President’s Column

Chet Ogan

NEC burns

On July 26 the Northcoast Environmental Center suffered a devastating fire. Crews have not yet had a chance to crawl through the ashes to determine the extent of the loss to the extensive library and documents. Redwood Region Audubon is asking its members to contribute to the fund to rebuild the NEC. These donations can be sent to the Humboldt Area Foundation "Rebuild it" Fund, P.O. Box 99, Bayside, CA 95524. The NEC will be rebuilt, hopefully bigger and better.

Lost Coast Ranch

This past spring and summer, the Coastal Conservancy, the Conservation Fund, Rondal Snodgrass, Land Counselor and the Bureau of Land Management collaborated with several landowners for purchases and conservation easements along the bluffs south of Centerville Beach. A trail has been opened from Centerville Road to the mouth of Guthrie Creek. The former Centerville Naval facility has also been turned over to the BLM. Under the agreement, local landowners will still be permitted to graze their cattle on the property that will help keep down some of the vegetation in part to maintain habitat for raptors and other predators. It is good to see the property being turned over to the public instead of being developed with large exclusive homes.

NAWCA grants, Wildlife Conservation Board

Partially through our efforts, North American Wetland Conservation Act grants have been able to acquire 2500 acres and fund restoration efforts for another 100 acres in the Lake Earl area of Del Norte County. On August 31, the WCB meets to discuss several local acquisitions. WCB has recommended expansion of the Redwoods-to-the-Sea corridor in southern Humboldt County. This is a connection between Humboldt Redwoods State Park and Kings Range National Conservation Area. WCB has also recommended approval of the grant to the City of Arcata for acquisition, enhancement, and restoration of about 653 acres of land in two parcels along Jacoby, Campbell, and Grotzman Creek and Gannon and McDaniels Slough. The cooperators are the Jacoby Creek Land Trust and California Department of Fish and Game along with the City of Arcata.

Audubon Center

On August 14, I visited the New Hampshire Audubon Center just outside Concord. This facility has a museum, wildlife care center, and nature center offering summer activities for youth. Several trails lead through the woodlands to a pond. It would be great to build up our sanctuary fund to the point that we could purchase some property and eventually build a similar facility locally.