Winter 2006 - 2007 Vistas Newsletter, Solano Land Trust

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President’s Messa

Executive DirectoPerspective

New Board Memb

Farm-to-Table Se

ConservationEasement Monito

Working the Land

Buzzing with Bee

Activities and Ev

l. 13 #4

Winter

2006/07Rush Ranch Nature Centerconstruction underway Marilyn Farley, Executive Director

Solano Land Trust

celebrates 20 year

o protectingarmland, ranchlan

and open space in

Solano County

Construction or Solano Land Trust’s Nature and

Education Center at Rush Ranch got the greenlight on November 13 when Solano County issued

a much-needed grading permit. The building

permit ollowed on Dec. 1.

Ater an 18-month planning process, and

with the ability to draw down grant unds rom

the National Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR)

expiring on November 30, this was a very welcome

development!

Grading work got underway on November

15. We now begin an estimated six-to-eight

month construction period at Rush Ranch, which

You’re invited to the Rush Ranch Nature

Center ofcial ground-breaking ceremony!

Friday, December 15, 2006 at 11:30 a.m.

3521 Grizzly Island Road

Light rereshments will be served

Call SLT oces at (707)432-0150 ext. 201 or moreinormation.

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will remain open during construction. We’ve

applied to NERR or an additional $250,000 orbasic construction, exhibits, landscaping and

urnishings.

onstruction of the Nature Center begins! Photo: Aleta George



President’s MessageBob Berman, President

In 2006, SLT made good

progress in carrying out

its mission. For instance,

with the cities o Davis

and Dixon, we helped to

ensure the permanent

protection o nearly 450

acres o agricultural land

along Interstate 80 near

Kidwell Road, which

includes the McConeghy

and Ebey-Laughtin Farms. Plans are underway or

continued agricultural production and a new roadside

stand or agricultural products.

Construction o the nature center at Rush Ranch

is underway, thanks to grants received rom theNational Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR) and

the Coastal Conservancy. Construction began in

early November and we anticipate completion in

summer 2007. Our goal o establishing a $2-million

endowment und or the ranch received a signicant

boost in early 2006 when an anonymous donor gave

$250,000 and a pledge o up to $200,000 more i

SLT can raise matching unds. Our eorts to meet

that challenge continue.

An important part o our mission is the management

o lands that are home to endangered plants andanimals. This year we completed a management plan

or the Greater Jepson Prairie Ecosystem. The plan

will guide our management o the two properties

owned by SLT (Jepson Prairie Preserve and East Wilcox

Ranch), as well as two adjoining properties owned by

the Caliornia Department o Fish and Game.

We continue to work with Solano County to ensure

public access to Lynch Canyon. We expect the

property will soon be open to the public once

our agreement with Solano County is approved

(scheduled or Dec. 12). Consistent with ourLynch Canyon management plan, cattle grazing

will continue. We look orward to an ocial gate

opening in 2007!

These are only a ew o our accomplishments in

2006. We look orward to continued success in 2007

and beyond. We could not have achieved any o this

without the dedicated work o our board o directors,

great sta (led by Executive Director Marilyn Farley),

and the scores o volunteers who provide their time

and expertise. Thanks to all o you.

SLT welcomes new boardmember Darrin Berardi

Solano Land Trust welcomes its newest board member, Darrin Ber

Ater graduating rom Faireld High School, Darrin decided to ollo

the ootsteps o his ather, Peter Berardi, and become a chiropractor. P

opened Berardi Chiropractic Clinic in 1970, and in 1989, Darrin joinedpractice. When Peter Berardi passed away several years ago, Darrin took

the amily practice located on Webster Street in Faireld.

Darrin had to weigh the possibility o joining

another board careully. He is already extremely

busy with a ull-time practice, serving on the boards

o the Faireld Suisun Twilight Rotary Club and the

Faireld Suisun Chamber o Commerce, and chasing

ater his ve-year-old son, Dominic. So, Darrin

did what any sel-respecting businessman would

do—he consulted his wie. Ramona works with

the Solano County Oce o Education Regional

Occupational Program. Darrin and Ramona were

impressed with all that SLT has already accomplished and agreed that

important work to be involved in.

