Category Archives: Stewardship

Major Milestone Reached in Invasive Species Removal

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Filed under Invasive Species, Italian Thistle, Land Maintenance, Plant Life, Stewardship

The weapon of choice, with a pile of vanquished foes in the background.

I am very happy to announce that after years of work, and over three months of constant and focused effort this season, we have reached a major milestone in our fight against invasive species. For the first time ever, we have pushed the Italian thistle back away from all of the named trails on both the Sonoma Overlook Trail property and the Montini Preserve.

I am not making this declaration without first traversing all of the named trails (close to 5 miles of them) and inspecting them closely every step of the way. It doesn’t mean that I haven’t missed a plant or three, but it means that if I’ve missed something it wasn’t for a lack of trying. [To be clear, as of this writing the trails are closed, but I have official permission to only do maintenance work on the trails.]

This was our first goal for this season, and the fact that we were finally able to accomplish it is an indication that the situation along the trail is improving. Many areas (primarily on the Overlook, where much of our past efforts have focused) were much easier to clear this year than last year. But of course a great deal of work remains.

That continuing work will now focus on complete eradication in areas where it seems possible, preventing further spread, and tightening the noose on large infestations. We may also experiment with covering dense clumps with plastic and letting the sun do our job for us.

Those of you who would like some background on this decades-long battle can read our past posts “Why We Fight,” and “‘Don’t Look Up’ and Other Lessons from Invasive Species Removal.” Or perhaps you shouldn’t. Yeah, that’s the ticket, probably better to read a novel, now that I think about it. Or literally anything else.

Tissues are STILL Trash

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Filed under Stewardship

As a volunteer trail steward, I hike the trail knowing that I have special responsibilities. I can’t just breeze through on my daily hike thinking I can ignore things like branches across the trail, invasive thistles sprouting up in the way of hikers, and trash carelessly tossed aside. I just can’t. And since I hike the trail nearly every day, I’ve pretty much seen it all. Oddly enough, the single most common piece of trash I’ve ever seen is facial tissues. I’ve even written about this before, three years ago nearly to the very day, and nothing has changed.

I think that perhaps those who toss tissues believe they will quickly degrade and not be noticed. But as reported by the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS), toilet paper, which is designed to degrade quickly (unlike facial tissue), can last one to three years in the outdoors before it totally degrades. So perhaps you’re counting on me to pick it up, and I suppose you’re right, as I do.

But in this day of the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19), is that really something you want to put on someone else? So please just carry your own tissues out. Thank you for your consideration.

Fighting the Fight Because It Must Be Fought

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Filed under Invasive Species, Life Lessons, Philosophical Musings, Stewardship

I don’t know if you’ve ever faced this situation in your life, but I have, and more than once. I’ve had ore than one fight enter my life that I could not turn away from — fights that simply needed to happen, because some things are simply worth fighting for, despite the odds, despite the near certainty of defeat; because then you can live with yourself, knowing you did what you could. Some fights are worth fighting for the fight itself, and if you don’t believe that, I’m not sure I even want to know you.

If you choose your fights based on winnability, that is not a criteria that I respect. I choose my fights based on what I believe is worth fighting for, and if I need to go down fighting, then so be it. But at least I can look myself in the mirror, because I did what my conscience demanded. I believe we all need to know which hill we’re willing to die on. And there may be more than one.

This means that I’ve lost, sometimes even disastrously (buy me a drink sometime and I’ll tell the stories), but I’ve never regretted fighting. That’s the beauty of struggling for what you believe in — you actually win even if you lose, as you’ve stayed true to yourself. Some people can’t say that, and that makes me sad.

So yes, I keep my defeats as close to my heart as my victories, perhaps even closer, as they are what makes me cry, even decades after, as my victories never seem to do. If you are wise in choosing your fights then the price you pay is to remember them for the rest of your life. Otherwise, they never meant anything to begin with. Choose wisely, knowing the price.

Although this is one of the much, much lesser fights of my life, and likely not one I will ever cry over, I will probably die not knowing if we ever won the fight against invasive species on the trails above the city of Sonoma, after decades of fighting. But I will die knowing I did everything I could. And that’s really all I need to know. At least this will be one of my much lesser defeats. I hope all of your defeats are much less than this. May they always and forever be.

Star Volunteer Award goes to Joanna Kemper

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Filed under Stewardship

A well deserved award, “Sonoma Valley Star Volunteer” was presented to Joanna Kemper today at the 11th Annual Celebration for Star Volunteers at Hanna Boys Center, hosted by the Sonoma Valley Fund.

Joanna was the leader of the Sonoma Overlook Trail Stewards for over 9 years, providing guidance, support, and vision to the all-volunteer group that maintains and manages the trail. She’s been a key player in intiating and completing the recent rehabilitation and restoration of the trail. She’s still involved with the trail, providing support and energy to events, trail work and leadership.

Congratulations Joanna!

Paying the Trail Back

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Filed under Events, Land Maintenance, Stewardship, Trail Maintenance

Dan Noreen, Beverage Supervisor, David Pye, Director of Engineering, Jay Garrett General Manager, Nathan Wakeen, Senior Rooms Operations Manager, Kaitlyn Tinder Director of Human Resources, Fred Allebach, Trail Steward (not pictured: Bill Wilson and Joanna Kemper, Trail Stewards).

The Lodge at Sonoma Renaissance Resort & Spa has long led hiking trips on the Sonoma Overlook Trail. Under the able leadership of Dan Noreen, Beverage Director and Sommelier, who is also an accomplished naturalist (seriously, where does it stop?), the Lodge offers daily hikes on the trail that are frequently populated by any number of Sonoma visitors, from one to 30 or more. Dan leads a special nature hike on Friday mornings, while on other mornings one of the coterie of the Lodge’s yoga teachers, who hold a class just before, lead a hike. As a daily hiker myself, I know all of them, and welcome them and their groups on a daily basis.

Since the trail is a free and open resource to all, that could be the end of this story. But Dan and his staff want to give back to the trail so they do and have for years. For the last three years the Lodge has coordinated with the Trail Stewards to send a large team on Coastal Cleanup Day. This time the group did a general cleanup and weeding at the trail kiosk and entry steps, and fortified a nearby wood staircase with cement blocks. Trail Stewards Fred Allebach, Joanna Kemper, and Bill Wilson provided materials, tools, and direction.

As always, we greatly appreciate their volunteer efforts to help maintain the trail and the property as the wonderful resource that it is — not just for our local community but also for our valued visitors from around the world. It takes a village, and we’re delighted to have their participation in that community of support.