
and deliberate conservation planning
process with the lands we own.
We’ve learned that care and attention
to detail in the beginning makes for
a more successful project.
With Jenner Headlands, the
primary reason for purchasing this
expansive 5,630-acre property was to
protect and conserve its natural and
cultural resources for all time.
Toward that end, Sonoma Land
Trust initiated a comprehensive
planning process that involved an
array of natural and cultural resource
assessments and surveys. With the
participation of experts volunteering
their time to serve on the Coastal
Prairie, Forest and Riparian, and
Recreation technical advisory committees,
we studied the grasses, the
trees, the fish, the animals, the water,
the birds, the rocks, and more.
This body of in-depth knowledge
of the existing conditions of the
Headlands was then used to develop
the just-completed Integrated
Resource Management Plan. Compiled
by Jenner Headlands project
manager Brook Edwards, this
Management Plan embodies our
stewardship strategies for reaching
the long-term goals and objectives of
this $36 million acquisition.
The Jenner Headlands Management
Plan is an intentionally broad
and flexible document, written to
adapt to the times, to climate change
and to changing natural resources.
At the same time, it includes specific
work to be done to enhance the
natural landscapes and the ways in
which we will measure our success
over time.
Using all the right tools
Restoration of the 3,500-acre redwood/Douglas
fir forest on the
Headlands is an exciting part of the
Jenner Headlands project. Our vision
is for future generations to enjoy the
incomparable experience of walking
through a healthy, fragrant forest of
huge, towering redwoods, hearing
the cries of the pileated woodpecker
and catching glimpses of the calypso
orchid. To achieve our ecological
goals, our stewardship team is
relying on the best available science
and the use of grazing and active
forest management.
Using these tools has the additional
benefits of contributing to our
local economy, and supporting local
(Continued on page 4)
Win-wins with interns, docents and citizen
scientists (Continued from page 1)
develop the framework of a
docent program that will eventually
include volunteer patrols,
trail building, invasive plant
removal, and a whole lot more.
Right now we are looking for
people who would be willing to
help us lead guided hikes on the
property. If you are interested in
the possibility of becoming a
Jenner Headlands docent to help
with the hikes, please write
Kristin Martinez of The Wildlands
Conservancy at
kristinm.m@twc-ca.org. In the
future, additional opportunities
will be available, so stay tuned.
TO PROTECT THE LAND FOREVER 3

(Continued from page 3)
A calypso orchid. Photo by Georgiana Hale.
agriculture and our county’s traditional
forestry heritage in ways that
will greatly and more quickly improve
the natural resources of the
property. For example, forests that
have been logged two, three or four
times, or have burned in catastrophic
fires, often grow into a crowded
thicket of tiny trees. In this condition,
they grow very slowly, provide
limited habitat and become a fire
hazard. For a redwood forest, this is
an unnatural condition that requires
active management to bring it back
into a natural balance.
4 Spring 2012 • Volume 38, No. 1
Our goal is to grow the forest
older and healthier by practicing
restoration forestry. Our plan is to
create a resilient, old growth-like
forest for the future through a
technique called “thin and release.”
Much like thinning carrots in a garden
to ensure the development of big,
healthy individuals, we’ll be selectively
removing less viable trees to create
light and room for the remaining
trees to grow stronger and healthier.
“Our harvests won’t be done for
financial purposes, but to make the
forest healthier and to enhance the
habitat,” said Brook.
The Jenner Headlands forest will
also serve educational purposes by
being a research and demonstration
site for other land managers. There
are many examples of this type of
forestry on the North Coast of
California, but the Jenner Headlands’
proximity to the Bay Area
provides a closer option for many to
come and see how this type of forest
management can be beneficial. In
June, as part of the North Coast
The “thin and release” forest management approach will thin frail young dense stands of trees as
shown on the left so that the forest can grow strong and healthy like the photo on the right.
Forest Conservation Conference
convened by Sonoma Land Trust
(see page 8), the Headlands will be
the site of a day-long field visit on
“Managing, Restoring and Growing
Healthy Forests on Publicly Protected
Lands.”
On the coastal grasslands, tule elk
and other native grazers disappeared
more than 130 years ago. As the land
was settled and ranched by Europeans,
and regular grassfires disappeared
from the landscape, new plants and
weeds took over. Now, in order to
retain our native plants and maintain
the habitat structure of the grasslands,
we will use domestic livestock to graze
our 1,100 acres of coastal prairie,
rotate them according to the needs
of the land and wildlife, and fence
them out of the creeks and forests.
Using active land management
tools such as grazing and thinning
provides associated economic benefits.
Local ranching families are our
partners in grazing and local familyowned
businesses do the work on
our roads and in our forests. The
revenue generated from the timber
sales and grazing lease will be used to
cover the costs of our enhancement
efforts. We will buy our materials
from local suppliers and use local
businesses, thus supporting our local
economy. Of every dollar spent in
Sonoma County, a quarter cent will
go to the Open Space District,
which will fund additional land
conservation efforts. It’s all connected.
Clean and clear waterways
Russian and Jenner Gulches will be
the primary focus of our riparian
enhancement activities. Jenner
Gulch is significant as the sole water
source for the town of Jenner. It is
important to keep this water run-

