Cover photo by Colton Thompson Photography

Hello Friends,

Welcome to MLT’s Winter 2025 News! We’ll be publishing seasonally, with occasional blasts in between to herald big news and events.

We’d love your feedback. Please let us know what you want to learn more about, how we can better serve you, and what inspires you most to get involved with our work. Reach out at info@mendocinolandtrust.org

To learn more about Conservation Easements, Public Access, habitat restoration, and how you can support this vital work, visit our website: mendocinolandtrust.org

 MLT is thrilled to announce that we are under contract to purchase the 157-acre coastal blufftop parcel known as Bell Point, located approximately 13 miles north of Fort Bragg. We expect to close on the property before summer. When the property was listed for sale last year, MLT’s Director of Land Protection Emily Griffen saw the potential to work with local tribes to restore this largely undeveloped gem to indigenous ownership. Working with Kai Poma, a tribally-incorporated nonprofit founded by Sherwood Valley Band of Pomo Indians, Round Valley Indian Tribes, and Coyote Valley Band of Pomo Indians, Emily pursued the project with broad support from the tribes, local representatives, and nearby residents of Westport Village. Funding from two separate grants secured the project. The State Coastal Conservancy awarded $2.5M for the purchase; the California Council of Land Trusts provided an additional $95,000 Project Advancement Grant to support planning a new portion of the California Coastal Trail as well as the transfer of the parcel to Kai Poma, who will ultimately manage the property. Additional support from an anonymous donor provided 100K in funding towards stewardship of the land and maintenance during MLT’s bridge ownership. 

This remarkable property sits by the southern edge of the Village of Westport, spanning Hwy 1. To the west, it consists of approximately 50 acres of open coastal headlands, coastal meadows, riparian wetlands, and a bishop pine forest. An additional 100 acres of mixed conifer redwood-fir forest, meadowland, and ocean-view ridgelines will also be preserved on the east side. The headlands offer a jaw-dropping 180º degree view of our rocky and dramatic Mendocino coastline.      

Bell Point will now be protected from development forever, opened to public access for the first time, and returned to local Native American tribes for long-term ownership and management. Mendocino Land Trust is honored to work with Kai Poma to facilitate the return of this land as a vital step towards restoration and reparation.

Habitat Restoration

WCB Pollinator Restoration - An Ongoing Success!                        

On a clear, crisp day in December, over 50 volunteers, staff, and MLT Board members gathered at Pelican Bluffs to complete the planting of 700 native plants, including violets, grasses, and nectar species, continuing the habitat restoration work of our Wildlife Conservation Board (WCB) pollinator grant.

Five specific planting areas had been staked out ahead of the day by our Stewardship team. Staff had estimated that this huge planting job would take at least 3 hours to complete, but our enthusiastic crew finished the job in a swift 45 minutes! Winter maintenance including watering and fertilizing of these butterfly-friendly planting sites at Pelican Bluffs and Navarro Point has concluded, but habitat restoration is ongoing. 

More pollinator-friendly planting takes place this month, as MLT partners with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the California Conservation Corps (CCC) at the Point Arena Stornetta Lands to plant another 9,500 native plants. MLT Stewardship Project Manager Anna Bride is working with BLM Ecologist Laura Moreno, Wildlife Biologist Ben Cook, and Assistant Field Manager Colin Davis to implement this large-scale planting, providing wide swaths of obligate habitat plants for butterflies and other pollinators. The Pollinator Habitat Restoration project is made possible by a grant from the Wildlife Conservation Board.

Stewardship Project News

Trailhead management signs provide important information, letting visitors know what to look out for and how to stay safe in these public spaces. Last year we replaced five of our signs, and thanks to a foundation grant from The California Endowment, we expanded access to this information by adding QR coded translation to Spanish and Mandarin. Translation codes have been installed at three Shady Dell trails (Creekside, Peter Douglas, and Ridgeline) Old Smith Ranch, Navarro Point, Seaside Beach, Newport Ranch trail, Pelican Bluffs, Little River Blowhole, Mendocino Bay Viewpoint, Belinda Point, Dark Gulch, and Hare Creek.

This grant also funded a mapping project that allowed us to prioritize all of our Public Access Easements as we consider new trail projects in the future. Stewardship Project Manager Anna Bride and Stewardship Project Coordinator Chase Ahrens created and installed the new signage.

2025 MLT Trail Keepers

THANK YOU 2024 DONORS AND SUPPORTERS!!

Thank you to everyone who generously supported our work in 2024! We cannot do this work without you. Here you are, listed by area of Mendocino County - and beyond! Every donation supports our mission of protecting and stewarding the natural habitats and working lands of Mendocino County, and providing public access to beautiful, wild spaces. A big special thanks to all our monthly donors!!

Legend: P/S = Business Partners and Event Sponsors, M = Monthly Donor

Fort Bragg

Art Explorers Inc. (P/S)

Blencowe Watershed Management (P/S)

Brent and Cynthia Rusert

Bruce and Deborah Bentz

Celine Gerakin

Chuck Artigues and Betty Abramson

Cynthia and James Plank

David and Christine Hartesveldt

Diane Cerutti

Doug Hammerstrom and Diane Harris

Eleanor Harvey

Elizabeth Pippin (M)

Elizabeth Tallent

Fort Bragg Plumbing (P/S)

Ginny Rorby

Harvest Market (P/S)

Jackson Law Offices

James Griswold and Trudy Jensen (M)

Jeanne Gocker

Jesusa Matson

Jim and Barbara Hurst

Jim and Diane Larson

Joann and Jan Stickle

Joel and Christine Franks

John Swartley and Debra Cohen (M)

Judy Haun

Kate Erickson LPL Financial (P/S)

Kathy and Joseph Averill

Kendall Smith

Larry and Gayle Heiss

Laura and David Welter

Linda Jo Stern

Lorrie Lagasse and Chris Williams

Louise Mariana

Marchelo Bresciani (M)

Mary Gealey

Matson Building Materials (P/S)

Megan Smithyman (M)

Mendocino Coast Clinics Inc (P/S)

Mendocino Cookie Company - Zappa's Coffee (P/S)

North Coast Brewing Co. (P/S)

Olivia Barrager

Pacific Pearl (P/S)

Pacific Textile Arts (P/S)

Parker Ten Mile Ranch

Pat Tilley

Patricia Jones

Paul and Judy Tichinin

Richard Gibb and Lar Krug

Richard Jacobs and Linda Lawley

Richard Shoemaker and Linda Ruffing

Robert Horvat

Rossi Building Materials (P/S)

State Farm (P/S)

Subway- Fort Bragg (P/S)

Susanne and Richard Norgard

Suzanne Tennyson (M)

Thanksgiving Coffee Co. (P/S)

The Beachcomber Motel (P/S)

Thompson Gas, LLC. (P/S)

Thompson's Porta Septic Service (P/S)

Timothy and Judy Hollingshead

Todd and Holly Newberger

Trevor and Angela Sharp

Valerie Frey

William and Randice Roberts (M)

Wynn Coastal Planning & Biology (P/S)

Yolanda and Bruce Fletcher

Anonymous (2)

Anderson Valley

Family Life Magazine (P/S)

Nicolette Ausschnitt and Steven Krieg

Robert and Barbara Goodell

Sheila Colombana

Walter Hopkins

California

Aimee Chudy

Andrew and Anne DeMar

Beth Furstenthal (M)

Claire Applegarth

Danny Hagans

David Lakes

Donald Dean

Ed Spear and Vicki Wedegaertner

Eugene Lock

Gerald and Nicolette White

Harvey and Jacqueline Moranda

Holly Harris and Charles Lamb (M)

Jon Lee

Kathleen and Jeffrey Thuner

Kathy Bloch (M)

Ken and Marian Brown

Marilyn Saegert

Mary Ellen White and Jack Morton

Miquel Salmeron and Greta Vollmer

Nancy Evans

Our Change Foundation

Perry and Amy Gottesfeld

Peter Brown and Susan Beattie

Randall Killen

REI Santa Rosa (P/S)

Robb and Karin Lightfoot

Robert and Philomena Williams

Roger Gilbert

Stephanie Stolarz-Fantino

Steve Miller and Yvonne Schell

The Estate of Charlotte Waggoner

Wendy Hoyt

Anonymous (1)

Location Unstated

Beta Heist Morello

Carolyn and Toby Mollenkopf

Daniel Richards and Sarah Chaney

David Perry

Dawn Hofberg

Debra Sally

Ewing and Bonney Philbin

Gabriel Tallent

Heather Paulsen Consulting (P/S)

Jen Pelt

John Needham

Lynda Adams (M)

Lynn and John Walton

Madeline Kellner

Michael Hodgson and Therese Iknoian

Mendocino

Barbara Barkovich and John Redding

Barbara Weiss and Richard Melrose (M)

Café Beaujolais and Nicholson House (P/S)

Carole Raye

Chet and Sherri Anderson

Eileen Bohannon

Felicia Rice

Gallery Bookshop & Bookwinkles (P/S)

Gayle Greene and Robert Jourdain (M)

Gerald and Kimiko Shuck

Howard and Sharon Lau

Jack and Florence Van Geem

Janet Ashford

Jeanette Boyer (M)

John and Kathi Griffen (M)

Judith Chapman

Kathleen Cameron

Ken Flannell and Denise De Luise (M)

Kristen Williams and Jimmy Schmidt

Leona Walden

Lorie Wardlaw (M)

Louisa Morris and Bob Neale

Marcia Sloane

Marilyn Wood (M)

Mary and Drew Jackson

Matthew and Elaine Miksak (M)

Mendocino Maples Nursery (P/S)

Noelle and Jeff Hasson

Out of this World (P/S)

Pamela Hudson Real Estate

Paula and Mark Goodwin (M)

Peter and Jennifer Kalvass

Richard and Susan Strom (M)

Roger Sternberg and Diana Weir

Samuel Edwards and Virginia Sharkey (M)

Sharon and Jan Peterson

Sharon Hunter and Bill Mahon

Stanford Inn by the Sea (P/S)

Susan Maeder

Tony and Maureen Eppstein

Wendell and Sammie Rickon

Anonymous (3)

Anonymous (2M)!

North Coast

Amanda Cruise and Brian Knittel (M)

Bill and Bobbie Knapp

Bob Schlosser and Dawn Hofberg

Charlene McAllister

Chet Boddy

Conrad Kramer

Don Cruser and Petra Schulte

Gabriella Levine

Harriet Bye and Larry Sawyer

Joan Sutherland

Joel Kies and Caroline Bonfield

Joycelyn Bartlett and Tony Miksak

Judy and Jim Tarbell

Lee Tepper and Dorine Real

Lynda Morgan

Lynne Mowry (M)

Marius Schilder

Mary Flannery Kraut

Melissa Hays

Neal Davis and Esther Ehrlich

Pat Dunbar

Patricia Scott

Richard Hubacek

SCP Mendocino Coast Lodge

Sue and Jim Budlong

Susan Hofberg

Susan Juhl

Susan Larkin

Switzer Farm (P/S)

Terrence and Cathy Booth

Winston and Becky Bowen

Anonymous (2)

Ukiah Valley

94.5 K-WINE and 93.5 MAX (P/S)

Al White and Victoria Golden

Amy Wolitzer

Andrea Mccullough

Bard and Marilyn Zensen

Blue Zones Project Mendocino County (P/S)

Bob Twelves

Bonterra Organics Estates (P/S)

Community Foundation of Mendocino County

David and Charlotte Rapport

Dennis and Christine Dill

Donna Walker

Elisabeth and Stephen Pasternak

Elizabeth Macfarland

James and Arlene Moorehead

Jonathan Whipple and Margaret Agnew

Judith Fuente

Julie Forrester

Larry and Pat Hartley

Larry Falk and Margaret Arner

Mary Metcalf

Mendocino Barkery (P/S)

Michael Lloyd

NC Financial Group (P/S)

Nephele Barrett

Radiant Yoga Ukiah (P/S)

Redwood Waste Solutions (C&S Waste) (P/S)

Ron and Francine Selim

Sam Goldberg

Scott Claypool and Janna Hansen

Tapestry Family Services (P/S)

Tom and Ilse Winters

Warren and Linda Ware

Anonymous (1M)

Location Unstated, cont.

