spring 2007 horizons, muir heritage land trust newsletter

8/3/2019 Spring 2007 Horizons, Muir Heritage Land Trust Newsletter

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S P R I N G 2 0 0 7

Inside2007 event schedule

Annual volunteer awards

New partnership with the

California Rescue DogAssociation (carda)

Feature creature:The coast range newt

We say farewell toMary Alice Stadum

LTA census report findings

Environmental education

update

Annual meeting notes

... and more

M u I R He R I t a G e La N d t R u S t

Mark your calndars and digout your glovs! MHLT hasformd an xciting artnrshi

with Voluntrs for Outdoor California(VOCal) to build th Tina Batt Trail Jun2-3. Undr VOCals xrt guidanc, 250

voluntrs will carv this two-mil lootrail from start to finish.

Voluntrs for Outdoor Californialans and organizs larg-scal voluntrrojcts on ublic lands, taking 100-500voluntrs at a tim into bautiful lacsthroughout Northrn California forwknd-long rojcts to do trailconstruction, habitat rstoration and othrnvironmntal stwardshi. MHLT flsthat our artnrshi with VOCal is atrmndous oortunity to ngag

th community in th cration of thissignatur trail sgmnt which will bcoma sur of th Bay Ara Ridg Trail.

VOCal will crat a uniqu xri-nc for our voluntrs and artnrs.Thy rovid rojct lanning andsuort, train th voluntr crw ladrs,suly th tools, and fd vryonboth days.

W will st u cam at th trail hadFriday night, and th rojct officially startswith a continntal brakfast on Saturday,

Jun 2. Carrying a sack lunch (ackdduring brakfast), w will work until4:00m and had back to cam for

atizrs, cold br, win and soft drinks.Aftr a hot mal, rlax and njoy th livntrtainmnt Saturday night. Sunday startswith a hot brakfast, and w will workuntil th rojct is comlt, stimatd tob noon-1:00m.

If caming is not your styl and thhot showr at hom is just too rsuasiv,

you ar wlcom to join us just for thwork day, mals and ntrtainmnt. W gtoff to an arly start, though, on both days!

Our focus for this rojct is to mak

sur that our voluntrs hav fun, and abig art of a fun voluntr xrinc isth sns of accomlishmnt in a job wlldon. With a carfully dsignd work lan,voluntrs work in grous of 6-10 oland ach grou has its own crw ladr.

Th trail will wind along th to ofth grassy slos, diing into mild swalsand rising to stunning vistas along th

Building the Tina Batt Trail

National Trails Day Project to Honor MHLTs Founding E.D.

By Cathy Moyer

Continued on Page 3

Trail work (above)View of Sky Ranch (left)

STepHeNJ

OSepH


2/8

2 M uir He r i tage L and Tru st Horizons

We Welcome Linus Eukel As Our New Executive Director

As a frind and suortr of th Muir Hritag Land Trust, I want to shar th good nwswith you, that Linus eukl has bn namd th Muir Hritag Land Trusts nw excutivDirctor. I hav bn givn th honor to srv th organization as Board Chair for th last two

yars and couldnt b hair with th dcision to bring Linus into th Muir Hritag Land Trustas th nw excutiv Dirctor to lad us into th nxt chatr of our organizational growth.

As you may know, Founding excutiv Dirctor Tina Batt formally std down this Januaryin ordr to ursu numrous oortunitis availabl to hr uon graduation from HarvardUnivrsitys Knndy School of Govrnmnt in th sring. Mr. eukl bcam familiar with thwork of land trusts undr th guidanc of Tina who strongly ndorss him as hr succssor.

Linus, who bgins his nw osition in March, coms to us

with significant xrinc in th ublic and nonrofit sctors,including with th Muir Hritag Land Trust whr h hasrviously srvd as Dirctor of Dvlomnt andCommunications from 2004-2006 and as Acting excutivDirctor from 2006 to th rsnt. Uon bing nominatd,Mr. eukl said h ralizs th imortanc of this osition andconsidrs it a rivilg to b abl to srv th organizationand local community.

As th nw excutiv Dirctor, Mr. eukl will continuto work closly with th Muir Hritag Land Trust Board ofDirctors and staff with rsct to managing chang andgrowth, stratgic lanning, individual contributd incom

dvlomnt, board and donor cultivation, land acquisition,land us lanning, stwardshi, and ublic ducation activitis.His osition ovrss assts of $7 million, and rovids visionand ladrshi to nsur that th Muir Hritag Land Trustachivs its ongoing mission, imlmnts balancd annualorating budgts, and mts its goals for fundraising, financialstability, ublic visibility and long-rang lanning.

Mr. eukl is a nativ of Walnut Crk, whr h currntly rsids with his wif Sthaniand thir daughtr Olivia. H was ducatd in th Walnut Crk ublic school systm, is agraduat of U.C. Brkly with an A.B. in music, and holds a Mastr of Music dgr from thUnivrsity of Nw York.

With a rovn background in ladrshi and a strong commitmnt to Contra Costas

natural rsourcs, Linus is sur to rovid invaluabl vision for th futur of consrvation in ourcommunity. Th board and staff of th Muir Hritag Land Trust ho you will join us inoffring Linus a warm wlcom as th nw excutiv Dirctor of our organization.

Sincrly,

Mark WilsonBoard Chair

Lttr From th Board Chair

Linus Eukel with wife Stephanie and

daughter Olivia.


3/8

Mu I R HeRI taGe

La N d tR u S t

p.O. Box 2452

Martinz, CA 94553

925-228-5460 925-372-5460fax

[email protected]

www.muirhritaglandtrust.org

Staff

Tina BattFoundingExecutive Director

Linus eukl

Executive Director

Suzann Jons

Land Program Manager

Bth pardick

Stewardship Manager

Mary Alic Stadum

Administrative Manager

Board

of Directors

Mark Wilson

Chair

Kn Fischr

Vice Chair

Shila Grilli

Secretary

Louis e. Stoddard

Treasurer

Bob Aston

ptr Colby

Ann Cormack

Stv pardick

Jun Rogrs

elln Vissr

Donn Walklt

Emeritus

Board Member s

Mary Ann Gab

Hult Hornbck

Hal Olson

Nancy Schafr

Jack Tlfr

evrtt Turnr

Honorary

Board Membe r

Jim Cutlr

Editor

Linus eukl

Newsletter

Contributors

Linus eukl

Suzann Jons

Cathy Moyr

Bth pardick

Mary Alic Stadum

Mark Wilson

M uir He r i tage L and Tru st Horizons 3

Building th Tina Batt Trail continued from page 1

Tina Batt TrailSky Ranch

ridglin. Much of th trail constructionwill tak lac on gntl sidslos andshould b rlativly siml, making throjct aroriat for voluntrs whohav nvr hld build a trail bfor.Th ground is mostly fr of rock and

should b asy to dig and scult to cratth trail trad.

What you can do to help

1) Rcruit othr voluntrs.2) Join th rojct lanning tam.

This rojct has its own lanning tam,mostly mad u of voluntrs, but with alot of staff suort and guidanc. Chckout th lanning tam rols on thVOCal wbsit:www.v-o-cal.org/roj/tam_j.html

3) Bcom a crw ladr. W willhav aroximatly 25 crws of voluntrsworking on th trail, and that mans wnd 25 crw ladrs. VOCal rovids allth ncssary training, with a strong focuson th ladrshi of small grous ofvoluntrs in addition to th scific trailconstruction skills ndd. Training for thcrw ladrs will tak lac in advancof th rojct, and will includ bothclassroom and ractical hands-ontraining. If you ar intrstd in bing

ithr a voluntr workr or a crw ladr,las contact VOCal.4) Bcom a rojct or community

sonsor for th rojct. To larn mor

about how you can mak an in-kindor cash contribution, las contact thMuir Hritag Land Trust.

The Muir Heritage Land Trust depends on

many volunteers to help us achieve our mission.

This year the Land Trust selected three out-

standing candidates to receive Muir Heritage

Land Trust Volunteer of the Year awards.

