Inside - December
• News from the Trail, Page 2
• Salmon Creek Easement, Page 3
• Notecards, Mugs & Bottles, Page 3
• Big River Stewards, Page 5
• Calendar of Events, Page 6
Small Gem: Land Trust to Purchase Hare
Creek Beach for Public Access and Habitat
Conservation
The Land Trust has entered into a contract to purchase
the 5.6 acre Hare Creek Beach property immediately
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. State Coastal
Conservancy staff has agreed to recommend to the Coastal
Conservancy’s board that they approve state funds towards
this acquisition at their April 2008 Board Meeting. To
garner necessary matching funds, the Land Trust has
submitted a grant proposal to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife’s
North American Wetlands Conservation Act Small Grants
program and will know the result in March 2008.
The property, which will be known as Babcock
Hare Creek Beach, is used 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 based on published studies of estimated
escapement.
The local community and visitors have long enjoyed the
beach for recreation, such as surfing, sunbathing, and bird
watching. However, access is currently across privately-
held land or a deeded pathway from a nearby subdivision.
The Land Trust holds a 10-foot wide public access
easement on the property immediately north of the
beach parcel which contains the proposed Todd’s Point
development. The Land Trust will continue to work with
the developer and the City of Fort Bragg to ensure that
this coastal access easement will become a segment of
the California Coastal Trail and that the development
plan includes vehicular access to a suitably-sized parking
area available for those wishing to access the beach. The
western terminus of the coastal access easement is Bay
View Drive. Hikers will be able continue west and north
along existing streets to reach the City’s Pomo Bluffs Park
overlooking Noyo Harbor and the Noyo Headlands.
The Land Trust intends to permanently manage
the property and will seek community support for an
endowment to adequately steward 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.
2007
The mission of the Mendocino Land Trust
is to conserve important natural resources
of Mendocino County, including working
farmlands and forests, wildlife habitat, open
space, scenic vistas, watersheds, and to
facilitate public access.
Andersen Ranch, Albion. Photo by Jim McCummings.
Land Trust to Develop Conservation Easement
for Andersen Ranch in Albion
The Land Trust has agreed to develop a conservation
easement for 420-acre Andersen Ranch in Albion. The
Ranch is characterized by rolling grasslands along
Highway One bounded by Salmon Creek on the south
and Albion Ridge Road on the north. The property
has spectacular ocean views, 1.6 miles of year-round
streams, redwood and fir forest, ridge-top meadows, lush
canyons, and wildlife habitat for raptors and endangered
Coho salmon.
A new owner in 2007 is affording the Land Trust
the opportunity to protect the conservation values of
Andersen Ranch by being willing to give up most of the
substantial development potential allowed by current
zoning in exchange for the ability to take tax deductions.
The conservation easement may take several years to
complete.
The landowner’s primary intention, as communicated
with the interested Albion community, is to maintain the
property in its current condition, utilizing the Ranch for
recreational horseback riding and sufficient cattle grazing
to achieve agricultural status. Since taking ownership,
the landowner has restored a milking barn, restored
legacy roads to riding condition, installed fencing, and is
preparing a caretaker’s residence location.
The landowner is willing to accommodate a trail
corridor on the western boundary and a community trail
along the south side of Albion Ridge Road from the
village east one mile to eastern boundary of the Ranch.
The Land Trust and the landowner look forward to
working together to structure a conservation easement
that will allow Andersen Ranch to remain a contiguous
landscape on the Mendocino coast.
 The President’s Perspective by Dave Jensen
I love my family, but I’m not a very good son. I couldn’t wait to
leave home as a teenager, and as an adult I seldom retrace the path that
Board of Trustees brought me to Mendocino. But on those rare occasions, such as this past
Thanksgiving, when I find myself in the basement closet of my parents’
President home, I am inevitably confronted by an odd assortment of gifts from
Dave Jensen Christmases long past - items once desired, or which seemed desirable,
but now forgotten.
Vice President
There was an old set of skis with broken bindings, a Twister mat, the
Bill Lemos
paddles from a Pong set, a stack of terminally scratched LPs, a boxed set of Tolkein’s trilogy, the
Secretary usual stuff that families gather. As the family grew older and apart, the toys turned to treats such as
Win Bowen fruitcakes, then fruit, then beef sticks, then beef steaks. The love between the family endured, but
the seasonal manifestations of that love grew more ephemeral.