Patrica Rosa and Paul Policastro

Pia Chamberlain

Randolph Bush

Robert and Janie Frank

Roberta Lyons

Susan Shaddick

Theresa and Scott Mercer

Thomas Haley

Walmart Foundation (P/S)

Anonymous (1)

South Coast

Barb Skoog and Emmett Dacey (M)

Bob Rutemoeller and Mary Sue Ittner

Craig Brestrup

Dave Shpak and Susan Wolbarst

Donald Hess

Douglas Forsell (M)

Douglas Smith (M)

Jackie and Bruce Reeves

James and Marcia Nybakken

Jeanne and Richard Jackson

Jeff Gyving and Lena Bullamore

Leslie and Eric Dahlhoff

Lisa Joakimides

Mark Vanderwoude

Mary Heibel

Point Arena Lighthouse Museum (P/S)

Robin Applegarth

Roma Robbins

Susan Bernardo and Kevin Polk

Tempra Board and David Yager

Tina Batt and Robert Doyle

Tom and Anny Reidenbach

Anonymous (2)

Anonymous (1M)

Laytonville/Leggett

Anonymous (1)

Willits

Alan Falleri and Patty Bruder

Janet and Tony Orth

Karen Gridley and Wolfgang Ronnefeldt

SHN Consulting Engineers & Geologists (P/S)

Tom and Angie Herman

Bay Area

Andrea and Melinda diSessa

Andrea Woodside

Angelo Figone and Laurence Brenner

Bruce and Madeline Feingold

Colin Davison

David and Victoria Burton Burke

Don and Marcia Ehrlich

Erik Wyner

Facebook

Gary Grimm and Ann Holsberry

Holiday Phelan-Johnson and Christopher Johnson

J. Michael Hopper and Virginia Pier

James Frodsham

Janet and Clark Johnson

Jeanine Ceballos (M)

Jeremy and Christina Isenberg

Jerry and Linda Yarbrough

Joe and Alison Barta

Joel Perlstein

Julia Byrd

Karen and Michael Winn (M)

Karen and Thomas Jefferson

Kathryn Dodds

Kelly DiMartini (M)

Ken and Martha Fischer

Lise Thomsen-Jones and Robert Jones

Lyn Andersen

Lynne Clenfield

March Conservation Fund

Marietta Kelly

Mary Kerosky

Michael and Beth Litton (M)

Michael Hammes

Nancy and John Hoogendyk

Nathan Swartley and Julia Baron

Nelson and Lia Lee

Philip Maloney and Monica Steinisch

Regina Lackner

Richard Poley

Robert Jones and Catherine Rivlin

Sky Stanfield

Sonoma Clean Power (P/S)

Steven Berger and Paula Hughmanick

Stuart Bewley and Donna Motluk

Thomas Amaroli

Thomas and Rebecca Riley

TrimTab Media (P/S)

Vera De Martini

Warren and Janis Watkins

Anonymous (2)

Anonymous (1M)

Out-of-State

American Online Giving Foundation

Bob and Margaret Archibald (M)

Carolyn Barden (M)

Constance Swartley

Deborah Wilson and Lloyd Fickett (M)

Dennis and Rosemary Smithyman

Donald Brian Miselis

Great Old Broads for Wilderness (P/S)

Honey Hollow Foundation

Jesse Lipson

John and Jann Sterling

John Meyer (M)

John Williams

Judith and Herb Gifford

Kaufman Family Foundation

KIND Snacks (P/S)

Mary Withington

Patricia Rosa

Paul Siegel and Betsy Martin

PayPal Giving Fund (P/S)

Ray Hargreaves

Robert Parvin

Russell DeGrove

Season of Change Foundation

Stifel Charitable, Inc.

Susan Lindoo and Michael Wolesky

Trevor and Trish Orchard (M)

Willard and Carolyn Jackson

Anonymous (1M)