California Conservation Crew viewing the Brandon Gulch Salmon Restoration Project in Jackson Demonstration Forest, October 6, 2025. Photo Credit: Nicolet Houtz | |
Hello Friends,
We’ve been busy this season! We completed a major salmon restoration project in Jackson Demonstration State Forest, staked out future trail segments from Westport to Point Arena, and upgraded a popular coastal access trail in Fort Bragg. Our volunteers have made important contributions as well, joining us at three sites for the annual Coastal Cleanup Day, pitching in to remove 300 feet of old boardwalk, and showing up in increasing numbers for our monthly stewardship days. Thank you all!
Looking ahead, our 2025 Project Updates will hit your inboxes and mailboxes shortly. It’s an impressive overview of our work that includes trail projects, protecting land from subdivision, new public access acreages, and habitat restoration. None of this work would be possible without your help. Executive Director Conrad Kramer gives us a preview of the scope and diversity of our work in 2025:
“This year, thousands of Mendocino County residents and visitors enjoyed MLT’s 20 public access sites and 20 miles of trails spanning our 100-mile coast. Our work ranged from creating new public access to acquiring land that we will return to Tribes. We designed new California Coastal Trail segments and began the early planning of a section of the Great Redwood Trail north of Willits. MLT staff and partners made significant progress on important habitat protection and restoration programs for endangered coho salmon and Behren’s Silverspot butterflies. We also continued to work on protecting thousands of acres of additional redwood and fir forests, oak woodlands, working forests, farms, and ranches on the coast and inland.”
Read about all our year in review here. We hope you will consider a generous donation this season to help us continue this vital work next year, and for many years to come.
Thanks for your ongoing support!
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Read our complete project updates here.
We hope you will consider a generous donation this season to help us continue this vital work next year, and for many years to come.
To learn more about MLT trails, conservation easements, public access, habitat restoration, and ways to support our work, volunteer, or sign up for hikes and outings, visit our website:
mendocinolandtrust.org
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MLT Welcomes New Staff Members
We are growing! In October, we welcomed two new staff members, Sarah Wright and Holly Madrigal. We are delighted with the talent, enthusiasm, and fresh ideas they are bringing to our work.
| | Sarah Wright joins Mendocino Land Trust as our Administrative Assistant after years in the Bay Area’s hospitality and event management industry. Seeking a slower pace and a closer connection to nature, she relocated to the Mendocino Coast in 2023, where her work with Jug Handle Farm and Nature Center sparked an interest in non-profit operations and land stewardship. Sarah is grateful for the opportunity to support MLT’s daily operations and contribute to its mission of conservation and community. Outside of work, she enjoys spending time outdoors with her son and their dog, exploring the trails, beaches, and wild places of their new coastal home. | | | Holly Madrigal has turned her love of exploring Mendocino County into a hallmark of her life and is thrilled to join the Mendocino Land Trust as our Engagement Manager. Raised in Willits, she holds an Economics and Business degree from UC Santa Cruz, and has served as Mayor of Willits, Director of Leadership Mendocino, and publisher of Word of Mouth magazine. She continues her commitment to community involvement through 100 Women Strong Mendocino Coast, Willits Rotary, and the Mendocino Historical Review Board. An amateur birder and dedicated seeker of whimsy, Holly lives in a little house by the sea in Mendocino village. | | | Fall Volunteer Days Recap | | California Coastal Cleanup Days -September 19 & 20. 2025 | | |
The California Coastal Commission launched Coastal Cleanup Day in 1984, and it has remained one of the world’s largest community science projects. On September 20, we joined thousands of California volunteers and organizers statewide to cleanup three of our sites. We cleared trash and invasive species, and documented our findings to support the state-wide data collection effort that is crucial in mapping human behavior and informing policy changes that keep our waterways clean and safe for all of us. MLT has been part of this important community effort since 2002.