The goal of being able to visit the Jenner Headlands on your own is subject only to the time it takes us to permit and construct a parking lot, trailhead and
restroom. Until then, a wide variety of guided hiking opportunities are being offered by Sonoma Land Trust and several other partner organizations. Photo
by Kristin Martinez.
ning clear and clean. At the other
end of the property, Russian Gulch,
which encompasses 1,866 acres, is
the largest of the eight watersheds on
the Headlands and presents wonderful
opportunities for restoration.
Historically, it possessed both
steelhead trout and coho salmon, but
now only steelhead remain. Along
with fencing out cattle from both
gulches, we will work to restore the
historic coho population in Russian
Gulch by planting trees along the
creek banks, reducing road-related
sediment from reaching the stream,
and participating in the “Coho
Salmon Captive Broodstock Program”
to add juvenile coho to the creek.
People on the land
Imagine driving along Highway 1 on
a warm spring afternoon, the sky is
blue, the ocean is sparkling, and
you’re looking for a place to stop for
a picnic and a walk. It’s your lucky
day because straight ahead is the
Jenner Headlands. Pull into the
unobtrusive parking lot and head up
the trail. That is just one of the
recreational activities that Sonoma
Land Trust and The Wildlands
Conservancy plan to bring you in
the near future.
We have been preparing for future
public access that will allow people
to visit and enjoy the Headlands at
will. This summer we will finalize
our plans for a parking lot, trailhead
and restroom along Highway 1, and
submit them for permitting. Our
long-term vision for the property
also includes a segment of the California
Coastal Trail, environmental
campgrounds, and mountain bike
and equestrian use.
Co-managing the property with
The Wildlands Conservancy ensures
that vibrant public recreation programs
will be available at the Jenner
Headlands. Wildlands has a long
record of providing innovative public
recreation and education programs
on their many preserves, including
special programs for at-risk youth
and single mothers and their kids.
In the meanwhile, we will continue
with an expanding program of
themed guided hikes — raptors,
wildflowers, geology, butterflies
— and encourage you to come and
learn from the experts we enlist to
lead the hikes. Visit www.sonoma
landtrust.org regularly to keep track
of opportunities.
The Jenner Headlands Management
Plan is a living document with
the flexibility to adapt to changes
affecting the status of the ecological
resources on the property. Now
completed, it is available for viewing
on our Web site.
“At the heart of the plan, underlying
all the technical data, is this: We
want to leave this magnificent landscape
better than we found it … for
our kids and our grandkids,” concluded
stewardship director Bob Neale.
Sheri Cardo is SLT’s communications
director.
TO PROTECT THE LAND FOREVER 5

A new beginning for Bohemia Ranch
by Sheri Cardo
6 Spring 2012 • Volume 38, No. 1
The third time was the charm and,
once again, persistence paid off. First
was the large community effort in
the late 1990s to buy “Waterfall
Park,” which fell through at the last
moment. Then, in 2010, Sonoma
Land Trust was poised to acquire
Bohemia Ranch for a regional park,
and that fell through at the last
moment, too. But we never let go of
our vision to acquire this scenic
landscape and provide opportunities
for people to share in its wonder.
This January, after more than a
decade of effort, Sonoma Land Trust,
in collaboration with LandPaths,
crafted a transaction that preserves
554 acres of the former Bohemia
Ranch for public recreation through
a new conservation easement.
“These times with uncertain
public funding push us to be creative,”
said Sonoma Land Trust
executive director Ralph Benson.
“Faced with obstacles again and
again during this lengthy process, we
kept the goal in mind and put our
experience to work resolving each
and every issue. The good news is
much of the land will be opened to
public use.”
Bohemia Ranch has long been
known for its year-round waterfall,
and it also harbors a wealth of
natural resources. Located between
Occidental and Monte Rio, this
magical landscape offers a variety of
habitats, including biologically diverse
forestlands, riparian woodlands and
rare serpentine communities, all of
which support a wide array of plant
and animal species.
This was a complicated transaction.
Sonoma Land Trust purchased
a conservation easement that extinguished
the development rights over
554 acres of the property for $1.45
million provided by the Gordon and
Betty Moore Foundation. Ted and
Phyllis Swindells then made a
donation of the restricted land to
LandPaths, which will manage the
property for resource protection and
public recreation. The W. Parish
family purchased 352 acres of the
ranch and has agreed to provide trail
access across a part of their private
land. The Swindellses and the
Parishes together pledged to provide
$100,000 in seed funds for the
management and stewardship of the
preserve. Sonoma Land Trust will
continue to monitor the original
conservation easement over the
Parishes’ property as well as the new,
more restrictive easement over the
newly formed preserve.
“Once again, Sonoma Land Trust
has found an innovative way to
protect a very special and beautiful
part of Sonoma County,” said Craig
Anderson, LandPaths executive
director.
In these trying economic times,
collaborative models such as this are
just one way your land trust is
ensuring that the stunning landscapes
of Sonoma County will
continue to be protected forever.
Caption: The popular year-round waterfall.
Photo by Stephen Joseph Photography.

