rally success - wildlife corridor presentation blending science and law!

GUEST POST by John McCaull

A few weeks ago, the SLT office was pretty quiet, with just a few dedicated staffers holding down the fort. The rest of us were at LTA Rally!

The Land Trust Alliance (LTA) Rally is a big deal in the land conservation world. Every year, thousands gather to talk about the latest issues and trends in land protection, renew old friendships, and participate in a myriad of workshops that hone our skills and broaden our perspectives. Sonoma Land Trust was part of several presentations at this year’s Rally in Sacramento, CA, and one of the liveliest sessions was our Saturday workshop on the Sonoma Valley Wildlife Corridor. ​

Here's what our display at Rally looked like. The heirloom seed packets you can see in the front were constantly replenished but gone within a day! Whether people took them for planting or for eating, we'll never know.

The goal of our Sonoma Valley Wildlife Corridor Project is to maintain a functional wildlife corridor of private lands, protected lands, public parklands and riparian corridors that connects Sonoma Mountain to the Mayacamas Range and beyond. For three years now, we have been studying wildlife movement and usage of the Corridor, protecting key parcels of land, and developing guidance for landowners on how they can help wildlife thrive through this beautiful region.

Rally 2015 was a chance to tell our story, and share our successes.  These are the big takeaways that we shared with a very engaged audience:

• Common species are moving through the corridor
• Rare species can pass through the corridor
• Bridges and culverts are critical for wildlife passage; however, avenues for passage are limited.  You can see cool pictures and learn how wildlife are using underpasses from our recent study.
• The bottom line is that every property matters and it’s critical to maximize freedom of movement for wildlife for what remains.

 
The workshop attendees did not leave emptyhanded. SLT has produced two brochures related to the Corridor:  one is a general document that details SLT’s work to keep the Corridor “open and wildlife friendly,” and the second is a “how to help” summary of actions that property owners can do to keep the corridor functional.  Both of these brochures contain excerpts from a much more comprehensive study called the Sonoma Valley Wildlife Corridor Project Management and Monitoring Strategy which you can download off the SLT website. In addition, we circulated draft language for land trusts and legal professionals who negotiate “conservation easements” on private property that is within a wildlife corridor. 

Big thanks to the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and the Resources Legacy Fund for supporting this Project, and please reach out to either Tony Nelson (tony@sonomalandtrust.org) in our stewardship department or John McCaull (johnm@sonomalandtrust.org) in our acquisitions department if you have more questions about this project, or would like to receive copies of the materials we distributed.