Spring 2009

Northcoast Regional Land Trust

Maple Creek Alan Sanborn

Two More Properties Now Permanently Protected

T
hough the financial Grizzly Mountain Ranch Conservation able management practices. The oak
disruption that has dealt a blow Easement woodlands that grace the hillsides of the
to our country’s economy has Overlooking the rural community of ranch are afforded specific protections,
been felt in our organizational Zenia, in Trinity County, the Grizzly and the steelhead-bearing streams will be
capacity, the Land Trust has Mountain Ranch covers nearly 1,200 sheltered from practices that may degrade
maintained stability and has still been acres of forests, rangeland, and oak
able to complete significant achievements woodlands. Fourth-generation landowner Continued on page 4
over the past six months. The closing of Ross Burgess contacted the Land Trust
the Grizzly Mountain Ranch conservation
easement marked two milestones – our
in mid-2008 with an interest in donat-
ing a conservation easement by year’s In This Issue
first donated conservation easement and end. With assistance from the US Forest
our first in Trinity County. The closing of Service’s Forest Legacy Program, NRLT From the Executive Director 2
escrow on the McNamara Dairy property staff worked with Mr. Burgess to complete
in March opened new doors to working all of the required title and appraisal work Dialogues Advances 3
with the Orick community. Three Six Riv- and drafted an easement that matched his Properties Protected 4&5
ers to the Sea conservation easements are management and conservation goals. The
nearing completion, and will place over easement was recorded in Trinity County Six Rivers Update 6
16,500 acres under permanent protection, one day before the end of the year! Conservation Myths 6
thereby preserving vital upland wildlife As a result, the Grizzly Mountain
habitat and natural resource sustainability Ranch will forever be protected from NRLT Supporters 7
for long-time area ranching families. subdivision and will promote sustain- Legacy Giving 8
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2

Board of Directors
President, Blake Alexandre, Business Owner, From the
Alexandre Family EcoDairy Farms
1st Vice President, Mark Andre, Director Executive Director
of Environmental Services, City of Arcata

S
2nd Vice President, Ann King Smith, pring is often heralded as a time of growth and renewal. In advance of this
Cultural Resource Specialist seasonal change, the Northcoast Regional Land Trust has experienced both
Secretary, Yvonne Everett, Associate in healthy doses. Through two recent successes, the Land Trust’s portfolio of
Professor, Natural Resources Planning, conserved properties has grown by protecting another 1,208 acres of working
Humboldt State University
ranchlands, bringing our current total to more than 9,000 acres. The Grizzly
Bill Bragg, Attorney at Law, Bragg,
Perlmen, Russ, Stenich, Rudolph & Eads Mountain Ranch in Trinity County is now permanently protected with a conservation
Maya Conrad, Conservation Land Agent, easement that was donated by landowner Ross Burgess. In addition, the Land Trust
Coldwell Banker Realty is now the proud owner of a dairy in the picturesque Redwood Creek estuary in the
Jack Limmer, Business Owner, Coldwell community of Orick.
Banker Realty Other Land Trust successes include the completion of a draft Conservation Action
Leland Mora, Business Owner, Humboldt Plan. This document will help us develop a more robust and sophisticated approach
Auction Yard & Humboldt Grassfed Beef
to conserving land and water on the North Coast. The North Coast Dialogues project
Fred Neighbor, Attorney at Law, private
practice continues to evolve and grow as a community initiative. We continue to collaborate
Dennis Rael, Business Owner, Los Bagels with regional stakeholders in developing resource and land use goals that will provide a
Company, Inc. framework for economic and environmental sustainability in our region.
Martha Spencer, Senior Planner, As you can see, the Northcoast Regional Land Trust is quickly growing into the
Humboldt County Planning Division regional resource envisioned by its founders. However, spring also signifies a time of
George Yandell, North Coast Project change. Early in 2009, Kevin McKernan decided to resign as Executive Director. The
Director, The Nature Conservancy
long daily commute from Crescent City was the primary reason for Kevin’s decision.
David McMurray, Board Emeritus, Secre- We will sorely miss his presence in the office, but are grateful for his significant
tary, California Council of Land Trusts contributions. Kevin successfully negotiated acquisition of the McNamara Dairy
following four years of intermittent and often contentious dialogue. He also broadened
our presence in Del Norte County, including conversations with the Wetherell family as
Board of Advisors they explore land conservation options for their dairy on the banks of the Smith River.
James Able Laura Kadlecik Kevin also implemented a far more professional accounting system and completed the
Dave Albee Liz Murguia first audit successfully for the Land Trust. Though we are saddened by his departure, we
Jim Anderson Colleen O’Sullivan are strongly committed to maintaining the momentum that Kevin cultivated during his
Kim Browning Chuck Powell tenure.
Tom Brundage Tom Rowe After working for more than a year on numerous projects, I am excited to assume
Nancy Diamond Rondal Snodgrass
Jeff Dunk Bill Thompson the role of Interim Executive Director for the Land Trust. Raised in Fieldbrook, with a
Zuretti Goosby Paul J. Warner family history spanning five generations in Humboldt County, I feel strongly committed
Steve Hackett Arnold Whitridge to the people and landscapes of this place.
Annette Holland Katherine Ziemer I have a diverse background from restoring
Sandra Jerabek native vegetation in Monterey County to
directing field biology projects in West Africa
to teaching in higher education here at home.
Staff I think I speak for everyone in the Land
Lindsay Magnuson, Interim Executive Trust office in saying that we are invigorated
Director by our recent accomplishments and look
Shayne Green, Program Director forward to many more successes in the
Ben Morehead, Project Manager months to come.
Linda Serrano, Development Director
Ryan Wells, Project Manager
Volunteer
Leslie Scopes Anderson, newsletter layout