Bring California steelhead back to Stuart Creek
Donations urgently needed to leverage $925,000 in state funding
by Beverly Scottland
Last year, Sonoma Land Trust, in
cooperation with the Sonoma
Ecology Center, jumped on an
opportunity to acquire a 3.5-acre
parcel of land in Glen Ellen, which
has a 5.5-foot-high concrete fish
barrier that spans Stuart Creek, a key
tributary in the Sonoma Creek
watershed. This barrier prevents
steelhead from reaching some of the
highest quality upstream spawning
and rearing areas in the Sonoma
Valley and Bay Area.
To remove the barrier and restore
the creek … and bring California
steelhead back to their historic
habitat in Sonoma County … we
must raise $175,000 in donations
from individuals. With that in hand,
we are eligible for an additional
$925,000 in state and federal funds
to complete the project.
The greatest threat to the survival
of steelhead is loss and degradation
of their freshwater spawning habitats.
In California, steelhead runs
have declined by 80–90 percent in
the past 50 years and the decline is
continuing. The Center for Ecosystem
Management and Restoration
lists the removal of this barrier as a
top priority for Sonoma County and
one of the top four priorities in the
entire Bay Area. A recent UC Davis
report on The Status of Steelhead in
California provides this data:
“Over the next century, most of
the steelhead trout population will
persist only with heroic efforts to
protect streams and creeks throughout
California. It is likely the extermination
of steelhead trout from
most currently occupied watersheds
will occur over the next 25–100 years
unless large-scale actions are taken.”
Steelhead ran in abundance in
Stuart Creek decades ago — until
this concrete barrier was constructed
in the 1950s. Removing the barrier
and restoring the creek, a longtime
goal of the Sonoma Ecology Center,
will cost $1.1 million. If we can raise
$175,000 — only 16 percent of the
project cost — we will be eligible for
the remaining $925,000 in funding
from the State Coastal Conservancy
and the California Department of
Fish and Game. Each dollar donated
will be matched with $5 from funds
on hand at these two state agencies.
There are many more benefits.
Once the work of restoring the
steelhead habitat is completed, we
plan to make Stuart Creek Run into a
roadside park. Here you’ll be able to
safely pull off the road and enjoy an
oak-shaded picnic alongside a rushing
creek filled with fish.
Sonoma Land Trust is ready to act
quickly and decisively on this opportunity.
This project represents an
important aspect of Sonoma Land
Trust’s work … to restore and
improve our natural resources and to
open up land for public recreation.
Let’s bring back steelhead to the
clear and clean waters of Stuart
Creek. To donate or for more information,
contact me at (707) 526-
6930, ext. 108 or beverly@sonoma
landtrust.org.
Beverly Scottland is SLT’s development
director.
This 5-1/2-foot-high fish barrier at Stuart Creek Run prevents steelhead from reaching their necessary
spawning and rearing areas, and needs to be removed. Photo courtesy of Center for Ecosystem
Management and Restoration.
TO PROTECT THE LAND FOREVER 7

966 Sonoma Ave., Santa Rosa, CA 95404
www.SonomalandTrust.org
North Coast Forest Conservation Conference June 6–8, 2012
Healthy Forests, Healthy Communities and Healthy Economies
Welcoming two new board members
Nonprofit
u.S. Postage
PAID
Petaluma, CA
Permit No. 201
Sonoma Land Trust is proud to be convening this three-day conference
addressing local and regional forestry issues, such as forest health, forest
management, community forestry, regulatory issues, watershed restoration,
fire in the forest, climate change, and more. This conference, which will
take place at Santa Rosa Junior College’s Shone Farm in Forestville, is
suitable for land trust and agency staff, foresters, land managers, forest
and woodland landowners, and students. For more information about this
exciting opportunity, please visit www.sonomalandtrust.org.
Bill Osterland
Retired business executive, Sea Ranch resident and inveterate community
do-gooder, Bill Osterland lent Sonoma Land Trust the funding last year
to purchase Stuart Creek Run and says the words every nonprofit likes to
hear: “I enjoy raising money!” An avid hiker, Bill agreed to join the board
because, “This is a very stable organization whose purpose is to protect
land and make it accessible, and my wife and I are very interested in that.”
See you on the land, Bill!
Ken Freeman
The Sonoma Land Trust welcomes Ken Freeman, an executive with
Harbert Management Corporation in San Francisco. Also proprietor of
Freeman Vineyard & Winery in Sebastopol, Ken says about his new role
with the Land Trust: “The Sonoma Coast is a remarkable and beautiful
part of the world, and as excited as I am to be growing Pinot Noir here, I
am just as excited to be preserving the diversity of the Sonoma Coast.”
T O P R O T E C T T H E L A N D F O R E V E R