Volume 37, No. 3

Winter 2011 Newsletter

T O P R O T E C T T H E L A N D F O R E V E R

Sonoma County’s Cedars region is one of the few places in the world where the earth’s mantle has pushed through the surface, creating a geological wonder on par with national monuments. Photos by Scott Hess Photography.

Concealed deep within the heart of Sonoma County, out of sight and hard to find, is the Cedars — a mysterious, unearthly region largely forgotten until just a few decades ago, and still known to only a few. Even now, the Cedars, located north of Cazadero, is largely inaccessible, requir-ing seven dicey creek crossings in a high clearance vehicle. But with risk comes reward and this journey brings the sojourner to an unexpected new world — a world of deep serpentine canyons, strange mineralized forma-tions, moonscape-like terrain, and rare and unusual plants. A world where the mantle, usually miles below, has been pushed through the surface of the earth.

Conservation of the Cedars, a geologically and botanically unique ecosys-tem that is arguably the most extraordinary natural feature of our county, has been a priority for the Sonoma Land Trust for the past several years. In

The CedarsPreserving the rarest ecosystem in Sonoma Countyby Sheri Cardo

Help secure $50,000 in matching fundsDecember 31 deadline

Longtime Sonoma Land Trust donors Pete and Patty Mattson have pledged to match all year-end gifts when made by December 31, up to a total of $50,000. Their generous pledge and your gift will propel our efforts to protect forever the wild and beautiful lands of Sonoma County.

“Sonoma Land Trust helps us be part of ensuring that Sonoma County will always be the beauti-ful and special place that we love. We are confident that our gift will add important acreage to Sonoma County’s protected landscapes for future generations to enjoy.” — Pete and Patty Mattson

Please use the enclosed enve-lope or go to www.sonomaland-trust.org to make your special year-end gift. To make a stock donation, please call (707) 526-6930, ext. 108 or email beverly@sonomalandtrust.org.

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A note from the Executive Director

Preserve forever what you love about Sonoma County

While our focus in recent years has been on connecting large landscapes — on the Bay, on the Sonoma Coast and in the Mayacamas — there are treasures in small places to

include in the legacy we hope to pass on to future generations. One such place is Pitkin Marsh. One hardly notices the unplanted land to the east of Highway 116 on the way into Forestville from the south, but it is home to a rare white sedge that grows nowhere else. Another amazing place, larger in scale, is the remarkable Cedars region to the north of Cazadero, a Shangri La for botanists and geologists. Sonoma Land Trust is carrying out long-term protection strategies for both of these jewels, as described in this issue of our newsletter. Not just State Parks, but all of Sonoma County’s parks have been on our mind. Sonoma Land Trust is now the second largest landowner in the County. We hold our land for the benefit of the public — much of it is scheduled to be transferred to public agencies — and long-term stewardship is a serious concern. There is no immediate prospect for more public funding, so we will need to innovate and draw on volunteers and private resources. In the meantime, we helped initiate the Parks Alliance for Sonoma County to provide a forum for the many creative, volunteer efforts underway to keep our State Parks open. Sonoma County is a statewide leader and I’m convinced our parks will stay open. We need them to thrive. In 2012, you will be hearing more about two of our long-term efforts that have been chugging along. The multi-year environmental impact report for our thousand-acre tidal wetlands restoration at Sears Point is almost complete and we expect to begin construction of the new levies next summer; and the massive Integrated Resource Management Plan for the Jenner Headlands is out for technical review. It will guide our opening of the land to multiple public uses next year in partnership with The Wildlands Conservancy. Thank you for your continuing support of Sonoma Land Trust. Together, we can preserve forever what we all love about Sonoma County. On to 2012!

Who we areBoard of DirectorsDenny Van Ness, chair, Robert Brent, Neal Fishman, Mark Jacobsen, Kirsten Lindquist, Pete Mattson, Darren Peterie, Harry Richardson, Maggie Salenger, Allison Sanford, Wendy Smit, Margaret Spaulding, Carol Williams

Staff Ralph Benson, Executive DirectorKristine Acquino, Acquisitions Project AssociateKaren Arrington, Development ManagerSheri Cardo, Director of CommunicationsDale Carroll, Accounting AssistantAmy Chesnut, Acquisitions DirectorPaul DeMarco, Director of Finance & AdministrationKara Doolin, Stewardship Assistant Project ManagerBrook Edwards, Jenner Headlands Project Manager Wendy Eliot, Conservation DirectorGeorgiana Hale, Conservation Easement Stewardship ManagerJulie Jehly, Acquisitions Project AssistantJoseph Kinyon, GIS ManagerReta Lockert, Donor Relations DirectorSheri Lubin, Director of Public Programs & EducationJulian Meisler, Baylands Program ManagerBob Neale, Stewardship DirectorTony Nelson, Stewardship Project ManagerElizabeth Newton, Office ManagerBeverly Scottland, Development DirectorShanti Wright, Stewardship Project Manager

SLT MissionThe 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.

