(SPRINGVILLE, CA) – As with 2020, the pandemic continues to hammer the economy into 2021 despite some signs of encouragement on the horizon. Nonetheless SRT’s land conservation gains continue.

For more information on conservation easements, visit the SRT website at: https://sequoiariverlands.org/what-we-do/easements.html.

 

Welcome to 2021’s first quarter issue of Currents!

 

With our long-awaited new year come new challenges. And yet some of the old year’s predicaments are proving to be more enduring than we would like.

 

COVID-19 and its economic impacts persist into 2021.

 

Climate instability and questions about groundwater policy and drought remain.

 

Environmental laws and regulations are in flux, while social and political unrest prevail as hallmarks of our era.

 

Conservation funding uncertainties remain a puzzle to be solved.

 

All that, just to name a few.

 

But with hope for widespread vaccination now reasonable and promise offered by myriad new policies that aim to address our ongoing conservation and land use issues, we at SRT are choosing optimism. Our belief is that the year ahead will be a productive one nonetheless. We’re ready for it, and if 2020 proved anything, it’s that we must remain so.

 

As many of you know, I was honored to be appointed by the SRT Board of Directors to the post of Interim Executive Director in December 2020. As SRT’s founding Board Chair, I have known and loved SRT’s mission from its inception. I have watched it unfold and mature over two decades. The life experience and skills I gained both as a farmer and a conservation advocate now offer what I hope will be useful perspective in leading SRT as we transition to a new executive director, a search for whom is now underway.

 

But despite change, SRT continues much as it was: Innovating and forging new trails; engaging our community to see the economic, social, scientific and environmental health benefits of land conservation; educating area students throughout our region’s school districts via our innovative EARTH Academy conservation sciences programming that is tuned to state curriculum standards.

 

We remain as partner to farmers and ranchers for whom we protect working landscapes that honor the legacy of the California heartland’s agribusiness roots. We continue to provide mitigation services employing expertise that offsets the impacts of public and private development. We plan enhancements to our seven nature preserves. And we remain committed to championing public land use policy locally, regionally, statewide, and nationally – advances in keeping with our conservation movement’s broader aims that align with those of a new administration seeking to strengthen our government’s commitment to land preservation and champion much-needed funding.

 

While the issues facing California and our region promise certain if unknown change ahead, one thing remains constant: SRT will still be here to inspire love and lasting protection for important lands with the same visionary commitment and constancy for which we’re known. I hope you will join me in remaining resolute in achieving those urgent goals and expanding the strong and growing base of support for SRT's many worthwhile initiatives.

 

We appreciate and salute you, our partners and friends in conservation. We count our gains in acquired acreage but you are the most important asset of all.

 

Sincerely,

Interim Executive Director

Sequoia Riverlands Trust

(SPRINGVILLE, CA) - SRT’s groundbreaking conservation-focused Education Department continues to adapt despite the ongoing pandemic, says Education Director Bud Darwin. Its EARTH Academy continues to draw high school students around the region to explore the environmental sciences.

CURRENTS: Tell our readers what your focus is at SRT and why it's important to conservation in our region.

JONATHAN VAUGHN: My focus is on SRT's nature preserves in the Tulare basin and distinct from the land we own in the Carrizo Plain managed primarily for Threatened and Endangered animals, although I assist in periodic botanical surveys there. It's importance to conservation was recognized before SRT even existed, as our precursor land trusts saw the need to keep intact important natural areas in the valley and foothills. There is also a real paucity of publicly-accessible natural areas here, and the secondary benefit of protecting these areas is that it gives us a chance to visit and be guests in the homes of the plants and animals that have been there for centuries or millennia.

CURRENTS:  What did you gain from your time with Nature Conservancy? And how has your Master's work informed what you do for SRT, if at all?

JV: I think it was the experience of working for The Nature Conservancy in Fort Hood that really began my future interest in habitat restoration and vegetation management. We were surveying for nests of the golden-cheeked warbler, a charismatic endangered songbird that requires juniper-oak woodlands for its nesting habitat. No juniper-oak woodlands, no golden-cheeked warblers. It seems unlikely that a sprawling military base housing the 1st Cavalry Division and a target range for artillery would make for great endangered bird habitat, but the property's status as a military base protected it from the rapid development that decimated the bird's populations elsewhere in the area. The strange juxtaposition of chasing after females carrying nest material while keeping one eye on the ground for unexploded ordnance drove home for me how important habitat loss is as a driver for species population decline more broadly. Although it took several more years, one could draw a line between this summer field job and my later working for a land trust. 

CURRENTS:  Tell us about your AmeriCorps experience, how that influenced your career arc and choice to stay with SRT.

JV: When I applied for the position with SNAP at SRT, I was already pretty confident that I had struck gold. The combination of native plant propagation, restoration planting, and invasive species management is rare, as these efforts would [usually] be done by separate people or even whole departments in organizations like the National Park Service or United States Forest Service. Having all this wrapped up in one job was too much to pass up, and I was fairly sure I wanted to stay well before my year of service came to an end. Fortunately, I happened to be in the right place at the right time as SRT was looking for a Land Steward at the time I completed my service. The transition to staff member was quite smooth; I just took on more responsibility over the projects and purviews in which I was already working.

CURRENTS:  Tell our readers about the SRT Dry Creek Nursery and your interest in the native plants of our region. What is your vision for the nursery? Why should people be focusing on our natives?

