Winter on the PCT . . . there are a number of segments of the trail that are best walked in the winter months. I thought that I would highlight several of these sections. The first that comes to mind is the Whitewater and Mission Creeks area with the caveat that this section of trail was seriously damaged by Hurricane Hilary in 2023. Reports indicated that miles 235 - 238 in the upper segment of Mission Creek are the most impacted still . . . but there are plenty of other PCT miles in the Sand to Snow National Monument particularly in the area of Whitewater Preserve.
We have talked about the Preserve in the past and, if you are not aware of it . . . please read this profile.
From the beginning of human history Natural Beauty has been one of humankind’s great standard bearers. The Wildlands Conservancy, whose long
Center for Biological Diversity: Wildlands Conservancy’s 23rd Preserve Advances Mission to Provide Free Access for All
This is a long post, because, for once, it tells us a good story, gives us a terrific example of what conservation ought to mean as our climate is changing, and involves personal friends of mine and an organization I respect. Bear with me, if you can.
I have a nice connection with this acquisition, that I’ve shared with you jillions of times. Wildlands Conservancy, based in Oak Glen, California, acquired this land in Oregon with financing provided by the Center for Biological Diversity. I’ve been a docent and volunteer for ten years for the desert preserves of Wildlands Conservancy, those being the Whitewater Preserve, Mission Creek Preserve and Pioneertown/Pipes Canyon Preserve. The Executive Director of Wildlands, Frazier Haney, is a close friend. When Frazier told me about a potential Oregon acquisition, I was surprised because I associated Wildlands with California and only California. With this, Wildlands can become a bigger player.
According to Wildlands Conservancy, this new 30,000-acre Preserve, now known as the Enchanted Rocks Preserve, is a property of national significance, in part, because of its fascinating geology, which is an extension of the nearby John Day Fossil Beds National Monument operated by the National Park Service. Wildlands has designated this Preserve as a “Climate Preserve,” which is explained below. The Preserve also includes two miles of the National Wild and Scenic John Day River. A few photos and a video. (I have a feeling the photos and the video were taken by my friend Jack Thompson, who is the Manager of Wildlands’ desert preserves.)
First off, what is a “climate preserve?” Here’s an excerpt from this linked press release from the Center for Biological Diversity explaining the concept, with a quote from Carl Pope, who has long been associated with the Sierra Club:
The Wildlands Conservancy’s climate preserve designation will help guide land managers toward new land management practices based on reducing the impacts of anthropocentric climate change — the Earth’s most life-threatening environmental challenge.
“The Wildlands’ climate preserve classification will help initiate the first new paradigm for land management of the 21st century,” said Carl Pope, the longest-serving executive director in Sierra Club history and co-author of Climate of Hope. “Above all, until Yellowstone was created, there could be no national park system in the U.S. — or anywhere. Until someone creates and then demonstrates the first climate preserve, there cannot be a global network of preserved areas doing the job they must toward rescuing the human community from the climate crisis.”
A little bit about the Preserve and the Wildlands’ philosophy of conservation and preservation, from the Wildlands web site for the Preserve:
Distinguishing a Climate Preserve as a protected area means that Wildlands will never sell carbon credits to carbon producers elsewhere and never sell mitigation credits to mitigate for species killed elsewhere, as is a common practice in the land trust community. A Climate Preserve adds true additionality to reach the international goal of net zero carbon emissions by 2050. [Widlands will be protecting] the 10,000 acres of forest on Wildlands Climate Preserve from commercial logging and protecting the vast network of underground mycorrhizal fungi from soil disturbance.
Wildlands Climate Preserve will lead land-based advocacy against federally-funded programs to remove over a billion juniper and pinyon pine trees from up to 38 million acres of Western lands, which would convert the carbon-sequestering forest into grasslands for cattle grazing—the worst agricultural source of greenhouse gas emissions. “This is absurd, said Haney, “ Many philanthropic groups throughout the world exist for the goal of planting a million trees and our own government is subsidizing the destruction of over a billion of the West’s best drought-tolerant trees.” The destruction of 38 million acres of healthy pinyon pine and juniper forests would result in the loss of nearly 3.1 million metric tons of sequestered carbon each year. Additionally, 50 million metric tons of carbon could be released if these forests were uprooted and burned. Replacing the removed forest with cattle would cause an increase in the release of methane gas, equal to approximately 180 thousand metric tons of methane a year on 38 million acres. As a Climate Action TWC stopped the federally-funded program from removing 17,000 healthy western juniper trees from the preserve while it was in escrow. Federal agencies refer to the western juniper as being invasive because junipers have expanded their range in the wake of overgrazing livestock. These same federal agencies that opened 9 million acres of greater sage grouse habitat for energy development, blame the decline on sage grouse populations on the expanded range of western junipers and pinyon pines. According to Partners in Flight, pinyon jay populations have declined 85% because of the conversion of pinyon-juniper forests into grazing land.
As a Climate Action, The Wildlands Conservancy has not renewed the cattle grazing lease that expires March 31, 2022 to eliminate one of the world’s worst producers of methane gas.
To create climate resilience to drought, eight miles of salmon bearing Cherry Creek on the preserve will no longer be diverted to flood irrigate cattle pastures.
To promote species resilience and adaptation to climate change TWC will increase landscape connectivity by supporting land exchanges with the Bureau of Land Management to create Cathedral Rock and Horse Heaven Wilderness Areas on Wildlands Climate Preserve’s boundary, extending protected lands to an additional 17,000 acres.
In Memory of David Myers: A Life Dedicated to Conservation (From the Wildlands Conservancy)
I've known David since we invested in property in Palm Springs, California in 2009 and I started my environmental work in the deserts of Southern California. David was one of those old-fashioned "visionaries," but he acted on his visions. This piece is the memorial piece written by Frazier Haney, one of my close friends and the Executive Director of the Wildlands Conservancy, a group founded by David years ago. If it weren't for David and his wife, Jamie, I never would have embarked on the journeys and adventures I've experienced.
(Here's the link to more of David's story from the LA Times.)
I write to you today to share news that many of you may have already heard. David Myers, visionary conservationist and Co-Founder and Board President of The Wildlands Conservancy, passed away overnight this past Sunday. David was more than a leader — he was a friend and mentor, and we feel his loss acutely. There will never be another person with the combination of David’s vision, knowledge, skill set, and deep love for humanity and nature. He will be dearly missed.
David knew this moment would come and worked tirelessly to ensure that his life’s most important work — the founding and growth of The Wildlands Conservancy — would continue for generations to come. In 2020, David transitioned into the role of Board President while I stepped into the role of Executive Director. Over the past several years, we have been preparing for this transition, ensuring that Wildlands is supported by an experienced leadership team and seasoned staff. Many of our regional and executive leaders have been with the organization for over a decade, and our Board continues to blend wisdom from those who have been with us since the beginning with the expertise of new members dedicated to carrying David’s vision forward.
David left us with so many gifts: a bold vision, an extraordinary organization, dedicated staff, and a clear purpose. Perhaps most importantly, he left us with his written works — four books and countless essays, letters, and stories that articulate the deep philosophy that underpins everything we do. We are compiling this collection so that it can be shared with our staff, Board, and you — our closest friends and supporters — to ensure that our efforts remain rooted in the principles David so passionately upheld.
One of those founding principles has been at the heart of Wildlands since its inception: the unwavering belief that when we follow our dreams with conviction and leave no room for doubt, forces beyond our understanding will bring our goals to fruition. David’s steadfast pursuit of his dreams over the last 30 years has left The Wildlands Conservancy — and the world — with an enduring legacy: more than 2.3 million acres of protected lands, the largest nonprofit nature preserve system on the West Coast, and over 1.3 million children connected with nature through free outdoor education programs.
Today, we carry that dream forward. We believe that through our work, we can help create the world we aspire to, rather than simply accepting the world as it is. We will honor David’s bold approach by continuing to conserve and restore beautiful and biologically rich landscapes, rewilding our Preserves, ensuring they remain free and open to the public, and expanding our outdoor education programs for underserved children.
David’s legacy is alive in all of us who share his love for wild places and his belief in the power of conservation to change lives. If you have stories about David, we invite you to share them with us. Over the past thirty years, David turned his vision into great conservation. He could not have done it without many others who stepped forward. As we look forward, we hope you will continue to work with us to ensure that his bold conservation vision continues to unfold. Together, we will continue the work he dedicated his life to — preserving the beauty and wildness of our natural world for future generations.
In parting, I offer an excerpt from one of his final letters. I hope you enjoy hearing his words while reflecting on his life.
With gratitude,
Frazier Haney
Executive Director
From one of David's final letters:
“My life has really only been about one thing – preserving and sharing the Beauty and Inspiration of Nature and writing four books that attempt to show how Nature’s Beauty is the counterpart to the Beauty and Truths that reside within us. Each book was written to inspire insightfulness, through which the reverence of the manifestations of Nature’s Beauty – be it in the tiniest flowers or the grandest sunset – the reverence of Beauty becomes indistinguishable from our reverence of God. We learn in studying Nature — whether in our recent study of the most distant galaxies in which we learned the Universe is expanding 15 percent faster than the Big Bang Theory’s laws of physics allow — or whether through the understandings gained in the most inward human quest, we realize in the human mind’s contemplation of Nature resides Nature’s best attempt at self-explication. In the study of Beauty our intuition teaches us that Love is the stuff our Hearts and Souls are made of, and that Love is the purpose of our existence and to merge into the eternity of love is our life’s true purpose.”
A conservation group hopes to turn a newly purchased Utah ranch into a model for working with tribes to protect wilderness in the American
Good story, but it doesn't fully inform us about the role that the Wildlands Conservancy played in funding this project and organizing it so that local Native American tribes were vested with interests in acquiring, maintaining and protecting the land. If you've been following me over the years, you know that I've been a volunteer at several of the Wildlands' preserves for years.
Excerpt from this story from the LA Times:
In February 2020, Dave Herrero drove into the canyon country here in southeastern Utah to visit a slice of land that was up for sale — a 320-acre ranch that stretched deep into the red-rock canyon near the small town of Bluff.
“Just hop the fence and walk down the drive,” a local rock climber had told him. “You’ll see some stuff.”
Herrero and his girlfriend did just that, pushing through salt brush to make their way into a rocky alcove. Amid freezing rain, it took a few seconds for his eyes to adjust.
“Oh my God!” he exclaimed.
High off the ground, set into the wall, was a huge structure, with large brick walls, built into the canyon like a castle turret. As the two looked around, they realized there were cliff dwellings and other structures throughout the canyon. On a canyon wall, they found rock art: a huge panel of horses and other designs still used by the Hopi, Navajo and Ute tribes whose reservations were nearby.
“I cannot believe something like this is, first of all, owned by somebody,” Herrero, 43, recalled thinking. “And second of all, that it’s also for sale.”
In July, his California-based employer, the nonprofit Wildlands Conservancy, purchased the ranch for $2.5 million from the family that owned it and began writing a deed that it hopes will become a model for working with tribes to protect wilderness in the American West from real estate developers, mining companies and oil drillers.
In what would be a novel arrangement, the deed is expected to include a coalition of five tribes as co-owners and managers with Wildlands — an effort to acknowledge the history of the land, which the conservation group named Cottonwood Wash.
In speeches and in fundraising emails, it’s become common for conservation groups to perform “land acknowledgments” to name and honor the tribes that once controlled the land the groups are seeking to protect.
“We want to raise the bar on land acknowledgment,” said Frazier Haney, the executive director of Wildlands. “We don’t just want to acknowledge the tribes in speeches — we want to acknowledge them on the actual land deed.”
I have been so very impressed with the work of the Wildlands Conservancy. I was first introduced to their impact in my own backyard in Northern California . . . Seawood Cape, Eel River Canyon, and the Eel River Estuary projects. It is worth checking out their mission and guiding philosophy.
From the beginning of human history Natural Beauty has been one of humankind’s great standard bearers. The Wildlands Conservancy, whose long
The Whitewater Preserve, an oasis along the Whitewater River a short distance from the PCT's Whitewater River crossing, is also owned and managed by the Wildlands Conservancy. The Preserve is 2,851 acres surrounded by the BLM’s San Gorgonio Wilderness and includes the Whitewater River. The Wildlands Conservancy purchased an additional 3,200 acres in the Whitewater corridor that were donated to the Bureau of Land Management. In addition, this acquisition included 1,280 acres that had been subdivided into 40-acre parcels deep inside the San Gorgonio Wilderness. Roads to the subdivision have been removed and the integrity of the wilderness has been restored. Wildlands also purchased the 40,032-acre BLM range allotment as a means to retire all cattle grazing in the Whitewater Watershed.
See this post from five years ago about feral cattle in the Whitewater:
This is an excerpt from an article written by Louis Sahagun for the San Diego Union-Tribune on Saturday, March 3rd. And I thought the cattl
After being slammed by the torrents of water generated by Hurricane Hilary in late August, 2023, the Whitewater Preserve has re-opened effective December 11.
Certified Arborists at the Wildlands Conservancy for Tree Pruning!
Joshua Tree experts & certified arborist were at the Wildlands Conservancy in Lehigh Valley, & offered quality tree pruning services. Tree care with cutting edge techniques & appropriate tools! Details at http://www.joshuatreeexperts.com/services/pruning.php
