We did it! $2M raised to Get to 71!

Supporters of the Conservancy and the San Dieguito River Park JPA have done it again! 

With your support, we are closer than ever to Getting to 71 uninterrupted miles on the Coast to Crest Trail. Together, we have reached our $2 million goal to help close 13 miles of trail gaps from east San Pasqual Valley to Boden Canyon and from Lake Sutherland to Santa Ysabel West Preserve. Our members and supporters are amazing! We thank everyone who has joined in to raise more than $2 million to allow for the planning, design and environmental clearances to fill these trail gaps.

Learn more on the Get to 71 webpage and watch the video of Conservancy Executive Director Cheryl Goddard and River Park JPA Executive Director Shawna Anderson thanking donors.

Tip-top help from Troop 651

Let's hear it for the hardworking Boy Scouts from Troop 651 of San Marcos.

The boys were a big help March 18 planting native plants at San Dieguito Lagoon.

In addition to breaking a sweat, the scouts learned about the role native plants play in supporting the surrounding ecosystem.

ESP at Piedras Pintadas

Piedras Pintadas was the latest destination for Exploring our Sense of Place. 

ESP participants experience the San Dieguito River during all seasons and follow its course from mountain to sea.

March Walk-N-Talk: Lake Hodges

We walked and talked and spotted all kind of birds. Our hearty hikers hefted binoculars and cameras to capture the crisp vistas.

Walk-N-Talk hikes are scheduled for the first Tuesday of every month and are a great way to meet members of the Conservancy's board and staff.

A very rainy winter is presenting challenges for the 2022-23 Coast to Crest Trail Challenge.

After record-high participation last year, hikers this year have had a hard time finding five days of decent hiking weather. That's bound to change, though, and as the skies clear and waterlogged trails reopen, we encourage you to lace up those boots.

This month we received selfies from repeat challengers Anne Artz and Roger Riedlbauer. Joining Anne on one of the hikes was her daughter, Aubrey, and her pup, Emma. On one of his hikes, Roger found Volcan Mountain shrouded in snow.

Get details online for the five-hike challenge. We'll see you on the trail!

Water quality testing at San Dieguito Lagoon

San Diego State University students from a graduate-level class taught by Dr. Paula Granados visited San Dieguito Lagoon in March to test samples from a treatment pond that collects runoff from Interstate 5.

After running the samples through a battery of tests, the students analyze their data to determine the efficacy of treatment ponds in improving water quality before runoff enters the lagoon.

Boy Scouts earn merit badge at Sikes

Members of a local Boy Scouts troop on March 12 completed the requirements to earn their Environmental Science merit badges, which are required to become an Eagle Scout. 

At the Sikes Adobe Historic Farmstead, Ranger Jess led a three-part environmental science project that focused on invasive species.

Sharing Sikes history

Anita Hissem shares a genealogy and history compilation of the Zenas and Eliza Sikes family written by Ron Hall. Shown here (from left) are Steve Hissem (Sikes docent); Anita (Sikes docent and distant cousin of donors); Jeff Cravath Goshorn (great grandson of Kate and Augustus Cravath) and his wife, Cathy.