These award winners exemplify the spirit of

community service and demonstrate how people

can work together to protect the places that

make Contra Costa a great place to live.

Annual Volunteer AwardsWinners exemplify community service

Heath BartoshHath Bartosh has

srvd on th Land

Trust StwardshiCommitt for svralyars. H is a skilldbotanist and artnrwith Nomad ecologicalConsulting in Martinz. Hath hasrovidd imortant assistanc withnumrous Land Trust rojcts and isrsistntly willing to lnd his xrtis.Using his rofssional knowldg andmaing skills, Hath has undrtakn and

Continued on page 4

Map courtesy ofNomad Ecological Consulting


4/8


Fatur Cratur:

Meet the Coast Range Newt!By Suzanne Jones

MHLTs rotctd on sacs ar hom to lots of wondrfulanimals. On of our most ndaring and fascinating rsidnts is thcoast rang nwt (Taricha torosa torosa). This larg salamandr grows

to 6 from had to tail, is all brown on th back, and sorts a brightyllow-orang undrsid.

Coast rang nwts snd Californias dry months, roughly Mayto Octobr, rsting in cool, moist rtrats such as undrgroundanimal burrows or d woodland laf littr. Thr thy rmain untilth wintr rains signal th bginning of thir activ riod fromNovmbr to Aril. During this tim, adults migrat to onds andstrams whr thy congrgat to brd and lay ggs. Individual coastrang nwts rturn to th sam brding sit yar aftr yar, and maywalk as far as 2 mils to rach it!

In lacs whr nwts continu to thriv, such as MHLTsFrnandz Ranch, thy can b radily sn roaming about during or

just aftr havy rain. Thir dit includs arthworms, small snails andslugs, sow bugs, and othr inscts.

Th adult coast rang nwt has an ffctiv dfns systm.Bright colors ar a sign of toxicity in many amhibians, and thisnwts yllow-orang undrblly is no xction. Its skin roducsa vry otnt nurotoxin, fatal to most would-b rdators. Whnthratnd, th nwt flattns itslf lik a ribbon, throws its had back,and shows off its orang blly to say: S that? Im oisonous! Dontat m! This dfns srvs it wll, and xrts bliv that coastrang nwts can liv to b 20-40 yars old! Gntic data suggstthat th scis has xistd for 7-13 million yars.

As you might guss, howvr, its dfnss

ar no match for modrn-day humans, andnwts nd our hl. Th coast rang nwtwas onc th most abundant amhibianthroughout its rang which includdnarly all of th Bay Ara. Habitatdstruction by dvlomnt,dgradation of riarian aras, andrmoval from th wild as tshav all causd th coastrang nwt to disaarfrom much of its formrrang. Nwts ar hllss

against cars, and crationof a road across a migratoryrout can sll th ndof a local oulation, vn if th brding habitat and ulandhabitat ar rsrvd.

prmannt rotction of larg contiguous on sac corridors,such as thos MHLT is working to sav, is ssntial for thcontinud xistnc of nwts as wll as many othr wildlifscis. By suorting MHLT, you ar dirctly hling consrvths animals. During your nxt wintr or sring visit to on ofMHLTs rortis k your ys ld for this diminutiv andcharming cratur crossing your ath!

comltd svral botanical survys onLand Trust rortis including SkyRanch and th Hrculs Contra Costagoldfilds rsrv. H has assistd withrstoration and trail rojcts, trail systmmaing and with th mrging crationof a nw trails brochur. Hath is a grat

asst to th Muir Hritag Land Trust andw vry much arciat his ongoingsuort. Thank you.

Joe StadumJo Stadums

voluntr fforts onSky Ranch havrovidd criticalladrshi andxrtis towardbuilding th Tina Batt

Trail. His carful lanning and rsarchstablishd th trails alignmnt andst th stag for sring constructionby 250 voluntrs. Jo has alwaysnthusiastically takn on Land Trustrojcts ranging from Frnandz Ranchrstoration lanning and crk monitoring,to assisting with coordination and outrachat imortant Land Trust vnts. Whthrhling out as an offic voluntr, oras a ky articiant on th StwardshiCommitt, Jo Stadum is always availabl

to lnd a hling hand. Thank you.