The Northcoast Regional Land Trust is a

member of the Land Trust Alliance and the
California Council of Land Trusts.

Contact NRLT:
P.O. Box 398, Bayside, CA 95524
Ph: 707.822.2242; Fax: 707.822.5210
[email protected]; www.ncrlt.org
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North Coast Dialogues Advances Vision

The Northcoast Regional Land Trust and foundation for addressing key working North Coast Dialogues Steering Commit-
its network of collaborators are creating a lands issues together. tee, conducted by the NRLT staff and its
Working Lands Strategy as part of a 100- We are currently conducting a land- partners, and reviewed and revised by our
year visioning project called the North scape-level analysis of land use patterns diverse working group.
Coast Dialogues. The Dialogues began as a and other factors related to the productive On a related note, the NRLT recently
collaborative, multi-stakeholder capacity of forestry, agriculture, and fish- held two well-attended interactive work-
conversation designed to help our eries in Humboldt County. The purpose is shops entitled Communities in Transition:
community determine the best way to to establish a shared understanding of the Exploring the Link between Change and
maintain working lands into the future. current patterns and trends as they relate Strong Communities. These workshops
Long-term vision statements developed to the long-term viability of these indus- introduced the Transitions Framework, a
by consensus (see below) now provide a tries and the natural resources on which theory of change and human response to
they depend. The analyses are intended change, and explored how this lens can
to provide an objective basis for decid- be used to build or maintain key elements
ing what collaborative actions, if any, are of community strength. Participants had
needed to help maintain productive lands an opportunity to apply the thinking to
and waters over time. current and ongoing changes occurring
We are planning to present the find- in our community. Based on the positive
ings of the analysis at a public forum in response we received, we are likely to
the fall. That event will foster community host workshops on this topic again in the
discussion and hopefully new insights future.
that guide us in developing quantitative To learn more about the North Coast
resource and land use goals. We will then Dialogues project, please visit our website
identify and prioritize conservation at www. ncrlt.org or call Lindsay
financing options, stewardship and Magnuson at 822-2242.
regulatory incentives, and development
Program Director Shayne Green moderates options that support our goals.
the next phase of the Dialogues project. This work is being guided by the

COLLABORATIVE VISION STATEMENTS

For the next 100 years…
• Locally-based agriculture, forestry,
and fisheries are integral to and positively
contribute to Humboldt County’s
economy, natural landscapes, and rural
way of life and are supported by our
entire community.