Darrin joined the undraising committee and is looking orwar

helping the board raise unds or the Rush Ranch endowment camp

and other programs. An avid hiker and mountain bike rider, Darrin is e

to get to know the SLT properties, and to help with establishing a regi

park district in Solano County.

Rush Ranch trail sign dedicationCome and see the new interpretive trail signs at Rush RanchFour new signs on the South Pasture and Marsh Trails wereunded by the San Francisco Estuary Project small grantsprogram and the National Estuarine Research Reserve.

The dedication ceremony will take place during theRush Ranch bird walk on February 3, 2007 rom9:00 a.m. to 11:00 am.



Marilyn Farley, Executive Director

Executive Director’s Perspective

Farmers constantly face changeWhen I rst moved to the Faireld area in 1975, Suisun Valley pears were

harvested in one ell swoop and shipped o to the canneries. The wonderulBing and other sweet cherries were sold rom numerous arm stands. I

remember picking, pitting and canning 75 pounds in just one day, not an

easy chore with a pitter that did two cherries at a time!

A ew years later, I was astounded to learn that

herry armer Howard Babcock had ripped out his

rchard and planted grapes, even though he had

old his entire crop the year beore to Japanese

uyers or $7 a pound.

Today, the pear orchards are virtually gone.

However, 99 Cherry Orchard on Rockville Roadas more customers than it can supply, nearby

aechao Family Farm oers succulent strawberries,

usie Parker sells heirloom tomatoes at a bargain

rice, and Larry’s Produce packs in the customers

ear ater year.

Grapes are currently the dominant crop.

The Suisun Valley Grape Growers Association,

www.svgga.com, has been ormed to help market

his crop. The Suisun Valley Fund Advisory

Committee (a City o Faireld and Solano Irrigation

District venture) promotes the valley through their

Web site, www.suisunvalley.com, and Fun Family

arm Days.

Elsewhere in our valleys, armers have posted

or sale” signs.

As a consumer, I thought the cherry orchards

would be here orever. Recently, thanks to local

istorian Leslie Batson, I became acquainted with

thesis written in 1963 by William Adrian Bowen

a graduate o Faireld’s Armijo High School and

hen geography student at UC Berkeley) in which

e traces the history o ruit districts back to the

800s in Suisun Valley, Pleasants Valley, the English

Hills and environs.

Even then, state, national and even international

onditions aected demand or Solano County

roducts. As late as 1878, grain was the primary

rop. Bowen, who now teaches at Cal State

Northridge, recounts how Suisun Valley armer

A. T. Hatch began planting his entire 120 acres in

ruit trees “against the advice o his neighbors,”

and later expanded to 781 acres.

“Farms which had been languishing took on a

new vitality as armers began laying out orchards

on a scale never beore imagined…Lacking theinitiative to learn new arming techniques and

aced with disastrously low grain prices, however,

many o the valley’s older residents sold their

holdings and let the county rather than accept the

challenge o the ruit industry,” wrote Bowen.

Writing over 40 years ago, Bowen painted

a vivid picture o the 1800s when the Suisun

wharves were lourishing, the rai lroads

competed iercely or the right to ship early

ripening ruit to eager East Coast customers,

and a wide range o experimentation with ruits

and vines were underway.

What became clear to me while reading

Bowen’s thesis is that then, as now, armers

are required to experiment, make substantial

investments, react to changing conditions and to

persevere i they are to succeed.

What does all o this have to do with Solano

Land Trust? An important part o our mission is

to protect and preserve armland. We do this by

working with willing armers to place agricultural

conservation easements on their lands. In each

case, we work closely with three armers on our

board o directors and those who are part o an

active agricultural conservation easement (ACE)

committee carrying out our ACE plan.

In the next issue, I’ll talk about the signicant

tools available to SLT to carry out this work.

Support our Rush RanchChallengeCampaign

NOW!Solano Land Trust

needs your help with a

year-end contribution

to match a $200,000

challenge rom our

anonymous donor.

