Witness the migration

Gray whales make one of the longest annual migrations of any mammal, traveling about 10,000 miles round-trip. During the spring migration they travel from their winter home in Baja California, Mexico to their summer home north of Alaska in the Bering and Chukchi Seas. It is during this northbound migration that mothers with calves travel close to shore, making the spring migration a particularly good time for whale watching.

With all of its spectacular vista points, the Mendocino Coast is a great place to witness the Pacific gray whale migration. Annual whale festival events take place up and down the coast for the first three weekends in March, so there will be no shortage of opportunities to catch a glimpse of their distinctive spouts and possibly a fluke or two. Mendocino Land Trust will be joining in the festivities with a guided whale watching walk.

Did you know? • A whale’s spout is actually an exhalation from their lungs that blows tiny particles of water into the air. • Different species of whales have different shaped spouts. • The spout of a gray whale is low and bushy and sometimes described as heart or v-shaped.

Habitat Restoration Project Yields Unprecedented Results for Coho Salmon

In late 2018, Mendocino Land Trust completed a lengthy coho salmon habitat restoration project on James Creek, a tributary in the upper reaches of the Big River watershed that runs along State Hwy 20. Excitement is running high as scientists and conservationists are already reporting the return of spawning coho salmon to the newly accessible habitat upstream from the project site.

Wildlife habitat preservation and restoration is an important component of Mendocino Land Trust’s mission, and coho salmon, in particular, have a special place in the hearts of northern California communities. Having once thrived in our streams and rivers, the coho salmon of California have been on the threatened/endangered species list for two decades. Seeing them benefit from habitat restoration projects like this one gives hope for eventual population recovery.

From the press release:

“Scientists and conservationists are thrilled to report the return of spawning coho salmon to the upper reaches of a tributary of Big River, thanks to a four-year habitat restoration project led by Mendocino Land Trust in partnership with California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) and Jackson Demonstration State Forest.

Initial post-restoration informal surveying has already shown increased coho salmon spawning activity, demonstrated by several coho salmon nests (known as redds) and coho salmon carcasses upstream from the restoration site. “The transformation is blowing my mind,” CDFW environmental scientist Scott Monday said of the exceptional early results. “I’ve never seen anything like this.”

Read the full press release here: James Creek Press Release

On the day after Christmas, the beautiful 133.5-acre Lovers Lane Vineyard property in the northern Ukiah Valley was permanently protected by a conservation easement generously donated to Mendocino Land Trust by Mendo Farming Company, LLC.  The Lovers Lane Vineyard is in active agricultural production and has been farmed for grapes for many years.   If you would like more information, you may download the full Press Release.

We are very grateful to reporter Sara Reith of KZYX who posted this wonderful story on their website and aired it on Christmas Day, 2018:

“Dec 25 — For years, fish passage on James Creek, a tributary of Big River that leads to the town of Mendocino, was hindered by a nine-foot waterfall caused by the construction of Highway 20. Only the luckiest or most agile fish could make it past the barrier.

Now, after about five years of planning, design, and a different kind of construction, the stream has been widened and eight smaller stairstep waterfalls provide access to several miles of ideal spawning habitat.

The Mendocino Land Trust and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife just completed the stream restoration project in October, using several hundred tons of rock from Harris Quarry. Willits contractor Garman Brothers did the heavy liting. On December 21, Mendocino Land Trust Director of Conservation Doug Kern gave me a tour of the newly reconfigured tributary. Join us for an upstream ramble. Have a Listen.”

On Coastal Cleanup Day, Saturday September 15, about 200 volunteers removed over 1100 pounds of garbage and 150 pounds of recyclables from over a dozen beaches along the Mendocino Coast. Above, a great crew from North Coast Brewing Company cleaned up Virgin Creek Beach.

Below, 22 volunteers from the Traditional Small Craft Association took to their kayaks and removed 600 pounds of debris from the Noyo Harbor. The kayakers at Noyo Harbor once again collected huge pieces of foam chunks from old docks.

Above, the City of Fort Bragg joined Coastal Cleanup Day this year by adopting Glass Beach. The Noyo Center for Marine Science also orchestrated 24 volunteers, including kids, to help collect over 250 of trash from the Noyo Harbor Beach. 

Favorite find of of the day was a tiny plastic pig. An important reminder to everyone enjoying our beaches: be sure to collect all your belongings before you leave or you might be one pig short!

A special thanks to our business partner, Waste Management for the generous donation of dumpsters for the event. Thanks also to Mendocino County Waste Management Authority for providing a small grant to help defray our organizing costs. 

Beth said if here parents were alive today, they, too, would walk at Pelican Bluffs. They loved to walk in places like the Elfin Forest between Morro Bay and Los Osos. They walked the paths of the Cloisters in Morro Bay. They were able to walk from their Morro Bay home to see the Great Blue Herons in the trees near Morro Bay’s Embarcadero.

Beth provided the following about her parents: They were admired for their kindness, energy and love of humanity by our family and many more people whose paths crossed theirs. When they died their ashes were scattered in the Ocean they love.

Mendocino County is on the road to a cleaner and more sustainable future with the installation of 13 new electric vehicle charging stations along the coast and in Willits. Thanks to a $498,040 grant from the California Energy Commission awarded to Mendocino Land Trust in 2014, a string of new electric vehicle charging stations are up and running, with the final station completed in Willits in mid-July.