• Agriculture, forestry, and fisheries are

economically and environmentally viable
and sustainable.

• People are living and working on

resource lands, using traditional and
evolving knowledge of stewardship and
management, providing opportunities for
future generations.

• Resource lands, in addition to their

economic value, provide fish and wildlife
habitat, open space, and are recognized The Dialogues project is conducting a landscape-level analysis of land use patterns and other
as essential to Humboldt County. factors related to the viability of forestry, agriculture, and fisheries in Humboldt County.
4 N O R T H C O A S T R E G I O N A L L A N D T R U S T • spr i ng 2 0 0 9

Two More Properties...

Continued from page 1
vital habitat. Mr. Burgess will continue to The Land Trust’s first goal as the new
sustainably manage the forests and range- owner of the Dairy is to reach out to our
lands on the ranch, as well as continue his Orick neighbors and become active
low impact hydroelectric operation and members of the community. Though the
diversification of non-timber forest long-term goal of this land purchase is
products. to aid in the restoration of the Redwood
Creek estuary, NRLT realizes that this
McNamara Dairy Purchased must come through consensus with our
Tom McNamara, an Orick native, had neighbors and the many stakeholders in
been raising dairy cows on his 77-acre this effort, including Redwood National
ranch for close to 30 years. Located about Park and the Redwood Creek Watershed
a mile from the Pacific Ocean and lying Group. For now, NRLT is leasing the
on the north bank of Redwood Creek, property to a local dairy producer, and is
the dairy receives cool ocean breezes and developing a management plan to improve
includes a spruce bog that provides habitat the biological and agricultural resources
for multitudes of birds. Feeling that his on the property. We look forward to
interest in the business was waning, he further dialogue with potential partners
put the property up for sale on the open in the community, and hope to aid in an
market. Acting on this opportunity, and ongoing effort to improve the lives of the
through a complicated, four-year negotia- residents of Orick and the condition of the
tion involving Western Rivers Conser- resources we share.
vancy, an Oregon-based non-profit group,
the California State Coastal Conservancy,
and the Northcoast Regional Land Trust,
the McNamara Dairy is now owned and
managed by the Land Trust.

Page 4 &5 photos (counterclockwise): Interim Exeuctive

Director Lindsay Magnuson and Project Manager Ryan
Wells check out native frog eggs; Pacific tree frog nestles
into grass; Ryan and Board President Blake Alexandre
discuss land management; barn structures as seen from the
south pasture; historic barn on Hufford road; a local dairy
producer’s cows graze the pastures.
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Now Protected in perpetuity

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Six Rivers to the Sea

A
fter the successful closing of the subdivision. Appraisals are almost
Valley View Ranch conservation complete and fundraising continues.
easement last year, the Land Similarly, the Miller Forest
Trust is currently working conservation easement, near Willow
toward the completion of three Creek, will promote long-term sustainable
working forest and ranch conservation forestry while protecting Port Orford
easements in Humboldt County. The Cedar (POC) groves and creeks that
Chalk Mountain and Charles Mountain buffer adjacent US Forest Service POC
Ranches, combined, ranked as the management areas. This tree species
number two conservation project in the is “at risk” and conservation measures
nation under the federal Forest Legacy on private lands will help protect these
Program for easement funding. forests on public lands. Due to the state
Together, these two ranches encompass budget crisis, funding for this project is
more than 15,000 acres of forests, salmon currently on hold, but a conservation
streams, and rangelands that will forever plan, a POC resource assessment report,
be protected as productive resource and a property appraisal are currently
lands and open space, as opposed to underway.
being broken up into a rural residential
Prof. Alter and the film crew on Chalk Mountain.

