Inside -

• News from the Trail, Page 2

• Land Trust Commemorates 20 October
Years of Heider Field, Page 4
• Big River Fund Used for Fill-Slope 2008
Repair, Page 5
• Big River Walks Successful, Page 6

Enabled by a Timely Donation, Land Trust

Receives Coastal Conservancy Grant to
Purchase Hare Creek Beach
The timely donation of $50,000 in matching funds
from a local donor enabled the Mendocino Land
Trust to receive a grant from the California Coastal
Conservancy on September 25, 2008, a grant that will
fund the conservation of Hare Creek Beach. After
learning of the Land Trust’s need in the local paper,
long-time Fort Bragg resident Betty Stechmeyer made
a commitment of funds in memory of her late husband
and botanist, Gordon E. McBride.
The Land Trust extends its gratitude to Betty
Stechmeyer for her generous contribution towards
the permanent protection of Hare Creek Beach
and looks forward to continuing our track record
of accomplishing meaningful conservation with the
support of the Coastal Conservancy, our long-term
funding partner. The Land Trust also thanks those
who sent letters in support of the project to the Coastal
Conservancy: Congressman Mike Thompson, State
Senator Pat Wiggins, Supervisor Kendall Smith, the
City of Fort Bragg, the Mendocino Coast Audubon
Society and the Mendocino Chapter of the Surfrider
Foundation.
The Land Trust is purchasing the 5.6 acre Hare Creek
Beach property, located southwest of the intersection
of Highways One and 20 in Fort Bragg, from long-
time owners the Babcock Family for coastal access and
habitat conservation. The Land Trust expects to close
escrow by the end of the year. The property serves as a
resting and feeding site during spring and fall migration
by many bird species, particularly migratory shorebirds.
Hare Creek supports 50-100 steelhead spawners and
25-50 Coho salmon spawners annually. The local
community and visitors have long enjoyed the beach for
recreation, however, access is currently across privately-
held land on the south side of the beach.
The Land Trust intends to permanently manage
the property and will develop a plan for long-term
management with community involvement in early
2009. The Land Trust will seek community support
at that time to grow an endowment fund that will
allow adequate stewardship of the land and its uses.
Activities funded by the stewardship endowment will
include weekly monitoring of the beach, longer-term
removal of invasive species of plants and restoration
of the dune habitat. The Land Trust will be looking to
build a group of volunteers to undertake these tasks at
Hare Creek Beach.
Volunteers of all ages cleaned rivers and beaches during the 2008
Coastal Cleanup Day. Photos by Keith Wyner and Matt Coleman.
2008 Coastal Cleanup Day Sets Records
by Jenny Hall, Development Coordinator
Despite areas of heavy fog and light rain along the
coast, 347 volunteers turned out on September 20, 2008,
to participate in the 24th Annual California Coastal
Cleanup Day, coordinated by the Mendocino Land
Trust. Coastal Cleanup Day in Mendocino County
resulted in a record 2,822 pounds of trash and 769
pounds of recyclables being collected from twenty-three
locations along the coast, stretching from Westport to
Gualala. Had this trash not been collected, it would
have likely been washed into local rivers and the ocean
by winter storms.
Volunteers for Coastal Cleanup Day included both
inland and coastal residents of Mendocino County,
vacationers, school and services groups, families
and individuals. Following the cleanup efforts, 115
volunteers attended a volunteer appreciation barbeque
hosted by the Land Trust, the largest turnout ever.
Food for the barbeque was donated by Safeway, Purity
Supermarket, Harvest Market, Mendocino Cookie
Company and Corners of the Mouth.
The Land Trust thanks all volunteers for their
participation in one of our most successful Coastal
Cleanup Days to date, as well as Fort Bragg Disposal,
California State Parks and Mendocino Solid Waste
Management Authority for facilitating cleanup efforts.
Coastal Cleanup Day takes place on the third Saturday
of every year and is organized, statewide, by the
California Coastal Commission.
 The President’s Letter: With the Help of Our Friends
by Win Bowen
Board of Trustees Here at the Land Trust we do big things. Without our friends, we
could not.
President
Win Bowen
This past weekend is a great example. It was California Coastal
Cleanup Day and over 350 people helped out on Saturday, harvesting
a record volume of trash. Volunteers also help year-round, notably
Vice President
at Big River, Navarro Point and our coastal access trails. They
David Jensen undertake bird and fish surveys, remove invasive species, maintain
trails and build boardwalks and bridges. The contribution is
Secretary enormous and it is good for the land. As a volunteer myself, I can also say it is good for the
Barbara Weiss volunteer. If you have pitched in yourself, you know what I mean.
Treasurer This month, through the generosity of long-time supporter Pat Dunbar, we honored this
Chet Anderson year’s dedicated volunteers at her home.
There is another way to volunteer: donating regularly. This is easier for some, harder
Trustees for others. But consider how much it helps; most of the Land Trust’s work is done by our
Alan Falleri hard-working staff, so donors volunteer in a particularly effective way. Our staff members
Jeremy Isenberg are professionals in the field and do essential work for which volunteers aren’t trained. This
makes donating an extremely efficient way of helping us save land. Moreover, you can do it
from the comfort of your home. Of course, you can help us remove European Beach Grass,
too.
Staff
Your donations, of both time and money, are crucial to us. This is a tough time for non-
Executive Director profit organizations and the support of our friends could not be more important now. We
James Bernard thank you for helping us take on the big opportunities in beautiful Mendocino County.

Big River Program News from the Trail - Fall 2008

Manager by Tamira Jones, California Coastal Trail Project Coordinator
Michael Miller
Two appeals later, the Navarro Blufflands Trail permit has been finally approved. A recent
California Coastal Commission hearing on September 12th resulted in a unanimous decision
Big River Stewards
Volunteer
to uphold the permit approval both by the County Planning Administrator last March and
Coordinator by the Board of Supervisors on June 24. We were impressed and touched by the number of
Matt Coleman letters written on behalf of the Land Trust and phone calls received by the Commission from
the public who voiced their support for the project. Please accept our sincere thanks.
California Coastal The Blufflands Trail will be the first segment in a continuous trail from Albion to Navarro
Trail Project
Point Preserve. The Land Trust, Caltrans and the Coastal Conservancy are working jointly
Coordinator
to design pedestrian access into a culvert remediation project at Navarro Creek, thus enabling
Tamira Jones
the Blufflands Trail to connect to the mile loop trail at Navarro Point by way of dedicated
Development easements west of Highway One. A trail construction budget is being prepared for the
Coordinator Coastal Conservancy’s February 2009 meeting to obtain funding that would complete the
Jenny Hall Blufflands Trail project and other trail construction projects including the Little River Public
Foot Trail, Kibesillah Vista Trail, Caspar Uplands Trail and the Peg and John Frankel Trail.
Administrative and The funding request will also cover continued planning for the eventual opening of additional
Financial Assistant public access easements along the Mendocino coast.
Hilarie Coate
In anticipation of the construction phase of coastal trail work in 2009, the Land Trust has
acquired tools and materials that have caused us to outgrow our storage space. If anyone has
The Mendocino storage space, preferably covered, that they are willing to donate to the Land Trust, please
Land Trust is a contact Tamira Jones.
member of the
The Land Trust continues to add to the distinction of being the nonprofit that has opened
Land Trust Alliance
and the California
the most public access easements in the state with its newest coastal access point - the Noyo
Council of Land Harbor Public Viewing Area at the former Schnaubelt Fisheries location on North Harbor
Trusts Drive. This tiny piece of the Noyo riverfront allows visitors to experience a working harbor
up close. Please take the time to visit; directions are on our website under Coastal Access.
Thanks go to Bob Juntz at Ocean Fresh for working with us to create an inviting public space.

