Year in Review: 2023

December 28, 2023

As we bid farewell to 2023, let’s look back on the highlights and achievements that have marked this year for the Northcoast Regional Land Trust (NRLT). In 2023, we made significant progress in our mission to conserve, protect, and promote wild and working lands, thanks to the dedicated efforts of our volunteers, landowners, board members, staff, and partners. We couldn’t have done it without you!

Conservation Efforts

In addition to eight conservation easement projects already in progress at the start of the year, we began work on three new projects in 2023—  two of which we just learned will receive full funding thanks to the Department of Conservation’s SALC program! Altogether, we are working towards the protection of over 56,000 acres of productive forestland, expansive rangelands, critical salmon streams, vital habitats, and open spaces that make our region so unique.

And that is in addition to the 60,000 acres of already protected land.

Community Engagement

In our efforts to foster a strong community for conservation, we partnered with numerous individuals and organizations to host 16 stewardship workdays and interpretive events in 2023. Big thanks to our partners (including Humboldt Trails Council, Friends of the Dunes, Echales ganas!, CCC Watershed Stewards Program, Cal Poly YES, Umoja Center for Pan African Student Excellence, SJEIC, Office of Student Life, Center for Community Based Learning, Environmental Science and Management Dept., and Wildlife Dept., Point Blue Conservation Science, Salmonid Restoration Federation, and Planwest Partners, Inc.), and our stellar volunteers for supporting coastal farmland stewardship and engagement for all.

Additionally, over 450 people graced our biggest Summer Celebration yet at Freshwater Farms Reserve in August!

Educational Initiatives

We believe in the power of education to ensure the legacy of land stewardship in our region. To this end, we led 19 Cows & Cattails field trips, educating over 750 elementary students about the compatibility of wildlife habitat and agriculture. We also reignited our High School Biological Monitoring Program in the spring, thanks to botany help from Tony LaBanca and collaboration with the Botany and Environmental Science teachers at Alder Grove Charter School.

Fundraising Success

We are incredibly grateful for the generous support we received from our community this year. Every dollar makes a difference to protect wild and working lands in our region. During our Annual Celebration, Boots & Birkenstocks in October, we raised over $60,000 for wild and working land conservation. These funds will play a significant role in our conservation efforts in 2024.

Strategic Planning

Our Board and Staff took a deep dive into our strategic plan during a retreat in Southern Humboldt in June. This retreat enabled us to reassess our goals and strategies, setting us on a clear path toward achieving our mission. It also served as an opportunity for Board and Staff to get out on the lands that sustain us with a tour of a prospective easement property!

Appreciation

Northcoast Regional Land Trust would not be what it is today without you — our dedicated volunteers, landowners, board members, staff, and partners. Your commitment and contributions have been instrumental in our accomplishments this year.

We extend additional thanks to our 2023 Annual Sponsors for their unwavering support: Wildberries Marketplace, Humboldt and Mendocino Redwood Companies, and North Fork Lumber. Look for our full list of donors in the next newsletter, coming spring 2024.

Looking Ahead

As we step into 2024, we are excited and optimistic about what lies ahead. This is an exciting time to be part of NRLT—with more active projects than ever before, and a strong and supportive community that continues to grow. Thank you for being part of a special group of people dedicated to protecting our shared values in northwestern California—a love of the land, the community, and our way of life. Here’s to another year of conserving the lands we love! Happy New Year!

 

Season’s Seating: Thanks to Eureka Rotary Club, New Benches Coming in the New Year!

New Benches to be Installed at Freshwater Farms Reserve

December 21, 2023  |  Bayside, CA

Download the Press Release Here

 

The Northcoast Regional Land Trust (NRLT) is thrilled to announce the forthcoming installation of additional benches along the Freshwater Nature Trail at our publicly accessible ambassador property, Freshwater Farms Reserve. This is thanks to a generous grant from the Eureka Rotary Club, presented to NRLT on December 4, 2023.

NRLT is grateful for the Eureka Rotary Club’s partnership and their dedication to community well-being, environmental stewardship, and local collaboration. The benches will be built by local craftsperson, Jona Kavanaugh, of Monument Settings and will serve as a place for visitors to rest, reflect, and appreciate the abundance of life in this wild and working landscape.

NRLT extends its heartfelt appreciation to the Eureka Rotary Club for their visionary support, to Monument Settings for their collaboration and craftsmanship, and to the community for collectively stewarding and valuing this and other projects at Freshwater Farms Reserve.

Freshwater Farms Reserve is a unique coastal property owned and managed by NRLT as a demonstration of compatible land use for people, agriculture, and wildlife. Used by people of all ages, Freshwater Farms Reserve is a community resource with trail access, educational programs and events, a native plant nursery, livestock pastures, row crop areas, greenhouses, and more. Visitors are encouraged to explore the 0.75-mile Freshwater Nature Trail, open every day from 9 AM to dusk at 5851 Myrtle Ave., Eureka.

Details regarding the installation of these benches will be announced in the coming year. For more information about NRLT and the upcoming bench installation, please visit www.NCRLT.org or contact info@ncrlt.org.

Hot off the press: Spring 2023 Newsletter is out now!

It’s been many weeks in the making, and NRLT’s Spring 2023 Newsletter is finally here— and coming soon to a mailbox near you! In this issue you’ll learn about how we partnered with landowners and public agencies to restore oak woodlands within our region, new opportunities to conserve agricultural land, our rock star volunteers, changes at Freshwater Farms Reserve, upcoming events, our annual report (can you find your name?), and more!

This was my first time helping with the newsletter from start to finish, and I feel honored to be part of it. Our newsletters are largely thanks to Leslie Scopes Anderson, who has been NRLT’s stellar newsletter volunteer for 15 years and counting. Leslie puts her graphic design skills to work as she arranges and rearranges the content of our biannual newsletters, no matter how many edits we send her! Meeting with her to celebrate the final draft of this issue, I learned that Leslie has supported NRLT through three Executive Directors and complete personnel changes several times over. It’s quite clear the enduring impact of this organization comes from the people like Leslie, who commit to our mission to conserve, protect, and restore wild and working lands and see it through. Thank you, Leslie!

Whatever your relationship to NRLT, it becomes just that, a relationship. It ebbs and flows, but is founded on shared values of long-term relationships to the land, healthy local food, sustainable natural resource production, our region’s rich biodiversity and connected habitats and a desire to conserve and protect the lands that support us. We are grateful to the many people who have grown that relationship through our 22 years conserving lands in Northwestern California. I hope you enjoy reading about our most recent work together in this latest issue!

We are always open to feedback about our newsletter– email myself, Nadia, at n.vanlynn@ncrlt.org with suggestions or submissions. If you are not already on our mailing list but would like to be for future issues, please email your contact information to info@ncrlt.org.

 

Our conservation and outreach work is supported by:

 

Press Release: Conserving the Wagner Forest

A Legacy of Forest Stewardship: Conserving the Wagner Forest

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 3/6/23

Download the Press Release Here

Bayside, CA – The Northcoast Regional Land Trust (NRLT) is pleased to announce the completion of the Wagner Forest Conservation Easement in Southern Humboldt County. This conservation easement permanently conserves over 3,300 acres of working forestland in the South Fork Eel River watershed. Continue reading