A ribbon-cutting celebration will be held in Willits at 5:00 pm on Friday, August 17, 2018 at the City parking lot at West Mendocino Avenue and School Street, hosted by the Willits Chamber of Commerce, Mendocino Council of Governments (MCOG) and Mendocino Land Trust.

To bring these charging stations to the public, Mendocino Land Trust worked under the grant from the Energy Commission in partnership with California State Parks and MCOG.  MCOG contributed $34,500 in supplemental funds and ongoing staff support throughout. In-kind matching assistance was provided by Visit Mendocino County, and matching funds were provided by the City of Fort Bragg, the Tarbell Family Foundation, Clipper Creek, Group II Commercial Real Estate and Harvest Market.  The project culminated in an electric byway that provides incentive for visitors and locals alike to use plug-in hybrid-electric and all-electric vehicles.

Every year, thousands of tourists hit the road in search of adventure in the sweeping landscapes of Mendocino County.  Many drive for hundreds of miles in hope of reconnecting with the wild places of Northern California. That is why Mendocino Land Trust and its partners decided to build this series of electric vehicle charging stations, most of which are placed within or very close to State Parks.

Until the end of December 2018, you may charge your car for free while you are exploring one of these beautiful parks:

• Westport Union Landing State Beach

• MacKerricher State Park

• Point Cabrillo Light Station State Historic Park

• Russian Gulch State Park

• Van Damme State Park

• Greenwood State Beach

• Hendy Woods State Park

If you are closer to town activities, or during a stop on the way, you will find new chargers conveniently located at:

• City of Fort Bragg’s City Hall parking lot

• City of Fort Bragg’s Laurel Street parking lot

• Fort Bragg’s Boatyard Shopping Center

• Caspar Community Center

• City of Point Arena’s downtown public parking lot

• City of Willits’ downtown parking at School Street and West Mendocino Avenue

 “We are proud to be providing a part of the solution to climate change in Mendocino County,” says Doug Kern, Director of Conservation at Mendocino Land Trust. “Building the infrastructure to reduce fossil fuels usage is an important step in keeping our water and air free of pollutants.”

“It’s been a pleasure working with the Land Trust’s dedicated staff on this vital project,” added Janet Orth, MCOG Deputy Director. “These installations are fulfilling several recommended public charging sites in our Mendocino County Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) Regional Readiness Plan along with the park locations.”

California State Parks is responding to the increasing challenges of climate change with the installation of EV charging stations as part of its “Cool Parks” initiative. Facilitating the expansion and use of plug-in cars not only encourages their use by environmentally-conscious visitors, but also allows the general public to see this new technology in action. 

“This is a fantastic program for visitors to our coast to charge their electric vehicles while they adventure in our beautiful parks,” says Loren Rex, Mendocino Sector Superintendent. “We’re thrilled the charging stations are all in and excited to see them being used regularly.  Thanks to Doug Kern at Mendocino Land Trust and all the partners for completing this cutting-edge project.”

Every year we look forward to working with the next generation of conservation leaders as part of our growing internship program. This summer we were joined by Claire Brase, our Paul Siegel Salmon Restoration Intern from Reed College; Maggie Davies, a second intern from Reed College this year; and Marisa McGrew from Humboldt State University, whose internship was funded by a grant from the National Land Trust Alliance.

Together, they have been working with our Conservation Team on a variety of projects, including an invasive plant inventory at Pelican Bluffs, instream habitat monitoring at our various salmon restoration project sites, community outreach, and helping with grant writing and stewardship of our many trails and properties. They have had a great summer and we can’t believe it has gone by so quickly!

Installing signage

Fixing boardwalks

Stream monitoring

Community outreach

Trail day at Pelican Bluffs

Happy Trails Claire, Maggie, and Marisa!

On a slightly blustery day in early May of 2018, the Mendocino Land Trust surprised a local conservation leader with a special bench dedicated in her honor at Pelican Bluffs Preserve, just south of Point Arena.

The newly finished trail takes visitors up a rising coastal prairie, at the crest of the hill revealing the sweeping landscape of Pelican Bluffs. Phyllis Curtis, director of the all volunteer Inland Mendocino County Land Trust in Ukiah, had no idea what was waiting for her at the top of the trail, but it wasn’t just the spectacular view that took her breath away. To her surprise, she was greeted by sight of friends and family who had gathered from near and far to celebrate the life and legacy of her tireless dedication to land conservation.

Land conservation and beautiful public spaces don’t just happen on their own. It is thanks to the efforts of people who care very deeply that we are able to enjoy these beautiful vistas and preserve them for generations to come. Phyllis’s bench will forever be a place for tired hikers, young and old, to rest their weary feet. Here, countless people will sit in quiet contemplation and drink in the natural beauty of Pelican Bluffs. The bench itself has a story to share, crafted with lumber from McKerricher State Beach by Jeff Trouette and Gary Burica.

Every single one of our dedicated benches is special and honors the legacy of those who gave their all to preserve the wild heart of Mendocino County. It is the honor of the Mendocino Land Trust to protect these lands and preserve the memory of those who save them, forever.

The latest Mendocino Land Trust Strategic Plan is now available for review. Click the image below and take a look at what our future holds over the next 3 years: