Page 13 - Sonoma County Gazette - October 2017

TRAILS cont’d from page 12
“Landpaths protects and restores open space by connecting the community to it, vis-à-vis programs for all people in Sonoma County, and by owning
and stewarding its nature preserves,” Landpaths Executive Director Craig Anderson said.
He too, credits SCTC for its work with Landpaths, some of which has been to help stewardship of the properties that are not available for public access.
“SCTC’s staff and volunteers worked with us at our cherished ‘nature bank,’ the 400-acre Riddell Preserve outside of Healdsburg,” he said. “We needed
a trail to climb a fragile and steep hillside—for purposes of exotic species removal and reaching the preserve’s summit cabin going forward—and the Trails Council was the perfect fit for the job. They helped us create a trail that you would see not at a large public park, but a nature reserve, which is exactly what Riddell Preserve is all about.”
Volunteer opportunities
SCTC has gone from a loosely run organization to a major player in local trails, but the work can only be accomplished through the work of an army of volunteers and the tireless fundraising that is de rigueur for the modern non- profit.
“In the beginning, there was no money and we needed a master plan, and then we had a plan and property, but no way to implement it,” Wells said. “We had fundraisers—Trails for Taylor—and now we have $2 million only for eight miles of trails.”
But the effort will take the hands of many people. The SCTC organizes several workdays at parks throughout the county. A full schedule can be found at www.sonomacountytrailscouncil.org.
There will also be a 50th anniversary celebration on Nov. 15 open to members of the SCTC. Membership for an individual costs $40 per year and anyone interested can go to the website to join.
“With Regional Parks and the Open Space district, the opportunities for trails in Sonoma County are better than ever, but I’ve been saying that for 20 years,” Ken Wells said. “Twenty years ago I said ‘Yay trails,’ and in 2016-’17, Taylor Mountain represented a transition for us.”
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