Brett StevensonBrtt Stvnson

startd as an intrnwith th MuirHritag Land Trustas h was finishing hisConsrvation andRsourc Studis dgrwith an mhasis in plant ecology atUC Brkly. Sinc thn h has

contributd gnrous amounts of timand nrgy to rstoration work on SkyRanch and various environmntal StudisAcadmy rojcts. Brtt dvlod amonitoring lan, lsson lans, watrdlants all summr and wadd throughth mud all wintr to hl mak thrstoration rojct a succss. H isnthusiastic, committd and has had aositiv imact on all th studnts and staffwhov had th lasur of working withhim. Thank you.

Voluntrs continued from page 3

West Coast newts grow tobe six inches, head to tail


5/8


th ara. Othr tys of sarchs includcadavr sarchs and disastr sarchs.

CARDA also works locally witheast Bay Rgional park District andUC Brkly to train on thir lands. Thavailability of Frnandz Ranch as a morrmot training location with fw olon sit has comlmntd thir rigoroustraining schdul nicly.Th Muir Hritag LandTrust is lasd to bhling ths committdvoluntrs gt thir workdon whil roviding aninvaluabl ublic bnfit.

MHLT Board & staffat this years

Strategic Planning Retreat

Muir HeritageLand Trust FormsNew Partnershipwith CARDABy Beth Pardieck

In May of last yar, th Muir HritagLand Trust formd a nw artnrshi withth California Rscu Dog Association,CARDA, an all voluntr organiza-tion whos uros is to rovid sarchdog tams for sarch and rscu situa-tions throughout th stat of California.CARDA aroachd th Muir HritagLand Trust looking for nw land to trainand tst working dogs for sarch missions

to find missing ol. Frnandz Ranchhas rovn to b th rfct location.

CARDA voluntrs rovid sarchdog tams to local, stat and fdral lawnforcmnt agncis for any mrgncysituation in th stat. Thy must train andtst thir dogs in a varity of landscasand sasons, in both rmot and ubliclocations, so th dogs ar rard for anysarch and rscu situation that thy arcalld to work on. Voluntrs must snd50-100 hours monthly training thir dogs

for sarchs so that thy ar missionrady for anything from disastr rlif tolocating missing hikrs in th wildrnss.Ddicatd CARDA voluntrs ar on call365 days r yar and hav assistd withovr 2000 sarchs to dat.

Dogs must train wkly for svralyars bfor thy can ass tsts to b radyfor actual sarchs, and CARDA visitsFrnandz Ranch monthly to ku thir skills. Anyon joining thsvoluntrs on a cold and rainy wintrvning to obsrv a night training wouldb immdiatly imrssd with thirrofssionalism and dvotion to th caus.each trainr has an xtrmly clos bondwith thir dog, and thy must trust achothr to mak th hard work ffctiv inth fild. On Frnandz, voluntrs havrformd trailing tsts, whr th dogsmust find, track and trail th scnt of ascific missing rson, and ara sarchswhr th dogs covr larg aras look-ing for any vidnc of human scnt in

MHLT Plansfor the Future

Were proud to sharenews of a recent strategicplanning session with ourfriends and supporters.After several months ofpreparation and informa-tional interviews the MuirHeritage Land Trust Boardof Directors and staffgathered on February 3 toparticipate in a day-longstrategic planning sessionfacilitated by Ed ClaassenPrincipal Consultant forThe Grove ConsultantsInternational and BoardPresident of the Save the

Redwoods League.The plan, which will

guide our activities overthe next three years, buildon MHLTs strengths andwill help us better meetthe challenges andopportunities facingContra Costa County andits surrounding region.

CARDA team at Fernandez Ranch (top)Bishop - Mission Ready (above)


6/8


environmntal Studis Update

excrt from Experiential Education at Sky Ranchby Josh Sthnson

If I had on day that rrsntd my rogrs-sion during th yar, I would dfinitly choos thday I ld a grou of slct fifth gradrs from JohnSwtt elmntary on a hik through our Sky RanchRstoration projct Th singl bst oortunityI grasd was th chanc to tak th childrn off ofthir facility and lt thm smll, tast, and har th

wondrs of wild natur.It was grat to tach with exrintial education.

