Welcome to the holiday edition of our newsletter. As the rains return to The Preserve and snowberries and hollyleaf cherries highlight the subtle beauty of the winter woods, this is a wonderful time for reflection and for looking forward with hope and excitement. 2020 will be our Silver Anniversary, and we are planning on a memorable year ahead. The Conservancy was created 25 years ago as an [...]

Conservation Community

2020 is a celebratory year for the Conservancy – it is our 25th anniversary, a notable milestone. The vision of a unique conservation community is becoming a reality, with Preserve families working in partnership with our small, dedicated land trust to care for 20,000 acres of scenic, storied and ecologically diverse lands. Today, the Conservancy’s nine staff members work closely [...]

Sharing the View

All across The Preserve, people are finding that caring for the land is a wonderful way to deepen their connections to this special place. Whether gathering cattle, pulling weeds, planting trees or installing owl boxes, this ‘high touch’ time spent surrounded by natural beauty nourishes us individually and as a community. Wonderfully, Preserve members and staff are sharing these experiences with [...]

At Home on the Openlands

Traditionally, autumn brings a sense of returning home.  Long summer days spent outside shorten, a chill in the air signals winter is not far away, small mammals stockpile food for shorter days ahead and larger mammals find their way to winter habitat. There is a study, within natural sciences, called phenology.  It refers to life cycles.  When California’s black bears [...]

Fire Monks and Fire Chiefs

Standing a few feet back from a wall of 9- foot flames I felt the tip of my nose smart. When the lick of fire began to shift from uncomfortable to unbearable I opened the nozzle of my hose releasing a wide spray of water, what firefighters call ‘fog’, and instantly felt the air cool between me and the the [...]

Restoring Our Ranching Legacy

The crackling of dried branches underfoot is startling, a sharp counterpoint to the soft mist laying low across the Flats and the muted birdsong greeting the first rays of the fall sunrise. I quiet my feet, waiting patiently.My job is small in the grand scheme of things but will require attention and good timing. A flock of meadowlarks sweeps overhead, [...]

Conservation Champion

Editorial Note Patty and Mike Stone have recently completed building their home and we went to meet them in their stunning, thoughtfully designed home to learn how they are settling in and what drew them to The Preserve. The first image below was taken by the Stones and graciously shared with us.Patty and Mike Stone fell in love the first time [...]

All across The Preserve, people are finding that caring for the land is a wonderful way to deepen their connections to this special place. Whether gathering cattle, pulling weeds, planting trees or installing owl boxes, this ‘high touch’ time spent surrounded by natural beauty nourishes us individually and as a community. Wonderfully, Preserve members and staff are sharing these experiences [...]

Wild Preserve: Pleased to Meet You, Bob the Cat

The mama bobcat confidently strolled along the sliding glass door. She assiduously surveyed her surroundings like the protective mother that she was but gave off an air of nonchalance like only a bobcat can. Her two kittens bounded along behind her, far less aware or concerned than their mother, utterly clueless of the adoring audience they had on the other [...]

Conservation Champion: Inspiration from Our Community

Migration to Nature Moving from San Francisco’s Russian Hill to The Preserve is quite an extreme transition. From frantic streets, hordes of tourist and unlimited leisure options to the complete tranquility of Long Ridge Trail. To the south, the mountains of Big Sur and the Ventana Wilderness, to the north, Peñon Peak and the Pacific Ocean. While this change of [...]

Grassroots: Notes from the Field

Day in and day out, the Conservancy's Field Crew returned to the office in a state of happy lethargy; simultaneously pleased with the day’s accomplishments and exhausted by long days in the field. Pictured left to right above: Brett, Isidro, Austin, Ryen and Chris. Before I joined the Conservancy’s inaugural Field Crew, I could not have identified French broom out [...]

Into the Weeds: A Deeper Dive into The Preserve’s Plant World

There is a lot to explore on The Preserve’s 20,000 acres. A stroll in the Openlands with a neighbor or a member of the Conservancy team can reveal exciting discoveries and inspire new passions. Originating as a joint effort to manage invasive thistles, one landowner partnership has evolved into protecting rare deciduous oaks. When landowners team up for conservation, exciting [...]

When the Cows Come Home: News from the Herd

There are more than a few things that I love about working with our cows on The Preserve. The land is beautiful, the sun is bright, the cows are good company, and everything is hands on. But one of my favorite parts of this job is hearing members ask, “When can the cows be here?” and I love hearing the [...]

Sharing the View: Wonderlands

My favorite conversations with Preserve landowners often start with something like, “I wonder what’s special about my Openlands?”  My reply invariably is, “Let’s find out together!”  A walk through the Openlands anywhere on the Preserve is an opportunity to discover something that surprises and delights. The Openlands are the Wonderlands of The Preserve. These protected portions of each residential lot [...]

My favorite conversations with Preserve landowners often start with something like, “I wonder what’s special about my Openlands?”  My reply invariably is, “Let’s find out together!”  A walk through the Openlands anywhere on the Preserve is an opportunity to discover something that surprises and delights. The Openlands are the Wonderlands of The Preserve. These protected portions of each residential lot [...]

Wild Preserve: Connections with Our Natural Neighbors

Hidden in Plain Site: Openlands are Wildlife Habitat Did you know that nearly half of the special resources on The Preserve reside in the protective hands of our landowners? One of the brilliant, and yet often uncelebrated, design elements of The Preserve is the fact that each landowner is a vested partner in protecting the things we care about such [...]

Conservation Champion: Inspiration from Our Community

After knocking a few minutes on Cheryl Thiele’s door last month with no answer, I looked more closely at a sticky note on the wooden door. “If I don’t answer, I’m in my office. Please come in.” I entered and was immediately greeted by a very handsome and youthful looking 15-year old cat, Miles, purring as he inspected how good [...]

A Deeper Dive into the Preserve’s Plant World

Last year one of the world's most prestigious redwood researchers visited The Preserve to measure redwoods (Sequoia sempervirens) in Trappers Loop, as part of a redwoods and climate change study spanning over a decade. Humboldt State University Professor Steve Sillett’s work has been featured in National Geographic, the BBC and NPR, to name a few. In 2018, Steve and his [...]

Grassroots: Notes from the Field

In our first newsletter, the Conservancy introduced our ‘Weed Warriors,’ a group of five seasonal staff spending day after day methodically traversing The Preserve to take down invasive weeds. In this edition, we want to showcase the hard work within The Preserve community by featuring four of your ‘Weed Warrior’ neighbors: Anne Cardone, Scot Smythe, Ivan Humphreys and Rich Griffith. [...]

Wild Preserve: Connections with Our Natural Neighbors

Oh-my-kiss, that is how the fisheries biologists refer to them. No, it isn’t an affectionate term for a loved one, but short hand for Oncorhynchus mykiss, also known as the steelhead trout. The silvery steelhead is one of the most remarkable animals on the planet. They are a unique form of rainbow trout that are anadromous. Like their pink fleshed [...]