Seven Common Myths About Conservation

Easements (and the real facts) Lay of the Land
The Northcoast Regional Land Trust just
Myth #1: Ownership of land is given up started a new program called “Lay of
FACT: Landowner retains ownership but sells or donates an interest in the Land”. It’s a series of free, one-hour
(easement on) the land. informational events which are designed
Myth #2: Land encumbered by a conservation easement can not be sold, to introduce our community to the
mortgaged, or passed on to future generations general land trust model of conservation
FACT: Because the landowner retains ownership, it can be passed down, sold or and disseminate information about our
mortgaged like any other real property. Land Trust in particular. The Lay of the
Land presentations are full of visually
Myth #3: Public access generally is required once you grant a conservation stimulating information about the
easement Northcoast Regional Land Trust’s work –
FACT: An easement includes the right of reasonable access only to the holder of its mission, purpose, accomplishments,
the easement, and only to monitor the easement. Public access can be written into goals – and vision for a sustainable North
an easement, but only if the landowner desires it. Coast future.
The presentation will include a seven-
Myth #4: I can no longer run cattle, cut firewood, or log. minute documentary which shares stories
FACT: Conservation easements usually preserve, rather than prevent, about “This Place We Call Home”, also the
historic uses. Many land trusts support selective timber harvest guided by timber title of the film. Humboldt State University
management plans. Professor Ann Alter (Department of
Myth #5: An easement will tie the hands of my heirs Theatre, Film and Dance) and her
FACT: Although that is true, an easement will tie their hands far less than Filmmaking III class interviewed different
having to sell property to pay taxes! Landowners are encouraged to consult with community members for their experience
their legal and financial advisors and to plan with their heirs to consider options. of living on the North Coast. Now in post-
production, the film is designed to explore
Myth #6: I can avoid property taxes joy, inspiration, challenge, hardship, and
FACT: Because you remain the property owner, you remain liable for property love of the land from unique and diverse
taxes. In Humboldt County, our assessor has chosen NOT to reassess properties perspectives.
based on conservation easement valuation. The film will be shown toward the
end of the Lay of the Land presentation
Myth #7: Conservation easements are just tax dodges for the wealthy as a catalyst for dialogue, storytelling and
FACT: Conservation easements are not merely “tax loopholes,” but provide an sharing amongst participants. Everyone is
incentive to assist in reaching societal goals. They are a fair trade of property rights welcome. You will receive your personal
for conservation in perpetuity. And their greatest value is not to the rich, but to land- invitation within the next few months.
rich, cash-poor families who wish to maintain a family heritage.
N O R T H C O A S T R E G I O N A L L A N D T R U S T • spr i ng 2 0 0 9
7