 Business Member Partners The Land Trust Goes “Boothing”
July 2008 - September 2008 by Jenny Hall, Development Coordinator
These businesses show their commitment to land In an effort to educate the public about land
conservation in Mendocino County by being business conservation and the ongoing efforts of the Land
members of the Land Trust: Trust, the Land Trust has hosted informational
Lane GeoGraphics, LLC booths at several recent events: the Paul Bunyan Days
Logging Show and Expo, the subdudes concert and the
Living Light International
Mendocino Farmers Market.
Tom’s Aircraft Enterprises
In August, the Land Trust trained five volunteers to
host an informational booth at the Mendocino Farmers
Gifts to the Land Trust in Honor of Another
Market, providing the volunteers with the history
July 2008 – September 2008 of the Land Trust and its achievements, as well as a
In Memory of Joyce Brown general knowledge regarding land conservation. The
by Cherie and Keith Wyner Mendocino Farmers Market, which takes place every
In Honor of Betty Barber and Grail Dawson to Friday from noon to 2:00 p.m. through the end of
Recognize Their Devoted Work to the Land Trust October, offers the Land Trust an excellent opportunity
by John Galen to undertake outreach to the local community.
On August 31, the Land Trust participated in the
Partners in Conservation Sustainable Logging Expo at the Paul Bunyan Days
December 2007 - June 2008 Logging Show, which included land conservation
These businesses show their support by contributing organizations and logging companies that use
products and services that enrich our events: sustainable harvesting practices. On September 7, the
Land Trust hosted a booth at the subdudes concert at
Brown-Forman Mendocino Coast
the Mendocino Botanical Gardens, a benefit for north
(Bonterra Vineyards) Botanical Gardens
coast salmon fisheries that provided the Land Trust
Corners of the Mouth Mendocino Cookie with the opportunity to provide information to those in
Company attendance as a salmonid habitat conserver.
Esterlina Vineyards
Moody’s Organic Through these events, Land Trust staff and
Fort Bragg Disposal
Coffee Bar volunteers have been able to increase the awareness of
Frankie’s Pizza and
Purity Supermarket the general public to the activities of the Land Trust, as
Ice Cream
well as conveying the importance of land conservation.
Safeway
Harvest Market The Land Trust plans to continue its outreach efforts at
Stanford Inn other events.
Headlands Coffeehouse

Accreditation in 2009: Really. This Time We’ve Put Our Money Where Our Mouth Is.
There is a right time for everything and the Land Trust has finally found ours for the process of obtaining
accreditation: we will be assessed by the Land Trust Accreditation Commission in their third round of 2009. This
means that we will submit a pre-application in September and a full application in November.
We have reported a number of dates and accreditation plans to you previously, but we have taken the
unequivocal step of reserving our intentions with a non-refundable deposit of $750. And we have given ourselves
sufficient time to prepare for success.
Executive Director James Bernard and Board member Barbara Weiss attended the Land Trust Alliance Rally
in Pittsburgh and witnessed the first 39 land trusts receiving the seal of accreditation. James and Barbara also
attended a lunch September 22 for land trusts who have signed up for accreditation in the coming year, including
our neighbor the Sonoma Land Trust.
We expect that the efforts of staff and board over the last years to make the Mendocino Land Trust a credible,
responsible organization that embodies the permanence required to conserve and steward land in perpetuity will be
recognized by the Commission and that we will become accredited.

 Letter from the Executive
Director
James R. Bernard
Conserving Agricultural Lands in
Mendocino County and Taking
Pride in the Staff
Conserving Agricultural Lands in Mendocino County.
I was invited to make a presentation to the Coast Farm
Futures Forum on July 12th, hosted by the Noyo Food
Forest in Fort Bragg. Here’s part of what I said to the 45
participants about threats to agriculture in Mendocino
County:
• Mendocino County increasingly attracts non-
agricultural buyers who are eager and able to purchase
farm and ranchland properties for luxury home sites and
non-agricultural uses.
• Ranching and farming families often cannot
afford to transfer property to the next generation. Young
farmers find it nearly impossible to buy land to get
started.
• For agriculture to remain viable, there must be a
critical mass of farms to sustain the infrastructure. Each
time a ranch or farm is sold for non-agricultural uses,
the viability of every other agricultural operation is
threatened.
• The uncertainty that accompanies farming on the
edge of a sprawling urban region such as the Bay Area
counties can lead to declining agricultural investment,
productivity, and income.
• Most families want to continue in agriculture and
pass the land on to the next generation. High land prices
eventually force every family to deal with the land not
only as a natural resource, but also as a financial asset,
whether to resolve inheritance issues or simply to deal
with a buyout offer too good to refuse.
The next generation of farmers will survive by the
relationships with the people who eat directly from their
farm. While the last 50 years have been a move to large
industrial farms, the next 50 will be about small-scale
diversified farms that feed local municipalities.
As an outgrowth of the Forum, a number of potential
working farmland conservation opportunities have
emerged and the Land Trust may be able to protect
agricultural lands on the coast and inland.
Taking Pride in the Staff. You can read about this
year’s successful Coastal Cleanup Day on the front
page of this newsletter, but I will need to tell you about
the effort made by the staff to pull off an appreciation
barbeque for 115 hungry volunteers. Not only did the
staff participate in the cleanup itself, but it was great to
hear that they planned the logistics, did the shopping,
cooked and served the food, and cleaned up. Usually, I
am there grilling away, but this year all I could do was
wear a Coastal Cleanup Day t-shirt in solidarity at the
Land Trust Alliance Rally in Pittsburgh and be mighty
proud of how the community turned out and how the
staff hit in the clutch. Thanks, folks!

