Greetings,

It's been a busy week after attending a good conference in San Diego. Annie and I came back with some inspiration and new ideas as well as new sales items for our Visitor Centers.

State Parks Ballot Initiative Update
Stewards volunteers have done an amazing job collecting signatures for the California State Parks and Wildlife Conservation Trust Fund Act of 2010. The campaign is reporting that Sonoma/Marin Counties have collected the most signatures statewide and we are one of the top grassroots volunteer organizations with about 3,000 signatures reported as of this past Tuesday. I need to acknowledge Jack Norick who has collected over 800 signatures at Armstrong Redwoods in the past few weeks. Jack could really use some help so let me know if you would like to assist him. Please email me at mluna@mcn.org if you are willing to staff Sonoma County locations on a regular basis during the next few months. We are making good progress and it's very important that we keep up our current momentum in order to reach the 700,000 signature goal statewide by April 15th.

I want to thank Dr. Sarah Allen, Dr. Joe Mortenson and Mary Follis, for conducting a wonderful Pinniped seminar on Saturday, February 13. Sarah shared the natural history of Pinnipeds and Joe presented some of the interesting data that we have been collecting locally with Stewards' Pinniped Monitoring Program as well as how to identify neonates, a new parameter that volunteers will be recording on their pinniped log sheets. Mary presented information about how to identify the prominent birdlife on Sonoma Coast, complete with bird sounds. The seminar was very well attended and we had a nice group of potential docents attend the Seal Watch training as well.

There will be another training for the Pinniped Monitoring Program, which takes place on the Sonoma Coast on Wednesday, March 10th. Volunteers need to be available during the week and for at least a half a day at a time and sometimes on very short notice. This program is a partnership with the Sonoma County Water Agency and funded by them as well. Please contact me at mluna@mcn.org if you are interested.

I also want to thank Norma Jellison for leading a nice walk on the beautiful Bodega Head on February 7th. Norma reported that an engaged group of folks attended. It was sunny and clear and very windy, so there were lots of whitecaps and thus no whales to be seen. Also very few birds except Brown Pelicans, Cormorants and Oyster Catchers and of course Gulls. Due to the cold rains there were no emerging spring flowers! Nevertheless, Norma was able to entertain the participants with descriptions of the whale's life history, migration and habits. She also talked about Harbor Seals, Ca Sea Lions and from the Geology seminar that they were standing on the Pacific Plate and granite from the Southern Sierras, LA shoved north! She also talked about invasive plants like ice plant and European grasses versus coastal prairie. Then she pointed out Pt Reyes (another chunk of Sierras shoved north) and the fault coming up thru Tomales Bay and talked a bit about the nuclear power plant proposed for the Head years ago. Even without the whales, birds and flowers, it was a good, informative hike.

25 Year Partnership with California State Parks
I promised in my last E-News to start highlighting some of the wonderful partnerships that Stewards has developed throughout our 25 years as a State Park Cooperating Association. The longest and most prominent is with California State Parks. Some of you may not know how our relationship with State Parks works. Stewards is one of about 80 other nonprofit Cooperating Associations that have a contractual relationship with State Parks in their area. This contract allows us to operate on State Park property under conditions spelled out in Public Resource Code 513.

Our funding, as with all nonprofits, must support our mission and our mission is to support interpretation, education and stewardship in the State Parks under our jurisdiction. For us that's the Russian River District and the parks we support are Armstrong Redwoods, Austin Creek and Sonoma Coast. The State provides us with facilities for our offices and to operate State Park Visitor Centers. In turn, the State provides personnel, in the way of volunteers, to staff the Visitor Centers and the money raised must support interpretation and education in our parks.

Unlike some Coops, Stewards also has added resource management to our Articles of Incorporation. In this way, we are also able to raise funds and help manage habitat restoration projects, which we have been very successful at doing for almost 15 years. This partnership creates a win-win for our State Parks and our relationship has always been a good one because of our commitment to work together to plan our projects strategically.

Stewards is proud of the fact that over 85% of our funds go directly back into our parks to support programs. Because of the volunteers that we support, we are able to keep our administrative and fundraising costs to a minimum. Next time I will highlight the partnerships we have developed to restore the Willow Creek watershed.

Have a wonderful week,

Michele Luna, Executive Director

Intertidal Exploration & Docent Training
Saturday, February 27, 2010

Tidepool Orientation
Saturday, February 27
10:00am-12:30pm
Learn the logistics of being a Tidepool Docent and Roving Naturalist.

(Lunch Break)

Intertidal Exploration
1:30pm -4pm
(beach to be determined)
Instructor: Carl Menard (Aquatic Resources Management, Bodega Marine Lab)
Join a lively session of tidepool exploration and learn techniques for interpreting this fragile resource with the public, especially children. For the afternoon session, please dress in layers; bring waterproof boots and a change of clothes.

REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED ON OUR WEBSITE OR
EMAIL rherrick@mcn.org

Sudden Oak Death Seminar

Master Gardeners and Stewards Partner to Save Our Oaks
Saturday, March 13 at 10:30 am, FREE - no donations requested

A team of Sonoma County Master Gardener specialists are partnering with Stewards to present a free seminar on Sudden Oak Death (SOD) on Sat., March 13 at 10:30 a.m. at Armstrong Redwoods.

The Master Gardeners have received a grant from the USDA Forest Service to educate the public about the causes, distribution and treatment options of the disease.

The SOD specialists Ann Chambers, Janet Calhoun, John Chavez and Phyllis Turrill will describe the symptoms of the disease, the extent of the infection and what local oaks are susceptible.  They will also suggest ways to keep oaks as healthy as possible and demonstrate the latest preventative treatment options. The talk will also include a walk through an area in the Park that has been infected by SOD.

The specialists have recently received extensive training in SOD from experts at the University of California and other leading scientists in the field.  In particular, they have studied the pathogen, Phytophthora ramorum that causes the disease.  For more information, call the Santa Rosa Master Gardener office at 565-2608 or visit www.sonomamastergardeners.org or register online for the seminar.

Michele Luna, Executive Director
Stewards of the Coast and Redwoods