This article originally appeared in the Spring 2015 issue of Landmarks, newsletter of the Land Trust of Santa Cruz County.

Welcome New Members!

Almost half the people receiving this newsletter are new supporters of the Land Trust. Most of them have joined because of our work to provide public access at San Vicente Redwoods, and to get a Wildlife Crossing built under Highway 17. Because there are so many new members, we thought it would be good to give you an overview of what we do.

I’ve been with the Land Trust for almost ten years now, and we are doing more and different things now than we were when I began. We’ve become not just a land trust, but a land and trails and wildlife trust.

Ten years ago, our focus was on protecting farmland in the Pajaro Valley. We have protected 1,400 acres (and counting) of some of the most productive farmland in the world. Right now we are working on protecting three more ranches in the Pajaro Valley and one on the North Coast.

Five years ago, we acquired the 500-acre Watsonville Slough Farm, which gave us a foot in both farming and wetland protection. Literally, the Slough Farm is laced with wetlands and there are endless places where you could have one foot in a farm field and one in wetlands habitat. Today, we are restoring and enhancing wetlands using the revenues from leased farmland—demonstrating the compatibility of farming and environmental protection. In the coming years, we will add public access on these wetlands to the mix.

Four years ago, we completed our Conservation Blueprint for Santa Cruz County, which identified conservation priorities and goals for the next twenty-five years. The two-year community process that led to this ground-breaking report has propelled the Land Trust into new territory.

During the past few years, we have opened up an entire new region for land protection—the Pajaro Hills—and worked with other conservation organizations to protect the largest unprotected forest in our county, San Vicente Redwoods. Last year, the Land Trust took the lead among our partners in developing a public access plan for this forest that calls for 38 miles of trails.

In the past year we underlined the trails part of our new identity by committing $3.2 million in matching funds to help get the 32-mile Coastal Rail Trail built. And we took the protection of wildlife to a new level by launching the campaign to build a Wildlife Crossing under Highway 17.

And so here we are: your land, trails, and wildlife trust. This spring our Board is working on a new five-year Strategic Plan. We’re looking at how to build more trails, protect more wildlife, and conserve forever, the lands that make Santa Cruz County special. But more about that later when our plan is completed.

A few years ago one of our county’s most respected business leaders told me he liked the Land Trust because “you get things done.” That is also who we are: a group that gets things done. Just a few months ago, a local reporter at one of our many community events said to me, “I think the Land Trust is becoming beloved.” It was an “aw-shucks” moment, but honestly, I think that’s what happens when you protect what people love. They love you back.

Terry Corwin
President/CEO