Spring 2017 Landscapes

L ANDSCAPES Peninsula Open Space Trust Spring 2017

REFLECTIONS ON 40

LETTER FROM WALTER Looking at a map of the protected land in our area from 1977, the year POST was founded, it is so satisfying to see the impact that the POST community has since had on the San Francisco Peninsula and down the Santa Cruz Mountains over the last 40 years. Because of you, over 75,500 acres of open space, farms and parkland have been protected.

So much has changed since then, as has our work in land conservation. With your support, we have evolved and continued our mission through good times and bad. But land protection is perpetual, and our work is as important now as it has ever been.

Today, we are focused on strategically connecting important protected habitats, trails and natural resources—work that is difficult, delicate and necessary in order to ensure the impact of our past investments and protect the future health of our environment.

I’m excited to share this edition of Landscapes with you and how POST and our partner organizations are working together and using the best data available to build our path forward.

I hope you will join us at one of our 40th anniversary events this year to celebrate all we have accomplished together, and all that we will achieve in the years to come.

With warm regards,

Walter T. Moore POST President

P.S. We’d love to hear about where and how you connect with POST lands. Email your story to post@openspacetrust.org.

TA B L E O F C O N T E N T S

cover

ŠTeddy Miller 2016 / ŠTeddy Miller 2017

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Since 1977: Celebrating 40 Years

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Wildlife Passages: Missing Links

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Stewards of the Land

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A Case for Resilience

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A Lasting Legacy

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Tribute Gifts

SINCE 1977

CELEBRATING 40 YEARS Thank you for making some amazing things possible in the past 40 years—here are a few highlights.

Visit openspacetrust.org/40years to explore more stories of our history together.

1981

1987

1993

Windy Hill Windy Hill, named for its characteristic grassy hilltop, was POST’s first project.

Cowell Ranch Saving 1,270-acre Cowell Ranch was one of the largest and most complex efforts of POST’s early years.

Wallace Stegner Lecture Series Named after Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Wallace Stegner, the series started a new dialogue with the community.

1977 1977

Founding of POST POST was founded as a private organization to work alongside Midpen.

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1991

Phleger Estate It took 3,500 donors and grants from government funds, Midpen and Save the Redwoods League to protect this stunning redwood property adjacent to Huddart Park.

#FOREVEROURBACKYARD Help us celebrate our 40th anniversary by getting out and exploring the POST lands that will forever be our backyard. Post your own photos or videos on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook using the hashtag #ForeverOurBackyard with a short caption about why you love these special places. See what other supporters are posting at ForeverOurBackyard.org.

2001

2007

2017

Saving the Endangered Coast POST’s first multi-project campaign, raising $200 million to protect 20,000 acres on the San Mateo Coast.

Go Mindego Campaign Over 1,300 contributors participated in the campaign to protect this 2,143-foot peak that affords sweeping views in all directions.

What’s Ahead Hear what’s ahead for POST from Andrew Bosworth, third generation POST board member, and his uncle Jan Garrod, second generation POST board member.

2017 1999

Rancho Canada Del Oro A rolling 2,427-acre property in the eastern foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains that protects abundant wildlife and waterways.

2009

Rancho San Vicente A key piece in completing a continuous 15-mile greenbelt, this property provides important linkage for wildlife and recreational trails.

2015

Pillar Point Bluff After almost 40 years the last piece of Pillar Point Bluff, overlooking the famous Maverick’s surf break, was protected.

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W I L D L I F E PA S S A G E S

MISSING LINKS Protecting the unique habitats our local wildlife populations depend on has always been central to our work.

Through projects like San Vicente Redwoods, Cloverdale Coastal Ranches and Rancho San Vicente, we have protected grasslands where kites demonstrate acrobatic feats, waterways where Coho salmon make perilous journeys to spawn and redwood forests where mountain lions raise their young.

But these animals need room to roam and move freely to mate, find food and complete seasonal migrations. Often, the connective areas used by animals are severed by manmade structures like freeways. These areas will become increasingly important in the future as the impacts of climate change require wildlife to adapt and roam more broadly across a variety of habitats. This is why POST is focusing on the connective lands between protected areas to ensure that our investment in and impact on local wildlife is long-lasting.

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One step in this effort is building wildlife crossings at Highway 17, a busy roadway where vehicles have killed over 80 animals in the past 9 years. Working

with partners such as Midpen, Caltrans, the Santa Cruz Puma Project and Pathways for Wildlife, we hope by 2020 to have a well-placed and appropriately designed crossing that allows wildlife to safely move across Highway 17, from Bear Creek Redwoods, to the Sierra Azul Open Space Preserve and beyond.

Additionally, this summer we begin a 2-year study with our partners at Wilmers Lab (UC Santa Cruz) to determine how bobcat and gray fox are using Coyote Valley in the South Bay to move between the Santa Cruz and Diablo mountain ranges. As one of the last undeveloped, flat, valley floor habitats in our region, Coyote Valley may prove to be one of the most crucial wildlife connections in the Bay Area, and one that is linked to the long-term viability and biodiversity of the Santa Cruz Mountains. While both bobcat and gray fox have wide-ranging habitats, they use the valley floor differently. This study will look at how these animals interact with the landscape by providing us with a behindthe-scenes look at their lives.

These are just two of the ways in which POST is using scientific studies to understand where to apply conservation energy and resources. Stay tuned for more exciting news on this topic as it develops.

The Basics of Designing a Wildlife Crossing While every animal is unique, there are some standards to providing safe crossings for all wildlife.

The ability to see through the crossing to the other side Maximize natural cover, like vegetation, over the crossing Freedom to cross safely at any time of day or night Fencing to help funnel animals safely towards the crossing Minimal human activity at the crossing Keep man-made materials to a minimum Design the crossing with natural elements like vegetation, soil and rock to fit the local landscape

ŠTeddy Miller 2016 / top ŠMatt Dolkas 2016

ŠTeddy Miller 2016

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BOB MARSH

STEWARDS OF THE LAND As we turn 40, we celebrate the individuals providing the essential and ongoing care for our open spaces. Meet some of the farmers, ranchers, foresters and park rangers that keep our lands thriving—each with a unique philosophy, all devoted stewards of the land.

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all photos

©Teddy Miller 2017

“ IT IS IN MY BLOOD–-IT IS MY DUTY TO KEEP THIS LAND HEALTHY AND IN PRODUCTION.

”

Owner, Bob’s Farm Fresh Vegetables & Pumpkins It is not an easy thing to work the land the way it is supposed to be and it doesn’t just look like this naturally.

I see myself as a caretaker, as well as a cattleman and a farmer. I manage this farm for all those purposes. At 74 years old what keeps me going is being here on this land and caring for it. It is a good way of life.

JOHN VARS, THERESA KURTAK & MIKE IRVING Owners, Fifth Crow Farm We believe that to be good farmers we need to not only maintain our land and soil, but improve it for future generations of farmers and eaters.

The future of our food supply depends on our care for the shrinking farmlands that are getting swallowed up by development and other uses all over the country. We want our kids and our kid’s kids to be able to enjoy delicious and nutritious food produced from healthy organic soils. We also want them to be able to continue to enjoy the beauty of our agrarian open spaces.

“ HEALTHY AND NUTRITIOUS FOOD REQUIRES HEALTHY FARMLAND.

”

RAMONA ARECHIGA

A FORESTER, I SEE “ ASFOREST MANAGEMENT AS AN IMPORTANT PART OF THE AVAILABLE TOOLKIT.

Natural Resource Manager, San Mateo County Parks I work to restore the processes that enable natural functions to sustain themselves and be resilient to a changing climate. Our ability to so drastically change a landscape comes with a heavy responsibility to ensure that we do our very best to provide the same opportunities to experience the wonder of these places for our children and our children’s children so that they can explore their own curiosity and wonder.

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NADIA HAMEY Forester, San Vicente Redwoods It is not enough to simply “preserve” land and take a hands-off approach; it is important to take action to restore and maintain our native ecosystems. Careful selective logging reduces fuel loads and tree densities to more historical levels, provides a sustainable local source of high quality wood and generates revenue that can be poured back into the land restoration activities.

“ I SEE MYSELF AS A

TEMPORARY STEWARD THAT SHOULD LEAVE THE LANDS I MANAGE IN A BETTER AND MORE RESILIENT CONDITION THAN I INHERITED.

”

KEVIN WATT

“ STEWARDSHIP IS AN

ON-GOING CO-EVOLUTION BETWEEN MANAGERS, THEIR COMMUNITIES, LIVESTOCK, WILDLIFE, AND THE LAND ITSELF.

”

Rancher, TomKat Ranch Educational Foundation Stewardship is an on-going co-evolution between managers, their communities, livestock, wildlife and the land itself.

Developing a close connection with each of these elements through monitoring and humility gives modern stewards the valuable advantage of quickly being able to see both the short- and long-term strategies, which can truly make the land, their operation and their communities more productive and resilient.