Amounts donated by

Christmas day will be

matched in 2006! This

Challenge Campaign is

part o our $2,000,000

drive to create an

endowment to take

care o this wonderul

marsh property

now and or uture

generations!



Farm-to-table: How products from local farmand ranches get to the table First in a series Wendy Low, Land Transaction Spec

Young olive orchard at Suisun Ranch, 2005Photo: Wendy Low

Solano Land Trust holds conservation easements on

many types o Solano County arms and ranches rom

walnut orchards on the edge o the Central Valley to

ranches in the Montezuma Hills, where lambs and goats

are raised. The story o how their products get to your

table is just as varied. This article is the frst in a series

showcasing this process and inorming readers where

they can purchase the products.

Nestled along Suisun Creek in the ertile

valley foor, the Suisun Valley Ranch conservation

easement protects nearly 150 acres o orchard,

vineyard and row-crop ground owned by theSmith amily, who purchased the land rom

Solano Land Trust in 2002. Stephen Smith says

that the biggest advantage o buying land with a

conservation easement is that it makes agriculture

more aordable.

The easement eatures both agricultural and

habitat protection. Special protection has been

given to the acreage along the creek, whose

remarkable riparian woodland is ull o valley oaks,

willows, and cottonwoods. Along with other nativeplants, these trees play a critical role in preventing

erosion o the creek channel as well as providing

habitat.

When I have been out walking the perimeter

o the property during our annual easement

monitoring, I have ound the expansive views

peaceul. Up rom the line o trees along Suisun

Creek, the Rockville Hills orm a backdrop along

the western horizon, leading up to the peaks

o Twin Sisters in the northwest and the Vaca

Mountains to the north and northeast. This i

landscape I remember growing up around h

with orchards and vineyards that seem ar remo

rom the bustle o Interstate 80 to the south

Farming at Suisun Valley Ranch is divers

by leasing 95 acres o row-crop ground to

arm stands, growing wine grapes on 30 acres

devoting ten acres to a young olive orchard.

This all, they sold their rst small grou

olives to Gordon Valley Farms. According to

Johnson o Gordon Valley Farms, the young t

will be harvested by hand because olive t

cannot be shaken until they are at least ouve years old. Not only is harvesting by hand l

intensive, but no olives can be let on the gro

or on the tree because o the threat o inesta

by olive ruit fies. In addition, the ruit has t

processed within 24 hours.

Gordon Valley Farms trucks the olives to

o three processors: Olive Mill at Pacic Farm

Orchards in Gerber; Saint Gregory Olive Far

Lake County (run by Eastern Orthodox mo

and, Frantoio in Mill Valley. Once the olives been crushed, the olive oil is packed in 55-ga

plastic drums and sold to distributors that

to institutions and ches or to SePay Grove

Faireld. SePay is a Native American word mea

“this morning,” a name chosen because

specialize in extremely resh oils bottled in s

batches. They sell olive oils and vinegars

Gordon Valley Farms under their Suisun V

label. Based on their atty acid content, oils

Gordon Valley Farms are considered prem

extra-virgin olive oil.

Where to fnd it:

SePay Groves olive oil & vinegars,

370 Chadbourne Road, Suite D, Faireld

or www.sepayoliveoil.com

Find local arm stands and wines online at

www.suisunvalley.com



SLT spends a day on the farm

Rob Goldstein, Land Transaction Specialist

Oaks grace hillside at Hoskins RanchPhoto: Wendy Low

On a warm and sunny October morning, Wendy Low and I drive up Pleasants Valley Road past orchards,

armhouses, and elds o cows. Every year, SLT sta and volunteers pay at least one visit to each o our

asement-protected properties to see i the land and structures have changed. On this particular day,

Wendy and I are visiting Ethel Hoskins who owns 367 acres o scenic, rolling rangeland.

has changed only or the better. John shows us a

hillside creek where he has planted oaks and other

native plants. He takes us to another creek by the

house where he and a crew removed a massive

inestation o invasive giant reeds, Arundo donax.Back at the homesite, Ethel serves us lunch and

we talk more about the property.

Returning to the oice, our easement

stewardship work continues. We report the results

o our monitoring visits to the landowners and

to those who provided unding or the easement

purchases, eld landowner questions about their

conservation easements and how they aect use o

their properties, and address landowner concerns

to deal with issues beore conficts arise.

