News
August 24, 2022

What to Do if You Find Injured Wildlife on The Preserve

A Coyote howls in the San Francisquito Flats. Photo by Abby Cole. August 24, 2022 By Alix Soliman, Communications & Outreach Coordinator The Preserve is located at the wildland-urban interface (WUI), a place where human communities intersect with a rugged, natural landscape home to an abundance of wildlife. Living in such an environment means that folks encounter wild animals more [...]
3 min read
August 16, 2022

SLC Awarded $1.2 M CAL FIRE Grant for Palo Corona-White Rock Fuel Break Access and Enhancement Project

Santa Lucia Community Services District Fire and Fuels Management Specialist Emily Aiken and CAL FIRE BEU Fire Captain and Pre-fire Engineer Chad Cooper assess a fuel break on The Preserve. Photo by Alix Soliman.  August 16, 2022 By Alix Soliman, Communications & Outreach Coordinator CAL FIRE awarded the Santa Lucia Conservancy a $1,225,000 grant to decrease the risk of catastrophic [...]
2 min read
August 10, 2022

How to Prevent Birds from Striking your Windows

An Anna's Hummingbird perches on a feeder. Photo by Adam White.  August 10, 2022 By Alix Soliman, Communications & Outreach Coordinator From a bird’s perspective, windows reflect the outside world and create the illusion of a seamless continuation of surrounding habitat, which can lead to what’s known as a “bird strike.” According to the Audubon Society, between 54 and 76 [...]
4 min read
July 21, 2022

Field Notes: Highlights from the 2022 Seasonal Restoration Crew

2022 crew members pull Italian Thistle in the Enchanted Forest on The Preserve. Photo by Jackson Brooke. July 21, 2022 By Jackson Brooke, Restoration Manager, and the 2022 Seasonal Restoration Crew When the Santa Lucia Conservancy launched the Grasslands Initiative in 2019, one of the goals that we set was treating 500 acres annually for invasive species. To achieve this [...]
6 min read
July 7, 2022

Living in Harmony with Bears

A black bear caught strolling on the Conservancy's Rancho San Carlos Trail wildlife camera in 2020. July 7, 2022 By Alix Soliman, Communications & Outreach Coordinator While they are the state animal, California’s track record with bears is grim. When the state became more densely populated during and after the gold rush, conflicts between the California grizzly (Ursus arctos californicus) [...]
3 min read
June 30, 2022

June 2022 Newsletter

An acorn woodpecker searches for the best storage site. Photo by Chuck Bancroft. June 30, 2022 By Jamison Watts, Executive Director We reside in one of just 36 biodiversity hotspots in the world. Known as the California Floristic Province (CA-FP), our biodiversity hotspot stretches from the Pacific coast to the Sierra Nevada Mountains and covers over 70% of California as [...]
1 min read
June 20, 2022

It’s Coyote Denning Season on The Central Coast

A coyote peeks out above the tall grass. Photo by Rodrigo Sierra Corona.  June 20 2022 By Alix Soliman, Communications & Outreach Coordinator Coyotes are currently at the peak of their denning season, lasting from May through the end of summer. Right now they are more visible, vocal, and territorial than any other time of year, as breeding pairs are [...]
2 min read
June 15, 2022

Chris Thomas is Building a Fire Resistant Fortress in the Woods

Owner-builder Chris Thomas stands on a bluff overlooking his home-in-progress. Photo by Alix Soliman.  June 15, 2022 By Alix Soliman, Communications & Outreach Coordinator Among the towering redwoods and dense oaks of Potrero Canyon, a fire resistant green home is on the rise. Since June 3rd of 2020, Chris Thomas and his brother in law, Shane Coyle, have spent their [...]
3 min read
June 7, 2022

SLC Welcomes Keesha Stroman, New Director of Finance and Administration

Director of Finance and Administration Keesha Stroman. Photo by Alix Soliman.  June 7, 2022 By Jamison Watts, Executive Director The Conservancy is excited to welcome Keesha Stroman to the team as the Director of Finance and Administration. Responsible for managing the Conservancy’s daily operations including finance, Human Resources, IT, facilities, and administration, Keesha comes to us with a keen business [...]
1 min read
May 24, 2022

How Conservation Easements Protect Land on The Preserve

Over 90% of the 20,000-acre Preserve is protected, while the other 10% is zoned for residential development and amenities. Photo by Adam White.  May 24, 2022 By Andrew Nguyen, Stewardship Manager With a residential community at its core, The Santa Lucia Preserve is built on a model of collaborative stewardship with the Santa Lucia Conservancy serving as a guide and [...]
2 min read
May 11, 2022