A CASE FOR

RESILIENCE Being resilient means having the ability to recover from or easily adjust to change. It is key to maintaining our own personal health and the health of our environment.

It is why POST is working to ensure that the landscapes we’ve protected are resilient to a changing climate and an uncertain future. To do this, we work to understand, protect and foster the ideal characteristics of a resilient landscape.

One of the facets of a resilient landscape, whether rural or urban, is that it is an interconnected ecosystem, where different parts of the landscape contribute to its health.

POST has invested heavily in preserving natural habitats and open spaces from the South Bay to north of Half Moon Bay. Today, we are working to better understand how to optimize the delicate balance between these open spaces and the more urban areas that surround them.

To further our understanding of this complex idea, POST is working with the San Francisco Estuary Institute (SFEI) to learn more about how the green spaces in our cities support native species and contribute important connections between larger open spaces. SFEI has done same amazing work creating principles of landscape resilience specifically for Silicon Valley.

As both a multiplier and an insurance policy, resilience provides the framework for landscapes to function. By applying the strategies of landscape resilience to both our existing and future work we will be well positioned to create a region that thrives well into the future.

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Landscape Resilience Framework This framework from SFEI is useful to understand how resilience plays out in urban design and natural resource management. Here each tenet is illustrated to show how coordinated actions can create a more resilient landscape.

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Landscape 01 Resilience SETTING Framework

This framework helps guide practical applications of resilience in landscape-scale urban design and natural resource management.

Here each tenet is brought to life in a high-level example in Silicon Valley toPROCESSES show how coordinated actions can create a more resilient CONNECTIVITY COMPLEXITY landscape for native ecosystems.

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REDUNDANCY

SCALE

PEOPLE

& DIVERSITY

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People Setting Redundancy The unique The linkages Connectivity Richness in theComplexity Multiple Determines Scale The individuals, The physical, Processes & Diversity Determines the constraints Enables movement of Determines which Create and sustain Provides insurance geographic, between habitats, variety, distribution overlapping or which processes and communitiesShape landscapes and biological and and opportunities within materials and organisms.

Provide a range of processes and functions provide opportunities. landscapes in a dynamic against loss. Multiple biological and a landscape. processes and Riparian corridors and configuration similar features cancanbeoperate meaningfully. and institutions chemical eventsway. Creeks Local species provide options for wildlife.

Plant native oaks in the carry willow grovesfunctions ensure like oaks, Cooper’s hawks, sediment to sustain wildlife passageways from Diverse plant communAnticipate and accommourban and suburban greater likelihood of cultural aspects — populations that of landscape within a landscape accommodated by that shape and and processes that and redwoods — thrive in the hills to the Bay. ities and floodplains of date sea level rise by prolandscape to mimic the marshes; fire creates habitat persistence conditions and ensure viding space for bayland landscapes. form and function of vegetationenable mosaics.movement birds) of a landscape. the uniquesustain features that varying depths that promote(e.g., for native landscape features, steward landscapes climates. habitats under different habitats to migrate inland former oak woodlands. as conditions change. of resources, provide a variety of conditions. diversity and insure such as sea level climate over time. over time. plants and wildlife. options for species. against loss. rise and species movement.

Learn more about this framework at resilientsv.sfei.org graphic courtesy of:

SFEI / landscape illustration by: Maria Dillman and Bonfire Communications

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A LASTING LEGACY

CHRISTY HOLLOWAY “The lynchpin to our success in the future is the relationship we as individuals all have with our natural places. Strong personal connections to these natural lands are more important than ever.”

These beliefs and a can-do attitude have driven Christy Holloway to support local land conservation for over 30 years.

Both a longtime donor and an early board member, Christy will leave a lasting conservation legacy not only by her work, but also by including a gift to POST in her estate plan.

Today, as an active POST Board member, she draws strength and inspiration from the outdoors by taking her grandchildren to her favorite POST-protected properties. Experiencing nature through the eyes of children only intensified her desire to make a legacy gift.

“It is in nature,” she said, “especially when those experiences are shared with your loved ones, when technology is silenced, and the distractions of the outside world dim, that we find our own strengths and deepen our connection to the community around us.”

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© Paolo Vescia 2014

Christy is doing her part to ensure that her wish comes true. With her help and others like her, POST will continue to keep our spaces open and wild for years to come.

Leave a Legacy of Protected Land Make a meaningful gift to POST through your will or

“

We are so very fortunate to live in a region where open space is valued. As a family we spend as much time as possible outdoors

trust. Or, name POST a beneficiary of your IRA or donor

and treasure the natural beauty of

advised fund. If you have included POST in your plans,

the Bay Area. POST’s conservation

please let us know so we can thank you and invite you

vision that includes working lands,

to join our Open Space Legacy Society. To learn more,

natural resources, and recreation -

contact Jeanine Crider, Director of Planned Giving: jcrider@openspacetrust.org

(650) 854-7696 x312

POST’S TAX ID NUMBER IS 94-2392007

creates a deep connection to these places by the people using them.

POST’s work is critical to ensuring that our open space remains accessible in perpetuity.

”

— Ridgway Family, Monthly Donors

GIFTS RECEIVED OCTOBER 1, 2016 - JANUARY 31, 2017

TRIBUTE GIFTS IN MEMORY OF Betsy Allyn Maxine Amato David Anderson Briar & Ash Joan Auber Robert & Carolyn Barr Carol Berkowitz Roger R. Berndt Anne K. Bernstein Dr. Carlo Besio Mary Beth Nan Blackledge James C. Bliss Dolores Bonnard Heather C. Broome Roger Cairns Jeanne Carevic Bruce Clark Laura Clark-Moore Al Coldenhoff Dwight & Betsy Crowder June Daly David Daniels Dennis Daul

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©Teddy Miller 2017

IN HONOR OF Loring & Francine De Martini Wim de Wit John M. Donegan Bernie Esser Elizabeth Fastiri Lenora Fitting Jud Foreman Therese Gabler Susan Gerson Kenneth Gobrecht Kirk Gomshode William J. Griese Bruce Hasenkamp Vicki Higgins Sharad Nilkanth Hingwe Spencer Z. Hiraki Lenore Huber Eleanor A. Jekot Adeline Jessup Harriet Johnston Darlene Jones Hugh D. Kennedy Muriel J. King

Rhosie Koopmans John A. Kostovich Jean Lauer Mrs. Lederer Morris R. Lewenstein, Ph.D. Ruthann Lynch Bruna Maffei Margaret Masdeo Kathryn McIntosh Brian McJunkin John McPherrin George Millar George P. Miller Dave Mock Joseph Montoya Midelle “Delle” Moore R. Ian Murray David L. Nelson Donald Oaks Thomas M. Olcott Boye Paulson Harry Peterson Michelle Philips

William A. Poulson, II Bharati Rao William Rector James Richard McKee Mary Ripley Monica Roben Monica Roben & Carol Berridge Inger Sagatun-Edwards Neil Schiffman Mary Frances & Joseph Scroggs Bryan Shechmeister Arletta Sherry John R Skelton Florence Evans Smith Margaret Post Smith Marion Softky Tinker Spar Michael Stadlen Ulf Stauber David Stiles Brandon Suher Belle K. Taylor James Thomas

David Tyack K. Christie Vogel Erna Wagner Matt Walters Susan Wang Edwin A. Wells Molly Westrate Perry B. Wilson Roger F. Wilson Dr. Chris Wood David Zlotnick, MD

Frank Adams Peter Alley & Carolyn Strange Erika Bailey & Philip Bailey Susanne Belzer Anne & David Bernstein Mort Bradski Robert & Barbara Buce The Burgenbauch Family Lowell Burklund Patti & Alan Burns Stuart & Babbie Cameron Brad Clifford Fran Cummings Bompa & Nonnie Curry Scott Danielson “Papa” Robert Dho Paul Johnson & Carol Domenico John Donegan & Mary Anne Doane Erik Doyle Cree Edwards Ted Elms

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JOIN US FOR A

PENINSULA OPEN SPACE TRUST

40TH ANNIVERSARY EVENT

222 HIGH STREET PALO ALTO, CA 94301 (650) 854-7696 OPENSPACETRUST.ORG

Walk at Windy Hill Wednesday, April 26 from 10 A.M. - 1 P.M. 40 Miles for 40 Years – Coastal Bike Ride Saturday, June 17 from 8 A.M. - 2:30 P.M. POST Family Campout at Little Basin Saturday, August 12 at 11 A.M. to Sunday, August 13 at 12 P.M. (Overnight) Fun Run at Calero County Park (5K & 10K) Saturday, October 29 from 7 A.M. - 1:30 P.M.

©POST 2016

Learn more and register at openspacetrust.org/40years/events

NON-PROFIT ORG. U.S. POSTAGE PAID BURLINGAME, CA PERMIT NO. 63