Treasurer
Chet Anderson
My sisters and I now discuss legacy and sustainability as we once worried over Legos and the
Stones. The Christmas cards and calls keep the communications open, but our gifts no longer fit
Trustees in the basement closet. Now, we give each other miles of hiking trails and acres of forests. Our
Alan Falleri gifts increase in value every year and will be enjoyed by others long after we and the storage
Barbara Weiss closet are gone. None of us are wealthy. We live in modest houses on small lots. But through our
Jeremy Isenberg contributions to the Mendocino Land Trust, we can accomplish things that once seemed fantasy.
So this season I invite you to join us. The sound of the wind through a redwood forest or the
latest pop CD? The view from a coastal trail or another video game? Please give your loved ones
Staff the gift of the Mendocino Land Trust. Empower them.

Executive Director
James Bernard
News from the Trail - Fall 2007
Membership and by Tamira Jones, California Coastal Trail Project Coordinator
Outreach Coordinator
Holly Newberger On November 11, the first California
Coastal Trail (CCT) emblem in
Big River Program Mendocino County was installed at
Manager MacKerricher State Park and Ten Mile
Michael Miller Dunes Preserve by fourteen Coastwalk
and Land Trust volunteers. The volunteers
Big River Stewards signed eight miles of the CCT from Ten
Volunteer Mile River to Pudding Creek. It was
Coordinator incredibly satisfying to see the emblems
Matt Coleman
go up thanks to the partnership between
the Land Trust, State Parks, Coastal
California Coastal
Trail Project Conservancy and Coastwalk, a statewide
Coordinator nonprofit organization that advocates
Tamira Jones for coastal protection and access. We
Coastwalk Board Members Linda Hanes and Fran
anticipate signing more of the CCT on Gibson signing CCT at MacKerrricher State Park.
public lands and at Navarro Point in the Photo by Tamira Jones
New Year and co-sponsoring hikes along
The Mendocino Land sections of the CCT in Mendocino County with Coastwalk.
Trust is a member
of the Land Trust On November 15, the Land Trust convened a Glass Beach Community Meeting at Larson Hall
Alliance and the in Fort Bragg in order to share information and receive public input about the proposed CCT
California Council of project on Glass Beach and how it will interface with the City of Fort Bragg’s plans for a parking
Land Trusts area and segment of the CCT on the northern boundary of the former Georgia-Pacific Mill Site.
Presentations from the Land Trust, State Parks, and the City, as well as comments from meeting
participants, are posted on the Land Trust’s website under Coastal Trail/Glass Beach State Park.


continued on page 3
News from the Trail continued from page 2
Progress has been made on the proposed Peg
and John Frankel Public Trail north of the town of
Elk. This segment of the CCT is located west of
Highway 1 with spectacular views of the coastline.
The Coastal Development Permit for the project was
approved November 19 with enthusiastic support
from Mendocino County. We’re looking forward to
building this trail next spring and are currently enlisting
volunteers wishing to participate.
On November 21, the Navarro Point Stewards
planted 25 baccharis pilularis, commonly known as
coyote bush, (propagated by the Mendocino Coast
Botanical Garden) in our ongoing effort to restore
the area around the parking lot at the Navarro Point
Preserve and Scenic Trail. Volunteers enjoyed a nice
change of pace planting a native of the coastal sage
scrub instead of removing invasive weeds. Thanks
to all the Stewards who donate their time generously
and come out to care for this beautiful slice of the
Mendocino coast.
Land Trust Works with Landowner
to Complete Conservation of Salmon
Creek Watershed Property in Albion
The Mendocino Land Trust completed a 25-acre
conservation easement in Novmeber, donated by a
private landowner in the Salmon Creek watershed
in Albion, California. The conservation easement
permanently conserves 1,000 feet of stream and
riparian habitat, a pond, mixed conifer forest, rare
plants and wildlife habitat.
The conservation-minded landowner had long-
contemplated protection of the property, but made the
decision to move ahead with a conservation easement
this year to take advantage of tax incentives enacted
in 2005 that will expire December 31, 2007 unless
Congress acts to make them permanent. North Coast
Representative Mike Thompson is the original sponsor
of HR 1576, legislation to make the tax incentives
permanent that has now garnered 140 sponsors and
has been included in a slightly different form in the
Farm Bill reauthorization.
