This morning before the sun was up I wandered down to the river with my dog Jumanji.

Plunging my hands into the frigid water, I imagined the remainder of its course down the south fork of the Kaweah River to join with the other waters behind Terminus Dam. So much depends upon those waters, fed by the Sierra snowpack, just as so much depends upon the deep underground water that we draw upon when the aboveground flow does not meet the demand. There, flowing through my fingers as Jumanji patiently waited to continue our walk, was everything upon which our lives and the economic viability of our region depends.

As we move into the holiday season and continue to watch the forecast in hope of precipitation, I want to say thank you for your ongoing support for strengthening California's heartland and the natural and agricultural legacy of the southern Sierra Nevada and San Joaquin Valley. The wealth, productivity and beauty of this land inspire our work to conserve it for future generations. SRT does this through our public access preserves, easements, mitigation projects, our native plant nursery, through our community and youth education programs, and our planning and policy efforts.

We extend our gratitude to the many people whose lives and work have come before our own: the native people within whose traditional homelands we work, and who continue to live on and share these lands; the adventurers and dreamers, farmers and ranchers, conservationists and naturalists; and the staff, Board members, and volunteers who have helped SRT become the robust accredited land trust that it is today.

As I have settled into the Executive Director role over the past two months, I have engaged in deep conversations with stakeholders, including landowners, program participants, elected officials, partner organizations, staff, and volunteers. I have grounded myself in developing a solid understanding of how far SRT has come since its inception, the important role it has played and will continue to play in this region. As an organization, we stand on solid ground as we prepare to meet the challenges of reaching sustainable groundwater use in an increasingly changeable climate.

With a spirit of creativity and collaboration, we embrace the coming year and look forward to partnering with you to meet the needs of this special place we call home, this place that connects us.

Wishing you all the best this holiday season,