On July 17, PG&E donated a conservation easement to MLT that prevents future development on a 30-acre parcel just outside of Point Arena.

The Windy Hollow property encompasses open grasslands and several protected special status plant communities and special status wildlife habitats. In particular, it contains habitat for the federally endangered Point Arena Mountain Beaver as well as possible habitat for federally endangered flora. It is also a potential habitat for the federally endangered Behren’s Silverspot butterfly, which MLT is actively working to protect. The property also contains important riparian and wetland areas in the Garcia River watershed, including water that flows to the salmon-bearing Garcia River. The Windy Hollow Conservation Easement permanently protects this property from any kind of future development. 

On August 4, MLT accepted the donation of a conservation easement from the trust established by the late Sonya Popow, a longtime MLT supporter and renowned ceramic artist. Sonya’s legacy now includes protecting the beautiful redwood trees on the land she owned for over 50 years. The Popow Redwoods Conservation Easement covers her 2.3-acre property between Pudding Creek and the Noyo River just east of Fort Bragg, including her beloved ’Grandmother Tree’, a magnificent second-growth redwood in the backyard. MLT’s conservation easement will ensure that these trees are never cut down, and we will work with future property owners to restrict development and use of the property so that the redwoods and wildlife habitat will continue to flourish, and not be harmed.