ContactSheri Cardo, Managing Editor Sonoma Land Trust966 Sonoma Avenue, Santa Rosa, CA 95404(707) 526-6930 Fax (707) 526-3001info@sonomalandtrust.orgwww.SonomaLandTrust.org

2 Winter 2011 • Volume 37, No. 3 Printed on recycled paper using soy-based inks.

Ralph Benson

2007, we purchased 45 acres at the gateway to the region with private funds donated by two of our mem-bers, and in 2009, we published a comprehensive conservation plan for the Cedars. Fortunately, the extraordinary 500-acre main canyon of the Cedars was purchased for conservation some years ago by renowned botanists Roger Raiche and David McCrory, who generously made the property available for scientific research. Recently, implementation of SLT’s Cedars Conservation Plan took a giant step forward. In collaboration with the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and the California Coastal Conservancy, Save the Red-woods League facilitated the transfer of the Raiche-McCrory “Main Canyon” property to the Bureau of Land Management for permanent protection. The Bureau of Land Management, which already owns an

adjacent 1,500 acres in the Cedars, will designate the property as an “Area of Critical Environmental Concern,” BLM’s highest level of protection. Currently, with funding provided by Resources Legacy Fund through its Bay Area Conservation Initiative, negotiations are underway for the purchase of a conservation easement over another 160 acres in the eco-logical transition zone surrounding the core serpentine canyons. Over the years, we hope to work with surrounding landowners to ensure the permanent protection of the entire Cedars region. While the Cedars is too fragile, remote and difficult to access to support unbridled public recreation, Sonoma Land Trust is planning to offer guided tours starting in 2012. For more information and photo-graphs of the Cedars, please visit www.sonomalandtrust.org.

Sheri Cardo is SLT’s communications director.

TO PROTECT THE LAND FOREVER 3

Roger Raiche, former co-owner of Main Canyon and passionate advocate for protecting the Cedars, was recently honored as the 2011 Cali-fornia Native Plant Society Fellow, the highest recognition awarded by CNPS.

Microbial resources in the high-alkaline waters of the Core Serpentine Zone are being studied by NASA scientists because they may mimick the beginnings of life on our planet.

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4 Winter 2011 • Volume 37, No. 3

Raptor magnet Larry Broderick identifies migrating hawks for awestruck hikers. Photo by Scott Hess Photography.

Ferruginous Hawks, like this unusual dark-morph FEHA, travel to the Jenner Headlands from the Northern Plains to spend the winter. Photo by Roger Marlowe.

A Ferruginous Hawk captured in flight by Jenner Hawk Watch photographer Zach Dautrich.

A little boy who raised chickens in his Sonoma County backyard and watched the resident hawks grab a few each year grew up with a fascina-tion for the crafty birds of prey. Now, 30 years later, he works hard at keeping these astonishing birds in his sight and holding audiences “rapt” with all he has learned about

them. The Sonoma Land Trust is lucky to have Larry Broderick as our volunteer raptor magnet and inter-pretive specialist. Larry and his team of hawk watch-ers have been stationed at the Jenner Headlands Overlook for the last two fall seasons counting raptors migrat-ing through. During the peak of the

migration, more than 90 raptors flew by per hour! No one knew for sure that the migrating birds flew right through the Headlands until SLT began its biological studies upon acquiring the 5,630-acre property in 2009 — but many people had long suspected the Headlands was a raptor thoroughfare and itched to gain access so they could document them. Larry was one of them. “Wildlife viewing and monitoring requires protected lands, so saving the Jenner Headlands was a watershed event,” says Larry. “It’s so massive that it provides homes and food for a number of species, including the birds of prey and the animals they depend on. There’s a whole wild web of life out here that is benefiting from this property being protected.” A series of fall raptor hikes for Sonoma Land Trust members and the general public awed a couple hundred happy skywatchers who can now tell a FEHA from a NOHA and an RT. (For those of you who missed

Raptors bring together hikers and hawk watchers at the Jenner Headlandsby Sheri Cardo

TO PROTECT THE LAND FOREVER 5

A Peregrine Falcon cruises through the Jenner Headlands. Photo by Roger Marlowe.