On a recent Tuesday morning, volunteer Jim

Steinert and I visit Craig McNamara’s arm on

Putah Creek southeast o Winters. I’m worried

about spending a day away rom the oce when

Wendy and I are overloaded with work acquiring

new conservation easements. But when Jim and

I get out o the car and greet Craig, I see the

orchards, the old arm buildings, and the area

where schoolchildren restored a creek with native

plants, and smile with excitement or another day

in the eld.

We arrive at the homesite where century-old

arm buildings surround a beautiul Victorian

ouse. Ethel greets us and invites us into her

kitchen where she serves us home-cooked pastries

nd tells us about recent events on the ranch.Then, the ranch manager, John Knowles, arrives

o drive us around the property.

From rangeland outside Rio Vista to walnut

rchards south o Winters, SLT protects agricultural

and across Solano County by buying conservation

asements. But the work o protecting a property

oes not end when SLT completes a conservation

eal. Throughout the year, SLT sta monitors the

roperty to ensure that the easements are truly

rotecting the property’s agricultural values.

When SLT protects a property with an

asement, sta takes photos at specic points to

ocument the baseline conditions o the landscape.

On annual monitoring visits, sta returns to each

the photo points and compares the current

onditions to the original photos. Most oten, sta

nds that the property has not changed, or has

hanged in ways allowed, such as the planting o

ew crops or the construction o a barn.

As John drives us up impossibly steep hills

o the dierent points, we see that the property



Corraling teams to work on the land

Boy Scouts build structures and

character on SLT propertiesThe past year has

seen a lurry o Boy

Scouts accomplishing

Eagle projects at Lynch

Canyon and Rush Ranch.

Boy Scout service and

Eagle projects are a

great oppor tuni ty

o r yo ung peo p le

and their amilies to

work together and

provide long-lasting

improvements or public

benet on Solano Land

Trust properties. I you

want to accomplish a project on SLT lands, contact

Land Steward Ken Poerner at (707) 580.6277.

At Rush Ranch…Matt Bojorquez bui l t our movable

benches.

The Kit House rear patio got a new shade

awning installed by Matt Knopp and Troop

853.

Mike Hardy and troop improved the Suisun

Hill Trail by building a new segment on the

backside o the hill, making better use o the

terrain than the original route.

Chris Jaber and Troop 864 reurbished the

Blacksmith Shop with new paint, a ew new

panes o glass and a gutter or the roo.

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Making way for peoplewith disabilitiesPhoto: Joe Gordon

Workforce Investment Board

bolsters stewardship crewThe Solano Land Trust stewardship crew

grown in number this winter with several wor

provided by the Solano County Work

Investment Board (WIB). WIB received a edgrant to assist Solano County landowners

recovery eorts ater last year’s horric w

storms. Starting in August, up to our wor

have been helping us with several storm rel

projects. The Rush Ranch Marsh Trial levee a

in three locations last winter resulting in clo

o that section o trail. The WIB crew helpe

move several tons o soil into the breaches

secure it in place.

The hills in Lynch Canyon always move a each winter, but last winter, they didn’t just m

they lurched. Besides the two landslides bloc

the entrance road underneath Interstate 80 (w

Caltrans quickly cleared and eventually repai

a very visible landslide came down rom the

o the hill near the corral. Another slide occu

above the Middle Valley Trail at the bath

springs enhancement area, which we had en

and planted with woody vegetation two y

ago. Since the site is not visible rom the traididn’t immediately know that the sliding hill

taken out hal our new ence. Every day or

weeks, the WIB crew climbed the steep h

repair the destroyed ence. Now they know m

about barbed wire ence construction than

ever wanted to. The WIB crew will be helpin

through March.

Ken Poerner, Land Ste

At Lynch Canyon…Will Kane and Troop 8 installed blue

boxes. Joe Gordon’s troop built handicap acces

trails to three picnic tables.