“We are delighted to have conserved this property
in Albion and very pleased the landowner decided to
proceed this year,” said Land Trust Executive Director
James Bernard. “All the residents of the coast
community and Mendocino County will permanently
benefit from this landowner’s generosity. I know the
landowner would encourage all conservation-minded
property owners to protect critical watershed habitat
and the natural integrity of their forest lands as well.”
Land Trust Notecards and Mugs Make
Outstanding Holiday Gifts
Send your seasons greetings using this year’s
notecards highlighting the work of the Land Trust. The
bundle of 12 cards features images of Big River’s Fritz
Wonder Plot, the Belinda Point Trail, a Leopard Lily,
Twin Rocks Ridge, Navarro Point and the Big River
estuary. View the images on the ‘what’s new’ page at
www.mendocinolandtrust.org. The cards are only $18
per bundle plus $2 shipping or stop by the Land Trust
office.
Also a perfect holiday gift, our 18-ounce brushed
stainless steel travel mug with white band and maroon
Mendocino Land Trust logo imprinted on the cylinder.
The mug will fit into your vehicle cup holder. No more
paper cups from the coffee shop! This mug is priced at
$16.25 each.
To place your order please contact Holly at (707)
962-0470 or hnewberger@mendocinolandtrust.org.
The Land Trust has ordered Kleen Kanteen stainless
water bottles with the Mendocino Land Trust logo.
Unfortunately, the bottles are back-ordered and will
not be available until mid-January 2008. Please contact
Holly if you would like to be notified when the bottles
arrive.
Your Contributions Will Ensure a
Successful Year-End Fundraising Appeal
The Land Trust’s 2007 Annual Appeal is underway
and your support is essential. This year, our members
and supporters are telling us that the Land Trust is
on the cusp of truly fulfilling its promise as a multi-
faceted, countywide conservation organization that does
innovative, meaningful conservation work. We need your
support to fund additional staff for land conservation, to
launch an inland Mendocino County conservation planning
process, to better steward the iconic landscape of Navarro
Point and our conservation easements, and bear the
costs of the accreditation process as one of 80 land trusts
nationally to have been selected to achieve this status in
2008. If you have not already done so, we ask that you
respond to the Annual Appeal as generously as you are
able. Take a few minutes to make an investment in the
Land Trust on behalf of the future generations who will
enjoy the lands and waters we are able to conserve of our
County’s incredible natural endowment.

 Letter from the Executive
Director
James R. Bernard
Partnering, Appreciating Our
Volunteers, Dining Out, Sharing
Our Expertise, and “You folks
have a lot going on…”
Partnering. As you read through this newsletter, you
will be struck by just how many partners the Land Trust is
working with to accomplish our shared goals. We manage
to get a lot more done by joining forces than going it alone.
There’s a lesson here…
Appreciating Our Volunteers. The Land Trust
Board and staff extended our sincere appreciation to our
volunteers on November 4 who have collectively surpassed
their own efforts from last year. Former Board member
Janice Gendreau created another outstanding menu and
Pat Dunbar shared her incredible house again this year.
Volunteers saw themselves in a presentation from every
staff person. I especially enjoyed the spontaneous applause
for our octogenarian envelope stuffing, bird surveying,
weed warrior Art Morley who was not able to attend—there
was real admiration in the room and it’s well-deserved.
Dining Out with the Land Trust. Courtesy of our
faithful diners and the MacCallum House in Mendocino, we
received the profits from the evening of November 14 in the
form of a check that will cover the expense of printing this
issue of the newsletter. Our third annual Dine-Out Night
was well-attended and we thank all of you who enjoyed the
fine food and benefited the Land Trust at the same time.
Sharing Our Expertise. The Land Trust was written
into a successful grant from the Mendocino Community
Foundation to the Ukiah Valley Trails Group to provide a
half-day training on landowner relations. Tamira Jones
and I worked with a dozen people November 3 interested
in improving their skills in approaching landowners to
discuss trail easements and land conservation. We did
some role playing with scenarios intended to produce some
uncomfortably real dialogues with good results. We learn
best by practicing what we do. Sharing our expertise with
others demonstrates the Land Trust’s maturity, but also
prepares a widening circle of those interested in making
conservation really happen.
“You folks have a lot going on…” Since the October
newsletter came out, people in the community have been
coming up to me in the grocery store or out on the trail to
talk about the diversity of what the Land Trust is doing.
