Great Good People of MLT: Interns, 2023’s Version

Every summer, the Mendocino Land Trust hosts a couple of young people as interns. While they come from different backgrounds and fields of study, they are always passionate about looking after our environment and eager to put their studies into hands-on practice. (Sometimes it is a bummer to have to tell them how much conservation work seems to involve a desk….) 

While we strive to make their experience enriching and fulfilling, and dare we say, fun, our interns have traditionally livened up the place and offered us the opportunity to show off and fine-tune our work.  We are so excited to have them here. 

Introducing: Indy Fitch and Emma Alliende!

Here they are in their own words:

My name is Indy, and I am one of the two conservation summer interns for 2023 here at MLT! I am a junior at Reed College, majoring in Environmental Studies with a focus on biology, and a minor in econ. I grew up in Saint Paul, Minnesota, enjoying lake life and the Twin Cities greenway system. I’m interested in many things, from the out-in-the-field side of things such as forestry, sustainable agricultural practices, and restoration projects to in-the-lab– and in-the-mind–projects such as environmental research and the ethics of land use. Apart from my career interests and internship at MLT, I love being outdoors, biking, drawing, drinking coffee, reading a wide range of philosophy, and being with my loved ones. 

I’m so excited to be part of the MLT team this summer to provide public access to nature while learning about the ecology of the northern coast. I’d like to thank MLT and Paul Siegel for making this all possible, and I look forward to getting to know the town of Fort Bragg. 

Hello everyone! My name is Emma, and I’m thrilled to be joining MLT as one of the interns this summer! I’m currently a second-year Environmental Science student at UC Santa Barbara. I grew up in Calaveras County, but I have had the privilege of spending numerous summers exploring the breathtaking Mendocino Coast. It holds a special place in my heart and continues to be one of my favorite places on Earth. This internship opportunity resonated with me on multiple levels as it encompasses various aspects of my career aspirations, including conservation management and ecological restoration. The mission of MLT is truly inspiring, and I am so excited to contribute to its cause throughout this summer!

Conservation Explained: Stewardship

by Sage Andersen, MLT’s Outreach and Communications Manager

What is Conservation is another in our occasional series on issues in conservation, Conservation Explained. Let’s talk about what our stewardship of the land actually looks like.

Merriam-Webster says that stewardship is “the conducting, supervising, or managing of something; especially : the careful and responsible management of something entrusted to one’s care.” That definition is in the ballpark of what we mean here at Mendocino Land Trust when we talk about stewardship. But it doesn’t quite do justice to the sheer scope of the work our stewardship team does.

So, I asked the MLT stewardship team what they thought it meant. It turns out, doing stewardship takes many forms. Here’s what they told me.

1) Stewardship of existing conservation easements:

We monitor each of our conservation easement properties annually. During that monitoring, we make sure all elements of conservation easements are being complied with. To do this, it is imperative we build relationships with landowners. We also document changes on the conserved properties due to storms, changes in erosion, changes in working forests, etc.

2) Stewardship of lands with public access

We make sure trails are safe to travel and do maintenance like weed-eating and pruning. We remove hazardous trees, fix fences and pick up trash. We protect local ecosystems, especially by removing invasive species, and make sure trails are accessible. While we do a lot of this work ourselves, we also work with volunteer groups that share the environmental stewardship work of our trails and preserves.

3) Working with partner organizations 

Another aspect of our stewardship work is partnering with other organizations to do restoration on their property. We’ve worked closely with Jackson Demonstration State Forest to secure funding for salmon habitat restoration, road decommissioning, removal of salmon migration barriers, and project design. We’ve also done some of this work at our Noyo River Redwoods property. If a Wildlife Conservation Board grant comes through, we’ll work with California State Parks and the Bureau of Land Management on pollinator habitat restoration. We also work with those organizations to prioritize new projects on lands where we can open public access for all folks to enjoy the beauty of a new environment.

Phew! That’s a lot of work. Our hats off to our little team of stewards, both staff and volunteers; thank goodness the summer interns are coming. We have work to do!

Great Good People of MLT: Ken Flannell

Is Ken Flannell a whiz with numbers and budgets? Yes, of course: He is the treasurer of the Mendocino Land Trust Board of Trustees, after all. Heidi Sorenson, our Chief Financial Officer, sings his praises all the time and recently showed off a spreadsheet he produced for her that was easy to read, helpful and well-researched. “He does this for us in his spare time!” she said, awestruck. The spreadsheet in question was about responsible investing; he’s a numbers guy with a conscience.

Is Ken Flannell a lifelong and determined outdoors enthusiast? Absolutely. “My favorite wild place in the Mendocino area is the Lost Coast. I’ve made three backpacking trips there, and it is so cool to camp on a wild part of the California Coast. My absolute favorite is the high Sierra around Yosemite and Sequoia. I have enjoyed many backpacking trips there. I’d go with my Dad as a kid and a young man, and more recently with three friends who get together every year.”

He’s those things, but what you may not realize is that we should also call him “Slugger.” This January, Ken got to attend San Diego Padres fantasy camp, which was a dream. It was a baseball dream that was almost postponed after he had not one, but two heart surgeries to correct a leaky valve. Unfortunately, ever the overachiever, the first surgery worked too well and his heart overcorrected. He had to have another procedure to fix the new problem, but his primary concern was getting back in shape for fantasy camp. Luckily, his doctor was on board and moved up his surgery so he could still attend. Boy, did he attend: he won a coach’s award during the camp, handed out by former Padres catcher Nick Hundley, and inspired the rest of his teammates.

Way to go, Slugger! We are so lucky to have you on our team.

To learn more about Ken’s baseball journey, check out this report! (It might be worth grabbing some tissue before you press play.)

If, like Ken, you would like to help us protect more of Mendocino County, please sign up to volunteer at our website; feel free to let us know if you would like more information about becoming a member of MLT’s Board of Trustees.