It is grat to larn through xrinc, bcausxrinc is th urst mdium of knowldg.Bing an environmntal Studis Acadmy studntcauss m to gain arciation for th momnt, andI am nothing short of lasd If I could givvryon or anyon th oortunity to artak insuch a wondrful xrinc, I would do so withoutth slightst hsitation.

excrt from My Highlight of the Year

by Alaina JulianFor som of us, it was a nw xrincworking with kids of a youngr ag grou. W gotto tach thm som of th tchniqus wv larndin ordr to giv th lants a strong halthy lif. Thyalso larnd about lant idntification from hling

us mak cards for th nw lants. Th gratstart of having th John Swtt studnts wasth fling of giving somthing whn onof th kids asks you a qustion and youknow you can answr it and that thy arlarning from you. Whn th day is ovr

and th kids you mntord giv youth biggst hug goodby, thatis whn you ralizwhat th daywas all about;th futur.

excrt bySthani Harvin

Gtting along withyour classmats can bvry hard if you havnot takn th timto gt to know thm.Bing in class fourdays a wk, fiv hours

a day can b difficultif you hav alrady

judgd thm Iwas abl to sit downand larn what othrol arciat aboutm. What thy likm for rally raisdmy sirits I knowthat I did th sam forothrs, and mad thm fl bttr about thmslvs larning how to trust somon is an imortant

art of bing thir frind.

excrt fromAdopt a Watershedby Nick Brittain

Th environmntal Studis Acadmy is a classthat I will rmmbr for th rst of my lif. Thrwr many instancs last yar that will stand outfrom thm all Th fllowshi with ths olnot only broadnd my mind and gav m a nwoutlook on lif, but it was a grat xrincbcoming frinds with thm. I njoyd som of

th dst convrsations that Iv

vr had. Gtting in touch withnatur and obtaining a snsof arciation to what wcommit ourslvs vryday is agrat asct of environmntaleducation. In othr words,loving what you ar hlingmaks hling it a lot asir.

This fall smstr th environmntal Studis Acadmy undrtook anumbr of imortant rojcts in artnrshi with th Muir HritagLand Trust and John Swtt elmntary School. Som of thir activi-

tis includd Sky Ranch rstoration work and a community lanting day on

Alhambra Crk. Th following ar xcrts from rsonal ssays by eSAstudnts that dscrib imortant highlights of thir ducational xrinc.

Students created informationaldisplays (top) and taughthorticulture basics (bottom) onCommunity Planting Day.

Students from John SwettElementary School enjoy aday at Sky Ranch with theirmentors from ESA.


7/8


The Muir Heritage Land Trust wouldlik to thank a rtiring staff mmbr MaryAlic Stadum, for hr outstanding srvicto our organization. Mary Alic has bnactivly involvd with MHLT sinc 1998as a voluntr both in th offic and atscial vnts. Sh was hird as a rma-nnt mloy in August of 2003 and, asour Administrativ Managr, soon camto ovrs a broad rang of imortantrsonsibilitis. Hr invaluabl contri-butions to th Land Trust cam duringa riod of significant organizationalgrowth and w sincrly arciat all hrhard work.

W ar fortunat to hav had hr sr-vic and frindshi for so long. Knownfor hr humor and kindnss, Mary Alicwas oftn th first rson to sak withthos who rach out to th Land Trust.Hr intractions with our mmbrshihold a lot of fond mmoris for MaryAlic, and through hr contact with thcommunity sh has dvlod manyfrindshis that will last a liftim.

Although th Muir Hritag LandTrust will b saying goodby to Mary

Alic in Aril, this will not b th last ws of hr. Sh and hr husband Johav romisd to continu as Land Trustvoluntrs. W look forward to th

lasur of sharing storis about far awaylands and ol as thy travl from thirhom in Walnut Crk to dstinationsthroughout th world.

W will truly miss Mary Alic andwish sh and Jo a warm farwll and

hay rtirmnt. Thanks again!p.S. You can snd your farwll

mssags to:[email protected], orby rgular mail to th Land Trust officaddrss.

National LandTrust Alliance 2005Census Report

Th National Land Trust cnsus is thnations only tabulation of land rsrvdthrough rivat, voluntary land consrva-tion in th Unitd Stats.

Purpose of the Five-Year CensusTh National Land Trust Cnsus

documnts th ac, volum and ty ofrivat land consrvation occurring inth Unitd Stats, along with masurs oforganizational dvlomnt. Th cnsus isintndd to hl land trust rofssionalsand olicymakrs assss th ffctivnss ofrivat, voluntary mans of consrvation.

Key Findings Total acrs consrvd by local, stat and

national land trusts incrasd 54% to37 million acrs in th ast fiv yars.This is an ara 16 tims th siz of

Yllowston National park. Th ac of consrvation by local

and stat land trusts mor than trildbtwn succssiv fiv-yar riods.

Th numbr of land trusts grw to

1,667, a 32% incras ovr fiv yars. Th Wst is th fastst growing ara, forboth acrs consrvd and nw land trusts.

Th highst numbr of land trusts isfound in California, followd byMassachustts, Conncticut,pnnsylvania, Nw York and Main.

profssionalism of land trusts is incrasing,with most land trusts agring to morstringnt ruls of conduct, scuringlargr annual budgts and stwardshindowmnts.For more census data, go to www.lta.org.

Welcome to Our

New Board Member

Bob AstonThe Muir Heritage

Land Trust welcomesBob Aston as our new-est board member and

Stewardship CommitteeChair. Mr. Aston holdsa B.S. in Biology fromStanford University andhas been an activeparticipant in the LandTrust for many years. Hehas provided invaluableexpertise and countlesshours of work as ProjectLeader for numerousstewardship projects.

Bob is a local businessmaand President of AstonBarnes Inc, a constructioncompany located inMartinez, California.Well-known and respectethroughout the County, his a long time resident ofMartinez where he liveswith his wife Laurie andtheir four children Ryan,Rachel, Kathleen and Jess

MHLT is looking forwardto Bobs continuingsupport and expertise.

Thank You and Farewell to

Mary Alice StadumUntil we meet again


8/8

O.Box2452,MartinzCA94553

DDReSSSeRVICeReQUeSTeD

NonrofitOrg

U.S.postag

pAID

Martinz,CA

prmitNo.189

Save the Date

John Muir Birthday and

Earth Day Celebration

Saturday, April 21st

Locations:

John Muir National Historic Sit

Mt. Wanda

Martinz Rgional Shorlin

Join your Contra Costa County nighbors to clbrat earth Day and naturalist

John Muirs birthday as th community articiats in a varity of day long

activitis culminating at th John Muir National Historic Sit: attnd th ddication

of anothr sgmnt of th Bay Ara Ridg Trail on Mt. Wanda; kayak from Martinz

to Bnicia in th paddl th Straits Rgatta; dal from Martinz to Crocktt and

back in th Cycl th Straits Fun Rid; hik, run or bik in th Franklin Hills;

or visit ovr 40 nvironmntal xhibits clbrating Accss to Natur whil

njoying a BBQ lunch, and joining in th Muir-Hanna Family Runion on th

grounds of John Muirs stat at th National Historic Sit.

plas visit our wbsit for mor dtails.

Volunteer!

Volunteers provide atremendous benefit tothe Muir Heritage LandTrust. You can contributeto the preservation ofour communitys naturalheritage by lendinga helping hand in one ormore of the followingproject areas: Event days such as our

annual Fresh Aire Affaire Outdoor and Stewardship Communications and

Development AdministrationTo learn more about howyou can volunteer, call usat 925-228-5460.

Job Opportunity

The Muir Heritage LandTrust is currently acceptingemployment applications fora full-time AdministrativeManager position. Pleasecontact the office or visitour website for furtherinformation.

spring 2007 horizons, muir heritage land trust newsletter

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