Past and present board members celebrate 20 years of managing
Heider Field. From left to right: Barbara Weiss, Morgan
Zeitler, Betty Barber, Grail Dawson, Barry Cusick, Jeremy
Isenberg, Hanneli Reeves, Steve Antler, Sharon Robinson and
James Bernard. Photo by Jenny Hall.
Land Trust Commemorates 20 Years of
Managing Heider Field
On September 3, 2008, the Mendocino Land Trust
celebrated twenty years of managing Heider Field by
hosting an event to commemorate the conservation
efforts of the original founders and board members
of the Land Trust. Founded in 1976 by George
and Hanneli Reeves, Barry Cusick, Jim Coupe, Lee
Welty, Judge Bill Lamb, Doug Chouteau, Dorothy
Drummond, Bob Avery, Warner Chabot and Pastor
Ron Garton, the initial mission of the Mendocino
Land Trust was the conservation of the 1.1 acre open
space in the heart of Mendocino Village now called
Heider Field. Twelve years later, in 1988, the Land
Trust successfully orchestrated the land swap that
conserved Heider Field through the property’s transfer
to California State Parks. Since that time, the Land
Trust has managed Heider Field through an agreement
with State Parks.
On September 3, a group of twenty people
comprised of original founders, current and past board
members, Land Trust staff and members of the local
community gathered at Heider Field for recognition
of the anniversary. Group pictures were taken to
mark the occasion. Following the gathering at Heider
Field, fifteen people attended a celebration dinner
at Café Beaujolais where past board members and
founders Betty Barber, Grail Dawson, Hanneli Reeves,
Barry Cusick and Sharon Robinson were presented
with certificates of appreciation for their efforts in the
conservation of Heider Field.
The Mendocino Land Trust recently signed an
operating agreement with California State Parks to
continue managing Heider Field for another 10 years.
Big River Stewards Enjoy Bioluminescence
Paddle
by Matt Coleman, Big River Stewards Volunteer
Coordinator
Thirty volunteers joined the Big River Stewards for
“Glowing River”, an after-dark paddle on Big River on
Saturday, August 30th.
The goal of the event was to observe dinoflaggelate
noctilucans, a minute organism which exists in great
numbers in the Big River estuary and glows when
disturbed. While this bioluminescent dinoflaggelate is
present all throughout the summer, it is only obvious
during the dark of the new moon.
Participants had a perfect night for a paddle as the
moonless sky yielded a starry panorama which seemed
to mirror the bioluminescence in the water. And while
some folks got a little wet during the paddle, they were
able to warm up over hot cocoa and cookies when they
returned to shore.
A sincere thanks to Ray and Natalie West of Fort
Bragg, Terrence and Stacey Weil-Dye, Todd and Holly
Newberger of Albion and Rick Hemmings of Catch-a-
Canoe for loaning us canoes and kayaks for the event.
The Land Trust also thanks Big River Docent Sandra
Kearney for her assistance with the event.
While participants listened for Big River’s legendary
“singing fish”, the plainfin midshipman, another
bioluminescent organism which also emits a strange
droning mating cry, none were heard. Perhaps they
were drowned out by the laughter and exclamations of
the participants as they swirled glowing particles in the
water with their paddles.
Big River Stewards Update
Since January 2008, volunteers with the Big River
Stewards program have donated over 650 hours to
removing invasive plants from locations all over Big
River. During the same period in 2007, the Stewards
donated 222.5 hours to this task.
Big River Fund Used to Repair Fill-Slope
Failure and Protect Big River Estuary
by Michael Miller, Big River Program Manager
The Big River Fund, created as part of the Land
Trust’s land conservation effort in 2002, has been
utilized to repair a fill-slope failure on the Main
Haul Road at the Big River Unit of the Mendocino
Headlands State Park. Work was completed in early
September by contractor Anderson Logging.
Located approximately two miles from the entrance
gate on the Main Haul Road, just east of the “lower
boom,” a 400-foot section of the road had begun
to collapse, threatening to send 2,400 cubic yards
of sediment into Big River. Above the road, an old
skid trail and landing used during timber harvesting
contributed runoff to the site.
When older logging roads were built with a cut and
fill methodology, inboard ditches shunted the water
to the nearest culvert. Many times the roads would
become saturated with rainfall and begin to fail, sliding
downslope and entering nearby streams and rivers,
impairing aquatic habitat.
Four project tasks were identified to help restore the
natural hydrology to the site: (1) Remove oversteepened
fill along the road, (2) Reduce the roadway width, (3)
Obliterate the existing inside ditch and outslope the
road, and (4) Control intermittent runoff that flows
from the skid trail and landing.
This project will help ensure that the Main Haul
Road remains passable for pedestrians and will provide
access for future scheduled restoration projects.
Roads, for the most part, are incompatible with
watershed health. The Land Trust’s Big River Program
is writing grant proposals that will assist State Parks
to address 84 miles of legacy logging roads on the
conserved property that alter the natural flow of
water across the landscape, creating erosion and
sedimentation problems.

