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Trekking from Tolay Lake to
Learn more about Regional Parks Celebration Lend a hand and get out on the land!
Making room for rare plants to grow
Managing cultural resources at Little
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April 2010 Wildflowers are us This past weekend kicked off our annual wildflower hikes at the Sonoma Baylands where the abundance of different flowers was truly awe-inspiring. If you missed those, space is still available in the upcoming serpentine wildflower hikes on the Jenner Headlands, and the flower and grassland hikes at the Estero Americano. These are once-a-year opportunities! Jean Schulz extends matching gift deadline to May 31 Jean Schulz has extended the deadline to meet her $2 million challenge. We must raise the remaining $500,000 by May 31 to secure her gift. Help your land trust protect more land and add to the 25,000 acres already protected throughout Sonoma County. Please donate now. Thank you.
New map shows SLT’s protected lands
Our spring newsletter has arrived!
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| Questions or comments? Email Sheri Cardo, managing editor. Copyright 2010 Sonoma Land Trust. All Rights Reserved. Newsletter produced by Athena Design Group. |
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Enjoy a breathtaking 9-mile hike from Tolay Lake Regional Park through the Land Trust’s Tolay Creek Ranch, led by the Sierra Club’s Bill Arenander and SLT’s Bob Neale. Hikers will walk across the west ridge for stunning views of the Petaluma River and Valley, and the North Bay and Napa/Sonoma marsh complex. The serpentine wildflowers should be out and, if you are lucky, the resident golden eagle will come out to visit — along with maybe a coyote or two. This hike is part of Sonoma County’s Regional Parks Celebration and there is no need to register in advance. This is a rigorous hike, however, so please prepare accordingly. For more info, call (707) 789-9644.
Join our stewardship workday series out on SLT’s protected lands this spring! Come lend a hand, learn about SLT’s land stewardship program, and explore the hidden jewels of Sonoma County. Workday projects vary from trail clearing, invasive plant removal, seedling monitoring and care, and more. For more information or to sign up, please contact: 
Sonoma Land Trust’s lower Pitkin Marsh preserve harbors rare assemblages of plant species, including the endangered white sedge, which is currently known to exist only on this 27-acre property. For the second year since acquiring the prop erty, nine skilled volunteers and botanists recently joined our Pitkin Marsh project manager in carefully and methodically removing non-native plants that have been invading isolated wetlands and threatening to displace the white sedge and other rare plants. Now, with abundant light and moisture for the growing season, we hope to see an increase in the rare plants when we monitor the populations later this summer. We’ll let you know!
Little Black Mountain (LBM) Preserve boasts a wide array of natural resources — ranging elevations and panoramic views, springs and perennial water, complex geology, rare plants and numerous habitat types. Though it was known that the property contained areas of archeological significance, the research team was astonished to discover overwhelming evidence of Native American habitation and use over millennia. Due to the combination of exceptional natural and cultural resources and evidence of dynamic uses over time, the LBM Preserve can be considered a “cultural landscape.” Within the conceptual framework of the “landscape as storyteller,” this preserve comes alive with even more significance and meaning.
