Spring is approaching and it's a great time to reflect upon the difference you are making in our community.
With your support, we are embarking on exciting work to help find ways that farmers can offset carbon that's being emitted from cars -- and we hope it will help them become profitable at the same time. You are also helping us create new habitat for birds and enhance wetlands for the benefit of people and wildlife.
I hope you feel pride in the work that we are accomplishing, because we couldn't do it without your help. Thank you.
Farming helps our community in more ways than one. While the concept of carbon farming is as old as the sun (plants use sunlight and CO2 to make roots and shoots), its practical application is receiving new interest and study.
Enhanced carbon farming on ranch land can help reduce ...
"The environment is where we all meet; where all have a mutual interest; it is the one thing all of us share." - Lady Bird Johnson
Owls facing homelessness get condos
Burrowing owls are long-legged owls with yellow eyes that live in burrows abandoned by other ground dwellers. That has become a problem as their habitat gets paved over or used for row crops, and data suggests that the population of these beautiful owls has declined significantly.
Here's one thing we did to help. When we made improvements last year to the old corral at Jepson Prairie Preserve -- one of California's premiere spring destinations -- we also set aside real estate for the owls.
Land trust staff dug four burrow complexes with multiple entrances and installed low perches in the grass to keep the owls safe from predators. "Build it and they will come," says Land Steward Ken Poerner. "We hope!"
If all goes well, we will see owls resting or nesting in their condos next winter. It's another way that agriculture and wildlife can flourish together.
Good news for all of us
Sears Point wetlands restored
Since the days of the California Gold Rush, most of the wetlands ringing the San Francisco Bay have been filled, diked, or developed. The result? We have lost critical habitat for birds, fish, and other wildlife; fisheries and clean water; and buffers from extreme coastal storms.
All wetlands around the bay are connected, and every restoration project is part of the solution. Sea levels are expected to rise two feet by 2050 (in addition to the eight-inch rise since 1900), and together with our communities ...
Do you want your mom, or a mom you know and love, to have a special day? Don't wait until Mother's Day to see why ardent fans flock to Jepson Prairie Preserve. Come explore one of California's best vernal pool ecosystems at its spring best when the fields bloom into carpets of wildflowers and rare aquatic life swim in the pools. It's fun for mom and the whole family. All ages are welcome!
Take a walk on the wild side
Hawks and eagles and kites, oh my!
Sunday, March 6
10am-Noon, $10/person + parking fee
Join raptor experts who will lead you into adventure on the hills and trails of Lynch Canyon to see birds of prey that live here year round or for the winter. On past hikes, people have seen golden and bald eagles; rough-legged, Cooper's, and ferruginous hawks; and peregrine and prairie falcons.
Kids don't want to miss this, and it's a great way to spend time outside with family and friends.
Photos (top to bottom) courtesy of Aleta George, Yumi Wilson, Tom Muehleisen, Sonoma Land Trust, Guillermo A. Duran, and Larry Broderick and Jesse House