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Building anew trailPhoto: Mike Hardy



Catch the buzz at Rush Ranch with beeexpert Robbin Thorp

Aleta George, Editor

everal years ago, I joined 40 others in the old

Rush Ranch barn to learn about bees rom Robbin

Thorp (Proessor Emeritus, UC Davis). As soon

s we arrived and began to huddle on the tiered

enches, the resident barn owls spooked and

wooped out into the day.

I you yearn to learn about bees and their

mportance in our region, I highly recommend you

ome—rain or shine—to this year’s presentation

n the Rush Ranch barn on Sunday, January 14 at

:00 p.m. (Next year, classes will be held in the

rand-new Nature and Education Center!) Thorp’s

wo-hour presentation, complete with an amazing

lide show, will show you the world o bees like

ou’ve never seen it beore.

Did you know there are more than 20,000

escribed bees in the world? That’s more than

ll the mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians

ombined! There are masked bees that drink nectar

nd pollen and store it inside their abdomens. The

ea-cutter bee stores pollen underneath its belly.

Most solitary bees make brood chambers in the

round and provision their ospring with balls o

ollen, then leave the young to end or themselves.

That’s why they are called solitary bees.

Bumblebees, says Thorp, make excellent

pollinators. They use “buzz pollination” to shake out

the pollen rom the fower, moisten the collected

pollen and attach it to their hind legs. Next time

you see one in your garden, take a closer look and

you’ll see the pollen gathered atly on its hind legs.

A emale bumblebee incubates her eggs by vibrating

her thorax and abdomen to generate heat.

Thorp obtained his PhD at Berkeley in 1964. For

his thesis, he discovered the association between

yellow carpet and Andrena blennospermatis, the

native solitary bee that specializes in pollinating

this vernal pool lower. The concept o bees

specializing on fowers dates back to the 1920s,

says Thorp, but nobody had studied vernal pool

bees and fowers until he began his studies.

Although he retired in 1994 ater 30 years o

teaching at UC Davis, Thorp continues to research

vernal pool bees and pollination, the biodiversity o

bees on Santa Cruz Island, the contribution o native

bees to crop pollination and the population decline

o bumble bees. In addition to volunteering his time

or an annual bee talk at Rush Ranch, Thorp also helps

with docent training at the Jepson Prairie Preserve.

Simple pump moves water in Lynch Canyonand Afghanistan

There has been a strange, yet soothing sound emanating rom Lynch Creek since last summer. It’s not

he swish o water fowing in the creek, but the steady opening and closing o hydraulic valves in a

rototype pump installed in August 2006 by Solano Community College MESA (Mathematics Engineering

cience Achievement) students. The MESA program has been active at Solano Community College orhe past ten years.

The MESA students are involved with a humanitarian project to install the same type o pump or

illagers in Lalander, Aghanistan. The project, dubbed the Lalander Humanitarian Project, was lauched

n September 2005 by the Laayette-based group, Trust in Education. The MESA students are perecting

pump capable o delivering water rom a low-lying river up to the village, where the reliability o

unning water will improve the health and hygiene o the community. Trust in Education plans to install

he pump in Aghanistan in March 2007.

With only two moving parts, the pump relies on the orces o nature, operating with neither

lectricity nor uel. Although the project was ultimately designed to assist the villagers in Aghanistan,

we may soon nd more o these pumps on Solano County rangelands.

Ken Poerner, Land Steward

Green sweat bee on gum plant.Photo: Dennis L Briggs

Alfalfa leaf-cutting bee.Photo: Dennis L. Briggs



Preserving Farmlands and OPen sPace thrOughOut sOlanO cOunty

Solano Land Trust

1001 Texas Street, Suite C

Faireld, CA 94533(707) 432-0150

Non–Pro

Organiza

US Posta

PaidFairfel

CA 945

Permit # 0

Jepson Prairie PreserveTake a sel-guided tour in the “Docent Triangle” any day o

the week during daylight hours. Docent-led wildfower tours

will resume in the spring. For more inormation on tours or

upcoming docent training in early February, contact SLT at

[email protected] or (707) 432-0150 ext. 202.

Lynch Canyon Open SpaceCurrently Lynch Canyon is open to the public during sta-

or docent-led activities only. Stay tuned or news o Lynch

opening to the public on a regular basis.