Key volunteers from this year’s Hawk Watch Team, led by Larry Broderick, included Becky Olsen, Ken Wilson, Diane Hichwa, David Barry, Zach Dautrich, Deyea Harper, Ken Magoon and Kathy Mugele. Photo by Pat Smith.

out, that’s hawk talk for Ferruginous Hawk, Northern Harrier and Red-tailed Hawk!) All humor aside, hawk watching at the Jenner Headlands is serious business. The Hawk Watch team follows the protocols established by the Golden Gate Raptor Observa-tory in the Marin Headlands. Additionally, they’re planning year-round studies of the resident RTs and over-wintering FEHAs. The latter is particularly significant because Ferruginous Hawks travel to

this area from the Northern Plains states where they are impacted by natural resource extraction. Data from the Jenner Headlands over time may show just how much this species of special concern is being affected. Speaking personally, now that I’ve spent a few afternoons at the Head-lands and can identify a few birds, I want to learn more! If you do, too, Larry recommends the following books: Raptors of Western North America: The Wheeler Guides by Brian K. Wheeler, A Photographic

Guide to North American Raptors by Brian K. Wheeler and William S. Clark, Hawks From Every Angle: How to Identify Raptors in Flight by Jerry Liguori and Hawks in Flight by Clay Sutton, Peter Dunne and David Sibley. The holidays are coming — you might want to ask for a pair of really good binoculars!

Sheri Cardo is SLT’s communications director.

Fall 2011 migration—final tally

Turkey Vulture 954Osprey 4White Kite 70Northern Harrier 210Sharp-shinned Hawk 84Cooper’s Hawk 91Red-shouldered Hawk 17Broad-winged Hawk 1Red-tailed Hawk 934Ferruginous Hawk 73Golden Eagle 3American Kestrel 194Merlin 14Peregrine Falcon 13Prairie Falcon 2

6 Winter 2011 • Volume 37, No. 3

In CelebrationFrom May 1, 2011 through November 15, 2011, Land Trust friends made gifts in honor of these exceptional friends and events.

In MemoryThe singer lasts a season long while the song remains forever.

In memory of Cornelia Adams: Chambers D. AdamsIn memory of Robert C. Anderson: Elaine Anderson In memory of Dale Missimer: AnonymousIn memory of Les and Audrey Ayers: Lauren AyersIn memory of Sam Ridall: Gordon and Tamara BoultbeeIn memory of E. Rae Hudspeth: Dianne Brinson In memory of Grandma Emma Cerniglia: Robert CernigliaIn memory of Dr. Rae Hudspeth: Roberta CronquistIn memory of Ruth Camilli: Charles and Jana DenegriIn memory of Pierre Joske: Ted and Pat EliotIn memory of Elinor Howenstine: Donald Frediani and Renata GasperiIn memory of Don Nolan: Robert J. HenryIn memory of Joan Cochran: Marilyn LononIn memory of Margery Foote Meyer: L. Bruce Meyer

In memory of Ed Miranda: Kathleen MugeleIn memory of Sam, The Best Dog Ever: Kathleen MugeleIn memory of Yo-Yo: Kathleen MugeleIn memory of Sam Lee: Charles MurrayIn memory of Joyce Liva: Greg and Gail RalstonIn memory of Nancy Heyneman Friedlander: Dick Reinhardt In memory of William Geary: Harry and Dee RichardsonIn memory of Boz Wiliams: Beth RobinsonIn memory of Matthew Guerrieri: Martha and James SanfordIn memory of Betty Brown: Hans and Gay SternIn memory of Howard O’Brien: Madelaine E. StiverIn memory of Kenneth M. Stocking: Stephen and Linda StockingIn memory of Ralph Benson, Sr., Chief of the Fire: John P. StrebelIn memory of Mickey Boyden: Peter Wiggin

In memory of Kay Wheeler: Shana Woodfield

In HonorIn honor of Carol Vellutini: Janet BosshardIn honor of Will Bucklin’s birthday: Rebecca ButlerIn honor of Tom and Cora Wright: Sandra CurtisIn honor of Anne Teller’s birthday: Mary and Dick Hafner

In honor of Cathie and Pitch Johnson: Henry and Emily EversIn honor of Mr. and Mrs. William Drapers III: Henry and Emily EversIn honor of Mary Hafner: Parke and Sarah HafnerIn honor of Meg Beeler: Carole HarbardIn honor of Richard W. Woodman: Mia JamesIn honor of Kit Williams and Eric Flanagan: John LeahyIn honor of Lucy Kortum: Peter and Olivia LevequeIn honor of Dr. Bethann Palermo: Kathleen MugeleIn honor of Dale Carroll: Corinne NeumanIn honor of Maurine Olson on her special day In honor of Ted Ponseti: Harry and Dee RichardsonIn honor of Laura Bofferding: Wayne and Sue RutherfordIn honor of Bert Drews: Don SeaverIn honor of Krista Rogerson and Bryan Almquist: Renee SharpIn honor of Pat and Ted Eliot’s 60th wedding anniversary: Judith and

Philip TemkoIn honor of Eda Conner: Debra R. VerdiIn honor of Dee and Verlin Yamamoto: Keith and Kathleen Yamamoto

What do you give friends, co-work-ers and family members if you want to make a lasting impression? How about an annual member-ship to the Sonoma Land Trust? Simply use the enclosed enve-lope to notify us of the people you wish to honor with a gift member-ship. Once received, we will send a

note to let your special person know about your thoughtful gift and let them know some of what they can look forward to as a member, such as:• Advance notice for hikes on spectacular properties not usually open to the public. • Invitations to special events,

including our annual holiday open house.• Newsletters that will keep them informed. Remember, you can also donate in honor or memory of a special person, or even a beloved pet, while supporting the Sonoma Land Trust. Let us know whether the gift is a memorial or an honorarium and, as always, please let us know where to send the acknowledgement. What better way to celebrate the holidays!