Big River Lecture Series Continues with Coast Redwood Ecology: A Big Topic is a Big Hit
by Michael Miller, Big River Program Manager
Coast redwood trees are the dominate component of the Big River ecosystem, providing habitat for both aquatic
and terrestrial species. This ancient species, from the time of dinosaurs, are the tallest trees on our planet. As the
climate changed, their vast range has been reduced to a sliver of the fog-laden Northern California Coast.
These were just a few of the interesting topics discussed by Greg Giusti, Lake County Director of the California
Cooperative Extension Service. Greg’s lecture on “Coastal Redwood Ecology” September 4th was the ninth in the
Big River Lecture Series presented by the Big River Program of the Mendocino Land Trust since 2005.
Lecture topics included the evolution and growth of coastal redwoods, redwood ecology, the interdependent
relationships of terrestrial and aquatic species, and historic forest management practices and their ecological
impacts. These topics stimulated thoughts and elicited many questions from the forty people in attendance.
The next Big River lecture will take place in December. Please check the Land Trust website and local papers for
the date and for more information.

 Make Donations to the Land Trust Online and
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Big River Interpretive Walks Successful

by Jenny Hall, Development Coordinator
On July 5, 2008, the first group of Big River
Interpretive Walk participants ventured down the Big
River Main Haul Road. The goal of each walk, led
by two of the twelve Big River Docents trained by the
Land Trust in May, is to educate and inform the public
about the unique history and natural assets of the Big
River estuary and surrounding area.
The six Big River Interpretive Walks since July
have drawn over 150 participants, including both
local residents and visitors, from as close as inland
Mendocino County and the Bay Area to as far away
as Japan and Scotland. The Land Trust extends its
thanks for the success of the program to the Big River
Docents and the guest speakers for the Big River
Docent Training Program.
Additional walks will be held on November 8 and
December 13, weather permitting. Meet at the Big
River Kiosk at the Big River Beach parking lot at
10:00 a.m. Contact Jenny Hall at 962-0470 for details.
Sixth graders from Willits Charter School on Coastal Cleanup Day.
Quarterly Calendar of Land Trust Events
November 5, 2008. MacCallum House Dine Out Event,
begins at 5:30 p.m. Enjoy dinner at the MacCallum
House with proceeds benefiting the Land Trust. Make
your reservations early by calling the MacCallum
House at 937-0289. Reservations may be made between
5:30 p.m. and 8:45 p.m. Contact Jenny Hall at 962-0470
for more information about this event.
November 15, 2008. Big River Invasive Plants Workday,
9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Contact Matt Coleman.
November 27-28, 2008. The Land Trust office will be
closed for Thanksgiving.
For additional information on any Land Trust events,
please call the Land Trust Office at 707-962-0470 or
contact us at info@mendocinolandtrust.org.

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