Mendocino Land Trust Officially Opens the Caspar Pond Trail

July 16, 2026

Great news for birders, walkers, and visitors to the Mendocino Coast! Thanks to a generous grant from the Mendocino Coast Audubon Society, the foresight of a selfless landowner, and the work of Mendocino Land Trust’s Land Protection Manager, Matt Franks, MLT will officially open the Caspar Pond Trail to the public on July 25^th, 2026. The trail dedication and ribbon cutting ceremony begins at 11:00 am, with the Mendocino Coast Chamber of Commerce, Mendocino Coast Audubon Society, and the Caspar community. All are welcome.

Caspar Pond Trail is located just off the east side of Highway 1 on Fern Creek Road, and has been used as an informal community trail and birding hotspot for years. This gentle trail is a wide path that wraps around a small pond that hosts a fantastic array of ducks, songbirds, and migrating species. Cornell’s eBird site lists mallards, cliff swallows, Canada geese, violet-green swallows, American goldfinches, and ospreys among the many species known to frequent the site.

This public access easement marks a delightful first for Mendocino Land Trust. While MLT maintains nine public access trail easements totaling over four miles of coastal trail segments, the Caspar Pond Trail is the first trail easement donated by a landowner with the sole purpose of preserving a special community trail long into the future. Michael St. John’s desire to keep the pond and its remarkable wildlife habitat protected and open for the community he loves was the catalyst for this project. MLT and the Caspar community are deeply grateful for this gift. The grant from Mendocino Coast Audubon Society was made possible through a bequest from Huldie Schoener Clark, whose love for ducks moved her to donate her estate to fund bird-related scholarship, research, and conservation projects like the Caspar Pond Trail.

Going forward, Mendocino Land Trust will steward the trail in perpetuity, adding a new sign marking the trailhead, and ensuring that birdwatchers, community members, and visitors will enjoy a well-maintained trail for years to come. Please note that dogs are not allowed at Caspar Pond.