Holiday gifts that make a difference

TO PROTECT THE LAND FOREVER 7

The Sonoma Land Trust is a non-profit, non-governmental organization that relies primarily on donations to fuel its work. We are sometimes confused with our friends at the Open Space District. We coordinate very closely with the District and leverage their tax-generated funds, but the District operates on sales tax revenues and we operate on dona-tions. Our effectiveness depends on the continued support of our donors. Virtually everywhere you go in Sonoma County, you look out on scenic and habitat-rich land protect-ed forever by the Sonoma Land Trust. More than 34,000 acres along the southern end of the county will remain in open space forever. Thou-sands of acres on the Sonoma Coast strung like jewels from Bodega to Gualala are protected and will be open to the public. And this year, in response to the threatened closure of

State Parks, we took the lead by initiating the Parks Alliance for Sonoma County to keep parks open. We are protecting land on a scale greater than ever, amidst threats greater than ever. Climate change, pressure to develop rural landscapes and California’s fiscal catastrophe — leading to threatened park closures — are just some of the challenges we face. We are here so that all of us today and for generations to come can experience nature close to home along with the beauty we now enjoy. Please consider making a generous year-end gift to ensure that we can add additional acreage to Sonoma County’s protected landscapes. There is so much more to do.

Beverly Scottland is SLT’s development director.

Protecting land on a scale greater than everby Beverly Scottland

Good news! Congress extended the IRA charitable rollover legislation through 2011. This means that a person who is 70-1/2 or older may donate any amount up to $100,000 from an IRA to qualified charities, such as the Sonoma Land Trust.

• This amount will count toward the required minimum distribu-tion for the year and it will not be treated as taxable income.

• The donation must come directly from an IRA or a Roth IRA and be completed by December 31, 2011. Checks should be made payable to the Sonoma Land Trust.

• Please pass this information on to a friend or family member who may be interested in this opportu-nity.

We are always happy to answer any questions you have regarding your philanthropic options. For more information, please contact Beverly Scottland at (707) 526-6930, ext. 108 or beverly@sonoma-landtrust.org.

Put your IRA to work saving land in Sonoma County

Charitable IRA rollover: deadline is December 31

Nonprofitu.S. Postage

PAIDPetaluma, CA

Permit No. 201966 Sonoma Ave., Santa Rosa, CA 95404www.SonomalandTrust.org

T O P R O T E C T T H E L A N D F O R E V E R

Rare white sedge population expands at Pitkin Marshby Kara Doolin

This year, the number of flowering stalks of white sedge at the Pitkin Marsh Preserve rose by more than 300 percent over the amount found in 2010! Other factors play a role in flower production, but we believe our management activities at the preserve are helping this endangered plant thrive. The Sonoma Land Trust purchased the Pitkin Marsh Preserve near Forestville in 2007. There, a complex interaction of soil structure and chemistry, surface water, ground water, and scattered seeps and springs creates unusual conditions that support the only known popula-tion of white sedge (Carex albida) in

the world. Unfortunately, land uses within the watershed have degraded the marsh’s habitat over the years, so SLT has been working to improve site conditions. Recently, staff and several knowl-edgeable volunteers completed the third year of white sedge monitoring, which consists of systematic habitat-wide searches for the species and then counting the number of flower-ing stalks. Along with the 300 percent increase in the size of the white sedge population preserve-wide, we were intrigued to find that at one particular wetland where crews had removed aggressive non-native competitors by hand, the white

sedge counts increased by 2,240 percent. In adjacent untreated areas, the increase was only 690 percent. With such seemingly positive results, we will continue to pursue the strategies outlined in our Lower Pitkin Marsh Management and Restoration Plan, which means that, next year, we will begin grazing with sheep in select locations to reduce invasive plants, encourage native plant growth and promote condi-tions that favor the rare plant. We’ll need a few more monitoring years before we can conclude that there is a positive interaction between our management activities and white sedge, but this response encourages us to continue with what we believe to be beneficial strategies.

Kara Doolin is a stewardship assistant project manager.

Season’s Greetings!

SLT’s Tony Nelson (left) and Bob Neale search for the elusive white sedge. Photo by Kara Doolin.

White sedge.