Volunteer Trail Care DaysSecond Saturday o the month:

Jan. 13, Feb. 10, Mar. 10. 9 a.m. – Free

Assist Land Steward Ken Poerner with trail care. Snacks are

provided. For inormation call Ken at (707) 580-6277.

Scenic HikesFourth Saturday o the month:

Dec. 23, Jan. 2, Feb. 24. 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. - Free

Join Dave Warner on his popular Lynch Canyon hikes. For

more inormation contact Ken Poerner at (707) 580-6277.

Sky Valley Cordelia Hills Open SpaceThe newly acquired King and Swett Ranches are part o the

Sky Valley Cordelia Hills Open Space and are currently open

to the public during sta- or docent-led activities only.

For more inormation contact Sue Wickham at

[email protected] or (707) 432-0150 ext. 207.

Scenic HikesSaturdays, Jan. , Feb. 3, Mar. 3 9:00 a.m. – Free

Meet at the Park-and-Ride at the Hiddenbrooke Parkway/

American Canyon Road exit at I-80. Co-sponsored with the

Bay Area Ridge Trail Council.

Volunteer Workdays Jan. 20, Feb. 1, Mar. 1. 9 a.m. until fnished - Free

Get some resh air while helping with restoration and trail

clean-up. No experience or tools necessary.

BOard memBers

Bob Berman, President

Ian Anderson, Vice President

Jane Hicks, Secretary

Frank Morris, Treasurer

Sean Quinn, Immediate Past Pres.

Frank J. Andrews, Jr.

Darrin Berardi

Jeff Dittmer

John Isaacson

Russell Lester

staFF

Marilyn Farley, Executive Director

Terry Chappell, Field Steward

Rob Goldstein, Land Transaction Specialist

Wendy Low, Land Transaction Specialist

Kirsti Muskat, Bookkeeper

Ken Poerner, Land Steward

Ben Wallace, ConservationProject Manager

David Welch, Interim Finance Ofcer

Sue Wickham, Project Coordinator

Susan Wilkinson, Development Director

Aleta George,

Editor, SLT Vistas

Logo design based on

original art by Don Birrell

Rush Ranch Open SpaceRush Ranch is open to the public Tuesday to Saturday

8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Suisun Hill Trail (across Grizzly Isla

Road rom Rush Ranch) is open seven days a week, daw

dusk. For additional inormation visit www.rushranch.o

Access Adventures: Challenging the

Limits of Disability Michael Muir leads a recreational horse-drawn carriage

program or people with disabilities. For more inormat

go to www.access-adventure.org, or contact Mike at

[email protected] or (707) 426-3990.

Birds of Rush RanchSaturday, Feb. 3. 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. - Free

Joanne Castro, local bird expert and Napa-Solano Aubu

Chapter member, will introduce the birds o Rush Ranch

Suisun Marsh. Bring binoculars, scopes, and eld guide

available. Expect muddy conditions. Meet at the barn.

Blacksmith Shop Demonstrations

Third Saturday o the month:

Dec. 1, Jan. 20, Feb. 1. 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. - Free

Participate in the art o blacksmithing with local blacksm

California’s Native BeesSunday, Jan. 14. 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. - Free

Robbin Thorp (Proessor Emeritus, UC Davis) will presen

a slide show and talk on the native bees o Caliornia (

page 7 o this issue).

Marsh ExplorationSaturday, Feb. 24. 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. - Free

Sarah Davies o the National Estuarine Research Reserv

will lead visitors on an exploratory adventure to the Su

Marsh. Be prepared or cool weather and wear sturdy sh

Volunteer WorkdaysFirst Saturday o the month:

Jan. , Feb. 3, Mar. 3. 9 a.m. until fnished - Free

Get some resh air while helping with ranch and trail

maintenance. No experience or tools necessary.

Save the Date for the annual Rush Ranch open

house on Saturday, April 28, 2007.

Winter 2006 - 2007 Vistas Newsletter, Solano Land Trust

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Transcript of Winter 2006 - 2007 Vistas Newsletter, Solano Land Trust