JV: The Dry Creek Nursery was initially created strictly to grow plants for the transformational restoration of the Dry Creek quarry into a nature preserve. Once the infrastructure was in place, it made sense to grow plants for restoration at other preserves, and later to use as outreach by way of selling them to the public. The nursery is small and much of our stock is grown with the help of volunteers who generously donate their time to help us, and I think this loving care is evident in the final product. This stands in stark contrast to the mega-nurseries which grow plants in what is essentially a plant factory, selecting only the most profitable and fast-growing selections in a ruthlessly efficient machine of production. It makes me very grateful to grow plants with an element of curiosity and discover to keep things interesting.

CURRENTS:  Should the nature-loving public be encouraged about our long-term prospects for land protection in perpetuity? How can we inspire them to stay on board given those uncertainties? How can they get involved and support your work? What are our most pressing needs?

JV: I think that, if anything, the uncertainty that pervades the moment shows how important land protection in perpetuity is. No matter what wild tempests of pandemics, social unrest, partisan aggression, or climate disruption bring, SRT is the rock that endures, keeping ironclad protections that have no expiration date. Anyone who wants to support our work is of course encouraged to donate, volunteer with us, or support the Dry Creek Nursery by purchasing some standout California native plants! In terms of our pressing needs, I am a stalwart champion of the very unsexy, unexciting cause of ongoing maintenance. It's unappreciated until it isn't!

(VISALIA) - To fulfill its mission to inspire love and lasting protection for important lands, SRT is on a continuous quest to attract committed volunteers for a variety of essential operations, from preserve maintenance to restoration planting to citizen science functions. Through plant propagation at the SRT Dry Creek Nursery, volunteer Discovery Days at Blue Oak Ranch Preserve, and maintaining Kaweah Oaks Preserve, our community generously responds to SRT’s call for collaboration in a number of ways.

SRT Stewardship Director Jeff Powers is involved in groundwater management causes and Tulare Basin Wildlife Partners issues. New SGMA regulations have set Powers on the path of finding ways to support farmers and ranchers as new GSAs begin to sort out the complexities of the new groundwater realities to unfold over the new few years. He serves the Tulare Basin Watershed Partnership Network (TBWPN), comprising the watersheds of the Kings, Kaweah, Tule and Kern Rivers. There he serves as a member of the Design Team charged with organizing, defining, and conducting the network meetings over the first two years of its formation. The TBWPN's overarching goal is to "establish and enhance watershed health and resilience across the Tulare Basin by 2040" with more than 40 organizations, agencies, and groups.

For the East Kaweah Groundwater Sustainability Agency (EKGSA), Powers serves as a member of the Advisory Committee and also on the Planning & Steering Committees for their Resource Conservation Investment Strategies (RCIS) planning process. This RCIS plan will allow voluntary participation landowners to implement land management strategies to provide habitat for rare/endangered species. If in the future farmers seek to repurpose their land due to SGMA groundwater restrictions, the plan would provide voluntary options. 

SRT Interim Executive Director Scott Spear serves on the Tulare County Ag Advisory Committee, among his many commitments. However, he has served the land conservation cause for longer than SRT has been in existence, including one of its predecessor organizations that merged to form SRT in 2001. His additional title of SRT Board Member Emeritus indicates just how extensive his volunteer commitment to our organization has been for the past two-plus decades.

SRT Advancement Officer Logan Robertson, who joined the organization in October, is active with education causes. She serves on the board of directors for the California School Age Consortium. “CalSAC's vision of a future where every child in California — regardless of income, race, or zip code — has access to high quality, affordable out-of-school time programs resonates with my deeply held values around education and equity. As a statewide organization, CalSAC has the potential to impact youth and families on a large scale. Plus, I love the people and culture of my CalSAC,” Robertson said.

Additionally, Robertson serves on the board of directors of Fotokids, an organization that serves over a thousand at-risk children affected by poverty and violence by teaching photography, graphic design, media technology, and vocational training experience as a tools for self-expression, creativity, leadership, and future employment. Her volunteer service reflects her education focus, which is critical to SRT given her role in securing grant and other underwriting for SRT’s innovative Education Department. “Many of the current Fotokids staff are my former students, and my relationships with them are some of the most consistent and longest-lasting relationships in my life. Over and over, I have seen the amazing impacts Fotokids' mission of helping young people from the poorest of situations develop useful, employable skills as a means to self-exploration, expression, and discovery,” Robertson said.

SRT Director of Planning and Policy Adam Livingston serves a number of strategic SRT interests by participating in initiatives beyond his core work including the California Economic Summit as its Ecosystems Services team Co-Chair; as the San Joaquin Valley Health Fund's Policy Co-Chair for Land Use and Planning; as Coordinator of the Southern Sierra Partnership; as Chair of the Tulare Regional Transportation Plan Roundtable; member of the Fresno Regional Transportation Plan Roundtable. Adam’s reach is clearly broad and deep across the Golden State.

SRT Director of Education and Volunteers Bud Darwin is active in education and youth issues. From his work with area school districts to community youth programs, Darwin has a long history of volunteer engagement in the education field. From Step Up to support for work-based learning in area high schools and more, Darwin is known throughout the region for his impact for a variety of key community institutions, as well as a guy unafraid to wield a shovel and get his hands dirty.

(VISALIA, CA) - Without a doubt, 2020 was a challenging year for the world, for our country, for our organization, and for many of our members. However, thanks to the generous support of our donors, SRT was able to raise almost $100,000 in donations in 2020!

(VISALIA, CA) - SRT preserves offer what is – in our region – rare access to what are some truly beautiful local backdrops. Mountains, meadows, and riparian forests are a irresistible draws for photographers.

(VISALIA, CA) - With the new year come new SRT Board roles. Rod Meade was appointed Board Chair at the Visalia-based organization's annual meeting. Outgoing Chair Mike Olmos will remain on the board. Olmos's recent appointment as Executive Director of the Tulare County Economic Development Corporation placed new demands on his time.