At Hare Creek, 35 enthusiastic volunteers and four MLT staffers collected 450 pounds of trash. Big thanks to the Fort Bragg High School Interact Club, sponsored by FB Rotary and Harvest Market’s Tim Bosma for joining us again this year. Our star Hare Creek steward, Lenny Noack directed volunteers, along with MLT’s Volunteer & Stewardship Coordinator, Chase Ahrens, who organized the event. Chase was joined by staffers Emily Griffen, Nicolet Houtz, and Conrad Kramer.
The Pacific Community Charter School students did a fantastic job sweeping the beach and trail at Moat Creek Beach ahead of the MLT team, leaving staffers Anna Bride and Chase Ahrens to tackle some tougher jobs, including evicting a few mice from the rest area.
The Seaside Beach Cleanup saw a dozen volunteers scour this typically pristine beach located north of Fort Bragg. MLT Board member Megan Smithyman leads this cleanup site each year with Marchelo Bresciani. Happily, our community and visitors keep this beach close to trash-free year-round. This year about 12 volunteers scoured the sand, parking area, and surrounding rocks, looking very carefully to find tiny bits of refuse, cigarette butts, and (very) small toys. Every bit of plastic removed is one less hazard for our shore birds and local fauna.
Coastal Cleanup site captains record the volume, weight, and type of refuse collected at each site along the coast and inland waterways. This data helps track what plastic products are making their way to our beaches, rivers, and creeks. With these numbers, policymakers, businesses, and the public can take action to reduce pollution, keeping our waterways clean and safe for all of us. State Parks Sonoma-Mendocino Coast District Volunteer Amelia Schall Tůmová worked with the California Coastal Commission to make this community event possible for all of us. Learn more here: www.coastalcleanupday.org
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Belinda Point Trail Volunteer Day & Trail Updates
Belinda Point Trail upgrades are underway. Thanks to a generous donation from the Fort Bragg Rotary Club, we are replacing the old, deteriorating boardwalk section of the trail with a new gravel path that will improve accessibility and drainage. The new trail segment will also make some of the existing obstacles easier to navigate and more accessible for a wider range of people to enjoy this popular coastal access trail. MLT Stewardship Project Coordinator Chase Aherns is the Belinda Point project lead.
The Fort Bragg Rotary Club did double duty on this one, not only providing funding support but also answering the call for volunteers on our October 11 Belinda Point workday, helping us remove approximately 300 feet of old boardwalk. The Rotarians were joined by enthusiastic neighbors, members of the Fort Bragg High School Interact Club, and MLT staff. We are currently laying down a new gravel path, which consists of a 6-inch base layer of coarse gravel topped with a compacted crushed stone layer to provide a smooth surface. The gravel is graded to slope downward on each side to help drainage. Weather permitting, we hope to have the new trail section completed this month. Please note that while the trail remains open during construction, please exercise caution if you head out. Keep an eye out for debris, and be aware that some sections may be slippery during wet weather.
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Brandon Gulch Salmon Restoration Project Completed!
Under the leadership of MLT’s Director of Stewardship, Nicolet Houtz, the Brandon Gulch salmon restoration project in Jackson Demonstration State Forest was completed in October, thanks to the tireless work of the California Conservation Corps teams from Willits and Fortuna, who finished the job over three work spikes in August and October. The Brandon Gulch project was funded by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife through the Fisheries Restoration Grant Program. To see how the “C’s” tackle this work, head over to our Facebook or Instagram pages for a fascinating time-lapse video of the final work week.
Brandon Gulch is a small tributary to the South Fork Noyo River, located in JDSF. Thirty-five new log structures were installed, using over 100 large wood pieces that were placed and secured over a 3,885-foot stretch of the stream. The goal of this project is to improve the quality and quantity of spawning and rearing habitat for coho and steelhead in Brandon Gulch by increasing the complexity, frequency, and depth of pools that provide shelter and refugia. The large wood elements will sort substrate, capture spawning gravels, and improve overall stream function, while also supporting the broader forest ecosystems.
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Tori McCann is the Fish Habitat Specialist. She's wearing the yellow hat with her hair down. Cedar and Kendall are C1s. Cedar is with the Mendocino Center in Willits and Kendall is with Fortuna.
Photo Credits: Nicolet Houtz
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