Usually, a phrase similar to “you folks have a lot going
on” is accompanied with a little appreciative shake of their
head. And then we get into a conversation about their

Letter from the Executive Director continued
particular interest—seemingly we are taking on something
of value to each person. It’s like the old ecological axiom:
diversity is stability. Help us stay interesting and diverse
and stable in the new year by contributing early and often.
Big River Stewards Double Volunteer Hours
in 2007
By Matt Coleman, Big River Stewards Volunteer
Coordinator
So far in 2007, volunteers with the Land Trust’s Big
River Stewards program have donated 1,564.5 hours,
nearly doubling the 860 total volunteer hours contributed
in 2006.
653.5 volunteer hours were spent on the Big River Bird
Surveys in 2007 compared with 406 in 2006. In addition
to surveying 30 point-count stations on State Park lands at
Big River, the Stewards have also performed bird surveys
on the 11,600-acre Conservation Fund property next
door and co-hosted, with the Mendocino Coast Audubon
Society, popular Spring and Fall Survey Trainings.
The Stewards contributed 315 hours this year to
invasive plant removal compared with 249.5 hours
in 2006. Non-native plant species, including Jubata,
Ammophila, English Ivy, Iceplant and Scotch Broom,
were removed from sites ranging from Laguna Marsh, to
the upper river, to Big River Beach.
Controlling erosion and sediment yield from the
extensive network of “legacy” logging roads is yet
another goal of the Stewards, who worked 163.5 hours
in 2007 to clear debris from culverts and fix failed water
bars on about 7.5 miles of roads contrasted with 16 hours
and 2.5 miles of road treated in 2006.
Aquatic resource monitoring accounted for 158.5
hours of the Stewards efforts in 2007 compared to 65
hours in 2006. Volunteers deployed and recovered stream
temperature monitoring devices, recorded water quality
data from the estuary, upriver and tributary streams and
snorkeled nearly a mile-and-a-half of pool habitats to
document the presence of Coho Salmon and Steelhead
Trout juveniles.
Interpretive Events accounted for 131 hours in 2007,
compared to 105.5 in 2006, and included hikes to view
spawning Coho Salmon and a remnant old-growth tree in
the Big River “backcountry.” Stewards volunteers also
donated 123 hours (and counting) to build an interpretive
kiosk for the lower Haul Road.
Finally, the Stewards worked 20 hours to clean-up
heavily-used recreation sites at Big River compared to 18
hours in 2006.
Big River Stewards Complete Fourth Year

Photo by Michael Miller

of Bird Surveys
by Matt Coleman, Big River Stewards Volunteer
Coordinator
The Big River Stewards completed their fourth
year of surveying the bird species present at Big
River in November. More than 35 Big River
Stewards volunteered over 200 hours to complete
the Fall surveys, which kicked off with a popular
training, led by David Jensen, representing
the Mendocino Coast Audubon Society, at the
Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens. New this year
were two surveys conducted on The Conservation
Fund’s 11,700-acre property which lies immediately
upriver of California State Park’s Big River Unit.
Raptors observed included Red-tailed Hawks,
Osprey, Peregrine Falcon, Red-shouldered Hawks, Volunteers Rich Frank, Art Weiniger and Rob Becker
American Kestrel, Cooper’s Hawk, Northern Pygmy donated 123 hours constructing the Big River Kiosk.
Owls, Western Screech Owl, and a Ferruginous In Partnership: Interpretive Kiosk
Hawk. Woodpecker species observed included
Northern Flickers and Pileated, Acorn, Downy and Completed at Big River Beach
Hairy Woodpeckers. by Michael Miller, Big River Program Manager
Birds associated with aquatic habitats included The Land Trust is pleased to announce the completion
Belted Kingfishers, Great Blue Herons, Marsh of an interpretive kiosk at the Big River State Park.
Wrens, American Coots, Virginia Rail, Wood Ducks, The kiosk has been a collaborative effort by Big
Western Grebes, Surf Scoters, Buffleheads, Harlequin River Stewards volunteers, the California State Parks
Ducks, Horned Grebes, Hooded Mergansers, and Mendocino District, and Dunlap Roofing.
Double-crested, Pelagic and Brandt’s Cormorants.
The project began two years ago with a three-sided
New to design from the State Coastal Conservancy that was
the surveys modified by volunteer Rich Franks into a four-sided
this year structure. The Big River Program staff assisted State
were Eared
Parks with locational planning and permitting efforts.
Grebes,
The Big River Fund covered the cost of construction
Hooded
Mergansers, materials and custom-made interpretive panels totaling
and a $5,395. Volunteers Franks, Art Weiniger, and Rob
Brandt’s Becker donated 123 hours this summer constructing
Cormorant. the kiosk. State Parks staff, led by Acting Maintenance
Volunteers survey bird species present at
Picalotti’s Crossing on the Conservation Fund Chief Bruce Smith, poured a concrete pad to make the
Fall kiosk ADA accessible. Roofing materials and associated
Property on Big River. Photo by Matt Coleman.
surveys are labor were supplied by Dunlap Roofing of Fort Bragg.
often challenging because of the tendency of birds
to commingle in mixed flocks which can include The kiosk is located next to newly installed restrooms
Chestnut-backed Chickadees, Ruby- and Golden- at the parking area closest to the Main Haul Road. The
crowned Kinglets and other species. Unmixed flocks kiosk shelters four interpretive panels that will describe
of American Goldfinch were also observed. Large the cultural and natural history of the Big River property
flocks of Pine Siskins were observed too, including and promote upcoming Big River Stewards events.
an estimated 70 seen from the East Haul Road.
Another large flock, observed during the second With the recent summer 2007 survey of visitation
survey on The Conservation Fund property, consisted to Big River showing that 3,200 visitors make use of
of about 80 Band-tailed Pigeons. the beach and the Main Haul Road for hiking, biking
and horseback riding each week, the interpretive kiosk
The ultimate goal of the surveys is to monitor
will enhance the learning experience and enjoyment
the abundance of common species over time. Data
for residents and visitors alike concerning Big River’s
collected during the Big River Bird Surveys has
already been used to augment restoration plans for unique history and natural resource endowment.
the State Park land. 
Big River Estuary Natural History Book
Available on Disk
“Big River: The Natural History of an Endangered
Northern California Estuary,” a publication of the UC
Santa Cruz Environmental Field Program, has long been
“the source” for information regarding the natural history
of Big River but, frustratingly, has been out-of-print and
hard to find.
Recently, however, the Land Trust was granted
permission to create a pdf version of this valuable
resource, which details the geography, geology and aquatic
and terrestrial biology of our new parklands. If you’re
interested in obtaining a CD, please contact Matt Coleman,
Big River Stewards Volunteer Coordinator, mcoleman@
mendocinolandtrust.org or pick one up at the Land Trust
office.
Four hard copies of the book will be donated to
Mendocino coast area libraries.
Business Member Partners
These businesses show their commitment to land
conservation in Mendocino County by being business
members of the Land Trust.
October - November 2007
Caspar Beach RV Park, Dennen’s Victorian
Farmhouse, ECT Radiant Barrier, Roger Sternberg,
Forestry & Environmental Consulting, Dean
Strupp & Associates, Sylvandale Gardens
MENDOCINO LAND TRUST
P.O. BOX 1094
MENDOCINO, CA 95460
PHONE: 707 962-0470
FAX: 707 962-0444
Email: info @mendocinolandtrust.org
www.mendocinolandtrust.org
Post Office: Return Service Requested
Quarterly Calendar of Land Trust Events
December 24-25, 2007. The Land Trust office will be closed
for the holiday.
December 31, 2007 and January 1, 2008. The Land Trust
office will be closed to ring in the New Year.
January 13, 2008. Big River Stewards Erosion Control
Day. 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Work to prevent erosion from
Big River’s extensive road network. Contact mcoleman@
mendocinolandtrust.org
January 19, 2008. Big River Stewards Invasive Plant
Removal Day. 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Contact mcoleman@
mendocinolandtrust.org
February 10, 2008. Big River Stewards Erosion Control
Day. 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Work to prevent erosion from
Big River’s extensive road network. Contact mcoleman@
mendocinolandtrust.org
February 16, 2008. Big River Stewards Invasive Plant
Removal Day. 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Contact mcoleman@
mendocinolandtrust.org
February, 2008. History of Big River Interpretation
Training. Date to be determined. Please contact mmiller@
mendocinolandtrust.org for more information.
PRST STD
NON-PROFIT
POSTAGE
PAID
PERMIT #3
FORT BRAGG, CA