Managing cultural resources at Little Black Mountain

By Shanti Wright

Thanks to the extraordinary effort and dedication of Sonoma State University graduate student Leslie Smirnoff, a cultural resources inventory and management plan has been developed for the Little Black Mountain Preserve. Through Leslie’s efforts, the preserve’s prominence in prehistory has been documented so that as the Sonoma Land Trust protects the land over time for the benefit of future generations, an understanding of the recent and ancient past can be reflected upon and valued. This project has fostered a budding relationship with the Kashaya Pomo Tribe, strengthened SLT’s partnership with Sonoma State University, and transformed SLT’s approach to land stewardship at the preserve.

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.

Leslie’s thesis project was a huge undertaking involving countless field visits, two semesters of SRJC survey methods class field trips, extensive research and input from a variety of key individuals and groups. The resulting “cultural resources inventory and management plan” illuminates the historical and cultural aspects of the preserve, outlines resources present on the property, discusses potential impacts and recommends ways to best preserve the sites.

Shanti Wright is an SLT stewardship projects manager.