The Conservancy Uses eDNA to Find Threatened Amphibians

A mass of California Red-legged Frog eggs rests at the surface of a pond on The Preserve. Photo by Alix Soliman.  May 11, 2022 By Alix Soliman, Communications & Outreach Coordinator A major development in fish and wildlife monitoring, Environmental DNA (eDNA) is a scientific method that can tell us whether a species is present in a given area by [...]
5 min read
May 6, 2022

Shaded Fuel Breaks Increase Fire Safety on The Preserve

A shaded fuel break along Dormody Road, where young bay laurel trees and shrubs have been cleared in the understory. Photo by Jackson Brooke.  May 6, 2022 By Jackson Brooke, Restoration Manager The Conservancy’s vision for fire and fuels management on The Preserve is one that harmoniously combines the protection of life and property with ecological management goals. Our proactive [...]
4 min read
April 28, 2022

April 2022 Newsletter

Blooming native wildflowers are evidence of a job well done by our seasonal restoration crew. Photo by Jackson Brooke.  Within the 20,000-acre Santa Lucia Preserve exists a mosaic of oak woodlands, redwood forests, grasslands, chaparral, ponds, and streams. One of the most important facets of the Conservancy’s work is maintaining and enhancing these natural habitats which provide food, shelter, and migration [...]
1 min read
April 20, 2022

What is Conservation Grazing and How Can it Benefit Coastal Prairies?

The contrast between a just-grazed pasture and the first day of grazing in a new, adjacent pasture on San Clemente. Photo by Andrew Evans.   April 20, 2022 By Claudio Núñez, Conservation Grazing Manager, and Andrew Evans, Conservation Grazing Associate In this ecological moment, animal husbandry is a controversial topic. Industrial livestock production has led to much of the ecological degradation [...]
6 min read
April 13, 2022

California Natives to Cultivate in Your Garden by Habitat Type

Redwood Sorrel is an herbaceous perennial plant that provides excellent ground cover in moist, shady environments. Photo by Serena Lasko. April 13, 2022 By Evany Wang and Sophie Heny, Seasonal Restoration Crew Members Waving grasslands decorated with strings of blazing wildflowers, oaks hung thick with moss, cattle marching through vivid green grass—The Santa Lucia Preserve is an inspiring place where [...]
6 min read
April 4, 2022

Sudden Oak Death on the Santa Lucia Preserve

A volunteer pins a sudden oak death (SOD) sampling tag to a tree. April 4, 2022 By Dr. Brian Woodward, Conservation Ecologist Sudden Oak Death (SOD) is a tree disease caused by the exotic plant pathogen Phytophthora ramorum. Originally introduced with imported nursery plants, the pathogen has spread widely across coastal California and southwestern Oregon, where it has killed hundreds [...]
2 min read
March 31, 2022

March 2022 Newsletter

Our conservation grazing herd browses under the oaks at San Clemente. Photo by Andrew Evans. March 31, 2022 By Jamison Watts, Executive Director A visionary model, the Santa Lucia Preserve blends sustainable development into a permanently protected natural landscape. The founders’ vision led to the science and nature-based design of The Preserve with a dedicated conservation partner at its core—the [...]
1 min read
March 25, 2022

How to Identify 7 Common Raptors in the Santa Lucia Mountains

Ventana Wildlife Society Biologist Mike Stake and Conservation Ecologist Dr. Brian Woodward conduct a Raptor survey on The Preserve. Photo by Alix Soliman.  March 25, 2022 By Alix Soliman, Communications & Outreach Coordinator Soaring overhead on rising thermals, dive-bombing rodents in the rolling grasslands with their piercing screeches echoing off of the hills – birds of prey are a striking [...]
10 min read
March 21, 2022

How Conservation Flows Downstream in the Carmel River Watershed

The Coastline at Point Lobos State Natural Reserve. Photo by Alix Soliman. March 21, 2022 By Andrew Evans, Conservation Grazing Associate From Big Sur to Carmel Beach to Asilomar and beyond, the draw of the Central Coast is centered on its pristine landscapes, resilient habitats, abundant fisheries, and welcoming coastal towns. However, as global watersheds are facing the impacts of [...]
4 min read
March 11, 2022

It’s Tick Season in Central California

A tick "questing" for a host. Photo Courtesy of Tick Proof.  March 11, 2022 By Alix Soliman, Communications & Outreach Coordinator Ticks are blood-feeding parasites that seek hosts through a behavior called questing, where they crawl up to the ends of grass stems or perch on the edges of leaves with their front legs extended. In our region, many ticks [...]
3 min read
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