Thank you NRLT Members and Supporters! Our Business Partners

Thanks to those who supported us from September 2008 through March 2009
Make our community strong. Please
Agencies and Foundations Jon Brooks
support the following businesses by
Anonymous (2) Gail Coonan
Andrus Family Fund Joan Early using their services and products or
CA Coastal Conservancy Julie Fulkerson & Lynn Evans frequenting their establishments.
CALFIRE Don & Sylvia Garlick
CA Wildlife Conservation Board Brian Hunt
County of Humboldt Robert & Mavis McKelvey Aalfs, Evans & Company, LLP
National Fish & Wildlife Federation Archie Mossman American Hydroponics
Natural Resource Conservation Service Janice Parakilas & Roy Baker
Claire & Gene Perricelli Brooks Appraisal Service
NOAA Fisheries
Norcross Wildlife Foundation, Inc. Steven & Jane Schonfeld Bug Press
The Nature Conservancy Bill & June Thompson
Marlena & Moises Vega Chris Bell Appraisal Associates
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
U.S. Forest Service, Forest Legacy Program Coldwell Banker Cutten Realty (Mock
Manzanita (Up to $99) Wahlund)
Redwood ($1,000 +) Anonymous (4)
Cypress Grove Chevre, Inc.
Francis & Carole Carrington Mary-Jane Ashton
Jack & Rita Limmer John Calkins Emerald City Laundry Company
David & Madeline McMurray Michele & Carl Casale
Russ Conrad Harland Law Firm
Paul Serrano
George Yandell David & Patricia Epstein Humboldt Association of Realtors
Marjorie Fay Humboldt Grassfed Beef
Gary & Janis Friedrichsen
Big Leaf Maple ($500-$999) Dan & Donna Hauser Humboldt Land Title Company
Anonymous David Hitchcock Hunter, Hunter & Hunt
Barbara Barratt Lisa Hoover
Joan Berman Fred Hummel Jackson & Eklund Accounting
Renee Crowley Martha Hunkins Kier Associates
Danny Hagans Roz Keller & Andy Araneo
Judith Hinman Byrd Lochtie Law Offices of Ellen A. Fred
Fred & Joyce Neighbor John & Denise Lopes Law Offices of Nancy Diamond
Dennis Rael & Carol Falkenthal Don & Kathleen Lutosky
John & Nancy VanSpeybroeck Lois Mellert Los Bagels, Inc.
Carol Mone North Coast Cleaning Services, Inc.
Black Oak ($250-$499) Joy Moore North Coast Cooperative
Anonymous (3) Gwen Neu
Harry Blumenthal & Scott Mitchell Jared Rossman Pacific Gas & Electric
Stan & Judy Dixon Joan Schirle RDD Field Services
Shayne Green Susan & Jeffrey Schlosser
Bill & Lynda Hutton Irith Shalmony Redwood Roots Farm
Laura Kadlecik & Mike Wilson Julie Stark Requa Inn
Tom Lisle & Lori Dengler Ted & Josephine Trichilo
Felicia Oldfather Vicky Turner & Rudy Ramp Robert Goodman Wines
Tom & Emily Rowe Don & Andrea Tuttle Solutions
Linda Serrano The Land Man Office
Martha Ann Spencer
Ronald & Donna Thompson Please remember number 82013 Thomas Brundage, Reg. Geologist
during checkout at the North Coast Tofu Shop Specialty Foods
Madrone ($100-$249) CO-OP! Wachovia Securities
Anonymous (4)
Thomas & Catherine Allen White Tree Design
Lucinda Bradshaw Wildberries Market Place
Bill & Lee Bragg

Please use the enclosed envelope to make your

valued donation. The Northcoast Regional Land
Trust is a tax-exempt, nonprofit, 501(c)(3)
organization listed with the Internal Revenue
Service under EIN #68-0456290. All donations
are tax deductible.
 Northcoast Regional Land Trust
P.O. Box 398
Bayside, CA 95524

Legacy Giving
Feel good about protecting a place that you love.
With a legacy gift to the Northcoast Regional Land Trust,
you can ensure that some of our most beautiful and
important lands are protected. Benefits to you may also
include:

• Reducing or eliminating estate tax

• Increasing your income Sunrise at the Marsh
• Decreasing taxes
• Bypassing capital gains taxes
Cover Art - ALAN SANBORN
Leave a legacy of healthy land, clean water, and hope for
Alan Sanborn is an Arcata watercolorist who paints the landscape
North Coast generations. Contact your financial advisor
of Humboldt County, as well as landscapes of his native New
for details on how to make your legacy gift. For basic
England. He has exhibited fairly extensively nationally, but is
information, please contact the NRLT at (707) 822-2242.
best known for his images which grace the posters for the local
Farmers’ Market every year. His favorite subject is the work of
small organic family farmers, who bring abundance to the North
Coast of California.
Alan can be reached at www.alansanbornart.com,
or [email protected], or (707) 822-7958.

NRLT’s Mission
The Northcoast Regional Land Trust is dedicated to
the protection and enhancement of farms, forests,
rangelands, and wild areas in perpetuity. Our vision for
the future includes vibrant communities, sustainable
economies and healthy landscapes.

THANKS TO: