Spring 2021

J O H N

M U I R

L A N D

T R U S T

H O R I ZO N S

Protecting the places that make the East Bay special

SPRING 2021

THE CAMPAIGN FOR PACHECO MARSH NEARLY THERE! Thanks to you and generous members of the John Muir Land Trust community, we’re closing in on our goal to raise $1 million to construct low-impact features that will allow public access to Pacheco Marsh. When restored, this 232-acre salt marsh will be an outdoor classroom and must-visit destination for nature enthusiasts of all ages. East Bay residents are discovering that they have a surprising connection to a place that may at first seem a bit distant and remote, but epitomizes efforts to revitalize the ecosystem of the bay we all share.

Because Pacheco Marsh is where the extensive Walnut Creek watershed empties into Suisun Bay, it is likely the destination for rainwater that drains from your backyard into local creeks and streams. Scarred by decades of industrial activity, the marsh is being restored back to health with your help. continues on page 3

PROJECT

GOALS

UPDATE RESTORATION & PUBLIC ACCESS EDUCATE – Provide educational opportunities for people of all ages and increase community awareness of natural conservation areas RECREATE – Offer equitable public access to new recreational opportunities including wildlife viewing, hiking, and boating while maintaining Pacheco Marsh’s scenic, cultural, and historic character PRESERVE – Ensure Pacheco Marsh is appropriately managed and maintained for habitat integrity and biological diversity in perpetuity

MILLION

1

$

RESTORE – Bring back 232-acre tidal wetland to ensure wildlife thrive, create long-term ecological resilience, and provide natural solutions to climate change and sea level rise

To be raised from individual donors by June 30, 2021 to ensure public access at the site as restoration nears completion.

$400,000

NEEDED TO REACH 1M FROM INDIVIDUALS 1M $600,000

CAMPAIGN GOAL

JMLT PUBLIC ACCESS

$

5

MILLION

$

24.5 MILLION

CCCFCD RESTORATION

$

19.5 MILLION

what’s inside Executive Director’s Message..........2 Bob Doyle.......................................2 Pacheco Marsh (cont.) ...................3 Land Donations........................... 4-5 What Donations Will Fund................6 By the Numbers..............................7 Donor Spotlight........................... 8-9 Teens and Nature.................... 10-11 Events..........................................12

jmlt.org

Greetings,

JOHN MUIR LAND TRUST

We’re feeling quite optimistic this spring at John Muir Land Trust, and hope you are as well. Two donations of land to JMLT put this year off to a great start. Read in this issue about Marathon Oil Corporation’s $4 million gift of 18 acres to the Pacheco Marsh project and a generous and important gift from the Ditmer family of 30 acres that preserves the integrity of our conserved lands in Franklin Canyon.

P.O. Box 31 Martinez, CA 94553 925-228-5460 info@jmlt.org jmlt.org Linus Eukel Executive Director Kristen Anderson Director of Digital Marketing Mary Cherry Farm Manager, Family Harvest Farm Jay Dean Creative Strategy Director Brian Hayes Technology Director Hannah Hodgson Program Manager, Family Harvest Farm Melanie Hogan Director of Development Glen Lewis Stewardship Director & Open Space Ranger Beth Perot Database Director Neil Roscoe Chief Financial Officer

BOARD OF DIRECTORS Katie Hill Chair Arthur Bart-Williams Vice Chair Stephanie Becker Secretary Bill Wadsworth Treasurer Eliot Hudson* Immediate Past Chair Charles Lewis IV* Parliamentarian Jan Berckefeldt Dawn Block* Jack Cortis Timothy E. Lipman Eileen McCauley Ted C. Radosevich Karen Sakata *Asterisk indicates former Chair

Many thanks to the photographers who contributed to this issue: Jay Dean, Carla Din, John Ehrenfeld, Joanna Salazar, Adam Weidenbach, Lisa Westphal, Susan Wood Follow us on social media:

JMLT’s projects serve the diverse needs of East Bay residents. Other land trusts often have a narrower scope. JMLT does land acquisition, conservation easements, environmental restoration, park creation, and mitigation work—across urban, suburban, and rural areas. Our projects benefit human and wildlife communities.

An important part of our mission is connecting people to the land. Unless people experience nature firsthand, they won’t come to cherish it. Pacheco Marsh will become an outdoor classroom for anyone interested in learning about the salt marsh ecosystem.

Family Harvest Farm in Pittsburg connects urban residents to land that produces healthy food; young people experience the rewards of hard work in dirt and soil.

Be sure to read an article by summer intern Madison Peters about the importance of connecting teens to the outdoors. Exposure to nature has benefits for mind, body, and soul. Although this year we’ll be doing our annual Twilight event in a series of fun online virtual gatherings and not in person, we hope that young people in your life will join us to meet fascinating local birds, see what’s growing at Family Harvest Farm, and take delight in the wonders of the night sky. Register at jmlt.org.

Thank you for your continued generosity that allows us to set aside land permanently for the enjoyment of all, and to create engaging ways for East Bay residents to connect to the special places we all love and share.

Sincerely, Linus Eukel, Executive Director

EAST BAY CONSERVATION ICON RETIRES JMLT expresses our heartfelt appreciation for decades of conservation achieved under the expert guidance of Robert Doyle, who retired in December as General Manager of the East Bay Regional Park District (EBRPD). Our two organizations have collaborated many times, most recently on Almond Ranch and Pacheco Marsh.

Bob’s career spans four decades, and few have had greater impact on East Bay public lands and park policy. We consider Bob a member of the JMLT family, and indeed, he is married to Tina Batt, a founder and JMLT’s first Executive Director. With more time on their hands, hopefully we’ll see more of Bob and Tina out on the trails!

Photo: Linus recognizes Bob at Fernandez Ranch

PAG E T WO

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PACHECOMARSH Having grown up in the East Bay, we’re bothered by the condition of Pacheco Marsh whenever we drive by — old dilapidated buildings and abandoned rusty equipment. The Carquinez Basin is a beautiful location that needs to be restored to its original state. The original flora and fauna will make it a magical place for current and future generations to visit.

— Peter & Robin Frazier JMLT is raising funds to construct low-impact features that will open 232acre Pacheco Marsh for public access. Here young people will learn about the salt marsh ecosystem that is vital to marine species, and everyone will enjoy a fun day exploring a thriving wetland habitat along the shore of Suisun Bay. JMLT and partners Contra Costa County Flood Control District and East Bay Regional Park District are restoring the property, scarred from decades of industrial activity, back to its natural state. Recent visitors share their enthusiasm.

We have lived in the East Bay for 30 years. As avid hikers of the vast outdoor public trails so close by, we were interested to learn the history of Pacheco Marsh and see the plans for a fantastic walking path with bridges and viewing spots.

Pacheco Marsh will be preserved while the surrounding marshes will be under water within a few years. This marsh will become an excellent refuge for the native animals of the Carquinez coastal region. We enjoy our incredible East Bay surrounds and this area will be another excellent area to explore.

— Mary & Mark M from Orinda As a birder and nature photographer most of my life, I’ve been fortunate to shoot on many of the best nature preserves in the county. When I first walked on to Pacheco Marsh over ten years ago, I immediately realized the extraordinary potential it holds. Pacheco Marsh already has a diverse, and accessible, population of important salt marsh species and raptors, including Ridgway’s rails, Suisun song sparrows, short-eared owls, white-tailed kites, and a thriving population of ‘the most elusive bird’ in North America, the Black Rail. There is no doubt that a restored Pacheco Marsh will become a birder’s paradise and a must-visit destination for the international birding community. — Steve Hutchcraft

The Pacheco Marsh Restoration offers a unique opportunity to rebuild a tidal marsh ecosystem. Our family foundation is pleased to contribute to a project that includes educational programs for K-12 students and disadvantaged communities. I look forward to sharing this special place with my family and friends when it opens in the next few years.

— Tim Lipman

MAKE A GIFT TODAY! Make it possible for school groups and nature admirers of all ages to view wildlife responsibly in thriving shoreline habitat.

VISIT JMLT.ORG/PM PAG E T H R E E

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TWO DONATIONS OF LAND

FILL CRITICAL GAPS THE SMALL PUZZLE PIECES ARE AS IMPORTANT AS THE LARGE ONES—WHEN YOUR GOAL IS TO COMPLETE THE PUZZLE. Two generous landowners have greatly advanced JMLT’s conservation goals in Contra Costa County. In February, the family of local landowner James Ditmer donated from his estate a property near Fernandez Ranch that preserves the integrity of our conserved properties in Franklin Canyon. In December, Marathon Petroleum Corporation, a founding member of our Corporate Council, donated the $4 million 18-acre North Reach parcel that connects Pacheco Marsh to Suisun Bay. You are familiar with JMLT campaigns to raise funds to purchase land from private owners—recent efforts to acquire Almond Ranch, Painted Rock, and Carr Ranch come to mind. Less frequent, but just as important, are occasions when landowners are able to make direct donations of property outright.

Adding A Missing Piece The Ditmer parcel parallels the railroad and Highway 4 just north of Franklin Canyon Golf Course. While perhaps easily overlooked by the casual observer, these 30 acres form an important buffer zone that protects the adjacent 2,124 acres of Crockett Hills Regional Park owned by East Bay Regional Park District. This grassland ecosystem provides habitat to myriad native wildlife species and its popular Donating the trails include a 4.5-mile segment of the Bay Area Ridge Trail. property to JMLT

was the perfect solution for us. The land was difficult to maintain, and finding a buyer would not have been easy. Conserving it for all to enjoy is a win for everybody.

We’re thrilled.”

— Diane Ditmer

PAG E F O U R

680

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A local land trust, such as JMLT, is ideally suited for providing necessary stewardship to such a parcel. The property’s fence line protects roaming wildlife (and thereby humans) from excursions onto railroad and freeway.

JMLT has the resources and expertise for managing seasonal fire abatement protocols that have become so important in recent years.

Conveying the property to JMLT was an easy decision for Diane Ditmer when she became executor of her late father James’ estate. The attorneys of Wendell Rosen LLP recommended the donation to Diane and her brother and step-brother, Douglas Ditmer and Kevin Johnson, as a financially sound strategy for managing what they discovered to be a complicated asset. Local land trusts such as JMLT are able to move very quickly and provide 501c3 tax

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benefits not afforded by agencies and other potential recipients. JMLT benefits by acquiring land that serves the conservation goals of the larger landscape and preserves the delicate integrity of our holdings nearby—1,185-acre Fernandez Ranch and Contra Costa Goldfields.

A $4 Million Donation Wendell Rosen LLP also facilitated another donation—this one along Suisun Bay. It is impossible to imagine JMLT’s Pacheco Marsh project without this direct connection to the shore. The nearly $30 million restoration project is revitalizing wetland and creating a destination that will teach generations of young peo680 ple about marsh habitat, climate change, and the value of converting industrial property back to its natural state.

Suisun Bay

Morello

ano S ol

eek Walnu t Cr

In 2016, JMLT and Marathon Petroleum Corporation identified an opportunity for the rePacheco finery to acquire and then donate an680 18-acre Marsh nt commercial shoreline parcel located a few erfro Wat hundred yards from their Martinez operations. The transaction was supported by the Vista Contra Costa Flood Control District, rina a key a partner in the Pacheco Marsh MRestoration Project. The refinery completed a back-toback $4 million purchase and donation in Pac late December, 2020. The parcel becomes hec 680 Martinez o the “Jewel in the Crown” of the project.

This critical connection to shoreline allows public access to the beautiful Carquinez Strait at its confluence with Walnut Creek, an 4 opportunity that would have been entirely foreclosed otherwise.

What is the Corporate Council?

Many businesses share our desire to protect natural areas in the East Bay. JMLT is grateful to companies who participate in sponsorship opportunities that benefit the company, JMLT, and the public at large. Many employers have a payroll deduction program and a matching program that double the impact of employees’ gifts. jmlt.org/corporate

The JMLT community is deeply grateful to the Ditmer family and to Marathon Petroleum Corporation for these generous additions to our conserved lands in the East Bay.

Gifts of Land JMLT gratefully receives donations of land and property every year. Many of these become conserved properties such as those described above. Other times, generous donors make gifts of homes and parcels of land that are not suitable for conservation, but that we can sell for funds that then support the work of the Land Trust. For more information: jmlt.org/donationsofland

PAG E F I V E

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$400,000

NEEDED TO REACH 1M FROM GOAL INDIVIDUALS 1M $600,000

EVERY DONATION MAKES A DIFFERENCE: PACHECO MARSH The restoration of Pacheco Marsh, where Walnut Creek flows into Suisun Bay, is helping to recover the salt marsh ecosystem that is so vital for a healthy San Francisco Bay. JMLT is raising $1 million to construct low-impact amenities that will allow the public to explore this remarkable site. Here are some examples of what your donation will fund.

Bird Blinds - $35

Interpretive Features - $75

Kayak Launch - $300

Provides funds to erect blinds that will allow visitors to watch birds without being seen

Educational sites will teach how a marsh ecosystem functions

Supports construction of a new boat launch for kayakers and canoers

Elevated Vista Points $1,000 Supports the construction of 3 elevated platforms for wildlife viewing

Scenic Bridges - $2,500

Staging Area - $300

Multi-use trails - $5,000

Provides funding for construction of four bridges throughout the marsh

Supports construction of a large staging area with public parking and restrooms

Supports construction of 2.9 miles of trails—an up-close experience of the marsh while protecting wildlife

Donate to Pacheco Marsh at jmlt.org/pm PAG E S I X

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BY THE NUMBERS

30 by 30 After only a week in office, President Joe Biden signed an executive order pledging to conserve 30% of U.S. lands and waters by 2030. This ambitious conservation goal received bipartisan support in Congress and was universally applauded by environmental groups in every state.

1,000

Land trusts represented by the Land Trust Alliance, including JMLT, have pledged to conserve at least 60 million acres by the end of this decade in pursuit of the goal. That matches the 60 million acres the land trust community has already protected over the past 40 years—an area larger than all of America's National Parks.

Every 30 Seconds

How often the United States loses a football field of natural lands to roads, houses, industry and other development. About 40 acres of farmland are lost every hour.

3 billion

In the last fifty years, North America has lost that many birds — 29% of our avian population.

An important goal of the president’s vision is to protect wildlife habitat and reverse these trends.

3,500

JMLT MHLT

WEST HILLS FARM

JOHN MUIR LAND TRUST

200,000

Acres conserved by John Muir Land Trust in the East Bay over the past thirty years. We’re just getting started.

JMLT

PACHECO MARSH

JOHN MUIR LAND TRUST

Volunteers and almost 5 million donors—just like you— who are working in land trust communities right now, and are critical to the successes achieved every day. You help to provide pure drinking water, healthy food, clean air, habitat for wildlife, and places for people to reflect and recreate. Conserved land protects us from natural disasters, such as floods and droughts, and reduces carbon in the atmosphere. Thank you!

PAG E S E V E N

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SPOTLIGHT

DONOR

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Jan Berckefeldt

PAG E E I G H T

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PACHECO MARSH: A SURPRISING PERSONAL CONNECTION Not until she visited Pacheco Marsh recently did Jan Berckefeldt realize that she had a strong personal connection here—to a place she had just heard of and was seeing for the very first time. Pacheco Marsh is where the vast Walnut Creek Watershed drains into Suisun Bay. Jan has treasured memories growing up on the family ranch playing in San Ramon Creek, an important tributary. Her mother learned to swim here. In fact, if you are reading this, chances are that you live within this same watershed, the largest in Contra Costa County. At 146 square miles it drains the Diablo Valley and the west side of Mount Diablo.

“When I discovered this, I decided right then to make a donation to help restore the marsh,” Jan says. “The place where I first came to love the natural world is part of the same ecosystem JMLT is working to protect.”

Jan’s family history tells the story of the patterns that have transformed the East Bay landscape over the past century and a half. She is descended from one of the original ranching families. Her great grandfather, R.O. Baldwin, came west in 1850 in search of gold. Remarkably, he found it! During a local visit he fell in love with the San Ramon Valley and established Osage Ranch when he purchased a piece of Bartolome Pacheco’s original land grant of Rancho San Ramon. After adding other properties, his holdings eventually grew to

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R.O. Baldwin

Mary Baldwin

Source: Santos, M.J., A. Peers, A. Avery, E. Francis, E. Steiner and J. Coolidge. 2014.

Conservation histories of California: The San Francisco Bay Area. Spatial History Project, Center for Spatial and Textual Analysis (CESTA), Stanford University.

1,700 acres. An enthusiastic early adopter of new ranching practices, Baldwin helped bring the Southern Pacific Railroad to the valley to more easily ship agricultural products to market. Osage Station Park in Danville is located where the railroad once stopped near the family home.

The introduction of the interstate freeway system at mid-century brought an end to the property as a working ranch. Today residential neighborhoods, noisy streets, and busy shops cover the land where cattle once roamed and walnut trees and pear trees flourished.

Jan had an idyllic childhood on the ranch, riding horses, picking fruit in the orchards, climbing Mount Diablo, and exploring the banks of San Ramon Creek. These early experiences produced a lifelong champion of the outdoors, an avid conservationist, and a dedicated advocate for wildlife protection.

I understand personally how population growth has transformed our local landscape. I cherish our natural places. Time is running out for the last remaining special spaces that should remain untouched. Wildlife habitat is shrinking. We must leave a thriving natural legacy for future generations.

Pacheco Marsh will be a wonderful outdoor classroom and playground where young people will have the same experiences I was so lucky to have growing up.

— Jan Berckefeldt BUSY VOLUNTEERS! On a sunny day in February three JMLT volunteers and ranger Glen improved the trails on newly opened Almond Ranch. Many thanks to Eliot Hudson (pictured), Scott Bartlebaugh, and Bill Weiner. Spring is a great time to get out and enjoy this beautiful ridge and appreciate their hard work.

Photo: Adam Weidenbach PAG E N I N E

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TEENS + NATURE TIME TO GET ACQUAINTED!

Teenagers are increasingly disconnected with the outdoors.

By Madison Peters Madison Peters

I set out to answer a seemingly simple question: How do younger generations relate to nature? Adults think my generation is screen-addicted and uninterested in the world around them, which contains some truth. I surveyed 87 young people under 18 years, and conducted in-depth interviews with 15 of them to find an answer. I discovered that my peers do not frequently interact with nature—not because they do not wish to, but because they feel it has become a disconnected idea in a world of fleeting time.

At JMLT’s Twilight events, young people experience wildlife and explore the night sky.

In JMLT’s Pointing To Success program with partner Vizzit, teens create smart phone guides to the outdoors.

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First, I asked for a definition of nature. The most common answer is that nature is a secluded place away from civilization inhabited by wildlife. Seven in ten report that they thoroughly enjoy being in nature, but all say that they do not get out as much as they would like for two reasons. First is a lack of time, and second, nature has become more of a remote destination than an everyday experience.

When asked why they don’t go outside very often, most of my peers mustered a response along the lines of, “I just don’t seem to have that much time”. Many factors play into this. School has become more difficult, and we are consumed with the stress of college applications.

My peers and I are bombarded by the message that we have to be involved in every charity, sport, and extracurricular activity or we won’t be successful. Exploring the natural world around us must be put on hold for activities that society deems more rewarding for our future. When not consumed with school work or other academic activities, my generation seeks out an

Editor’s Note I’m a Baby Boomer. I grew up in the woods. That meant trekking through vacant lots near my house and then through forests interlaced with creeks until I reached the local river that was being dammed to create a community reservoir. I was fortunate to have these experiences. Young people today just don’t have a similar relationship to the outdoors. Nature competes with scheduled activities and sticky mobile phone apps that grab attention and stubbornly refuse to let go.

We asked Madison Peters, a local high school student and JMLT summer intern, to interview her classmates about how they relate to nature and what role outside activities play in their lives.

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Teenagers Feel Less Connected To Nature Than Children And Adults

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 Age (years) 5

4.5

4.5

4

2.5 peculiar that nature And yet, the Bay Area is surrounded by nature, so it seems 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 is thought of as a distant concept. Perhaps that’s because my generation’s Age (years) excursions into nature can be categorized as a vacation or as an opportunity for social interaction. Eighty-two percent see nature as an opportunity to hang out with friends, and seventy-three percent say that the main reason they venture into nature is to see or take a picture. There always has to be a purpose or goal. Hiking trails, beaches, and the vast golden hills are used more as a prop for social media, than as a fun opportunity to appreciate our natural surroundings.

I believe that if one takes the time to appreciate nature for what it is, my peers will find that it can provide more benefits than many activities on a college resume. JMLT reminds me that we live in a beautiful place, and that community awareness of nature is an essential step to preserve it.

Nature Offers Many Benefits To Young People California State Parks: A Valuable Resource for Youth Health, by the UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability presented a comprehensive review of the literature on parks, nature, and human health. Their findings: Living near a park is associated with less screen time and increases in physical activity, leading to a wide range of health benefits.

Time spent in parks results in improvements in mood and overall well-being, increased energy, and relaxation.

Time spent in parks can contribute to attention restoration, reduces symptoms of attention deficit disorders, improves cognitive function, and reduces problem behaviors in young children.

4 3.5 3

3

70 80

3.5

3 2.5

5

accessible mental break through screens or by spending time with friends.

3.5 Nature is rarely considered as an option for relaxation.

NR6 Score

CNI Score

4 3.5

NR6 Score

CNI Score

A widely publicized survey of over 2,000 people in the United Kingdom asked respondents to complete measures designed to assess an individual’s engagement with the outdoors such as the Connection to Nature Index (CNI) and the Nature-Relatedness Scale (NR-6). The study found that connection declines from childhood to a low in the mid teens, followed by a rise in the early 20s and reaching a plateau that lasts a lifetime.

4.

4.5

2.5

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 Age (years)

Comments from those surveyed.

I have a lot of work to do.

When I am not in school or playing sports, I feel an obligation to use my energy for activities that could be put in my college resume.

There are not a lot of hiking trails near my house, so if I do want to go into nature I have to drive very far.

During the week I have too much homework and soccer practice so I don’t get much free time.

I have so much homework, and with an abundance of projects it’s hard to leave the house.

Park use substantially reduces the negative effects of stress.

Programs to encourage young people to make park use part of their lives are cost-effective investments to advance health equity goals.

For links to studies, visit jmlt.org/benefits.

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2.5

Nonprofit U.S. Postage PAID Martinez, CA Permit No. 189

P R I N T E D O N R E C Y C L E D PA P E R

P.O. Box 31, Martinez CA 94553

JMLT’S 2021

Kick-Off

Watch the recording from March 18th to learn about upcoming land acquisitions and updates on our current Campaign for Pacheco Marsh.

Go to: jmlt.org/kickoff

QUALIFIED CHARITABLE DISTRIBUTIONS Many people age 70 years or older are making direct distributions from retirement accounts to qualified charities such as John Muir Land Trust. This may meet the required minimum distribution, tax-free. If you are moving to the standard deduction, this could be especially attractive. Be sure to talk to your tax advisor.

For more info call: Melanie Hogan (925) 228-5018

CARR RANCH

You’re Invited to a Virtual Event!

TWILIGHT 2021

Thursdays, May 20, 27 & June 3, 2021 • 4:00 - 5:00 pm Three fun events for kids of all ages.

Register at jmlt.org/twilight

JMLT is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Our taxpayer identification number is 68-0194652.

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