Category Archives: Stewardship

We’re Winning!

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Filed under Invasive Species, Plant Life, Seasons, Stewardship, Summer, Yellow Star Thistle

endofseasonFor the last five years we have been trying to eradicate the Yellow Star Thistle (YST) from the Sonoma Overlook Trail. For the the last three years we’ve also been trying to do the same for the Montini Preserve. Today I ranged all over the SOT upper meadows and emerged with about half a bag of YST. This is a great improvement, and demonstrates that our campaign is making a difference. There is now so little on the Overlook that searching for it may almost be a waste of time, so now I will switch to the Montini, which is likely to still have serious infestations of YST.

This year we also started tackling the purple thistle, which has overrun the Montini but hasn’t yet done so on the Overlook. We focused on getting it off the sides of the trail, as that is a primary way that it spreads. Next year we will begin earlier in the year fighting the purple (YST comes on later in Spring than the purple).

If you want to help out, let me know. I have contractor bags and the only other things you need are a glove and persistence.

Signs of Spring

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Filed under Flowers, Fundraising, Plant Life, Seasons, Spring, Stewardship, Trail Maintenance

Spring is definitely in full swing. Wildflowers such as lupine and California poppies are in profusion, as are the butterflies that frequent the also prevalent Blue dicks (like the Swallowtail pictured).

The trail is mostly no longer muddy (until the next rain, at least), so now is a great time to get out and enjoy the warmth and the wildlife. Just keep your eyes peeled for rattlesnakes, as they have already been sighted on the trail. Other wildlife to look for include squirrels, deer, lizards, and wide variety of birds, from Red-Tailed Hawks to Red-Shafted Flickers to Great Horned Owls (all of which have been sighted from the trails).

Another sign of spring is, well, a sign. We just replaced the sign at the top of the trail that describes a little of the history of the area and names some of the surrounding sights viewable from the upper meadow. On the Overlook Trail, costs such as these are borne by the volunteer Stewards of the Overlook Trail group, which
collaborates with the Sonoma Ecology Center that serves as our fiscal agent. But anything that costs money to maintain or upgrade the trail and property requires us to raise money through events, donations, etc. If you feel so moved, please click on our “Donate Now!” link in the righthand column.

In any case, enjoy all of the sights of spring and stay safe out there!

Overlook Trail Rehabilitation Project

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Filed under Stewardship, Trail Maintenance

As regular users of the 17-year-old Overlook Trail know, a number of segments are showing quite a bit of wear and tear, the result of high use and erosion.

When it first opened, the trail had about 5,000 annual visits and now logs more than 50,000. All of those footsteps and running-steps deliver a pounding and eventually “dish” the trail. In some places, trail layout has disrupted the natural pattern of storm water flow, causing it to surge down the path instead of sheeting across and over it.  The result is that the thin soil layer, characteristic of the hillside, has been scoured down to volcanic bedrock, creating dicey footing and trip hazards.

All trails need regular, cyclical maintenance, but these issues are more substantial. Sonoma Overlook Trail Stewards, an all-volunteer group that monitors the trail and performs routine maintenance, asked noted California trail expert Don Beers, who designed the adjacent Montini trail a few years ago, to assess Overlook’s condition and advise how to improve its sustainability.

Mr. Beers spent several days on site in 2016 and recommended some rehabilitation and restoration measures and re-routing around the most problematic areas. Stewards decided to tackle the work in phases, beginning with the lower route, that occurred in Summer and Fall of 2018.

The project took many weeks and involved:

  • Rehabilitation of the trail entrance: When setting out from the First Street West entrance, users immediately encounter an exposed incline, which has badly eroded and created poor footing. Given the terrain, and the fact that access is sandwiched between Norrbom Road and the Cemetery, the most sustainable and safest solution is to install stone steps. The Kiwanis Club of Sonoma Plaza have generously agreed to help fund this work.
  • Reroute of a portion of the lower trail to avoid a badly degraded, rocky segment with switchbacks and abrupt elevation changes. The new segment follows land contours in terrain that can better support a trail that gets lots of use and that will provide more sure footing. The old segment was restored back to a natural condition.
  • Rehabilitation of the rest of the trail to improve tread, encourage natural sheet flow during rain events, and transition grade changes in a more sustainable and safer way.

The Sonoma Overlook Trail maintenance, restoration and educational programs are funded by individuals, local civic groups and businesses at no cost to the City of Sonoma.

Please help support your trail by making a contribution today. See the “Donate” button in the upper right.

Here are some pictures of the project (click on the thumbnail to see the full version):

 

Overlook Trail founder is honored

Posted
Filed under Events, Stewardship

fullsizeoutput_7196Karen Collins, who helped establish the Overlook Trail, has been honored as Sonoma County Woman of the Year for the Third Senate District. Karen has made vital conservation efforts in Sonoma and we appreciate all she does for us hikers and outdoor enthusiasts.

Karen has long been active in local civic and community service. She spearheaded the community effort to preserve the land to the north of town for hikers instead of having a luxury hotel built. She co-chaired the task force that created the trail and is still involved with the volunteer stewards and maintenance and use of the trail.

She currently chairs the Sonoma County Regional Parks and Recreation Commission, which oversees the County’s outdoor recreation programs and is also on the board of Jack London Park Partners, the nonprofit group that operates Jack London State Historical Park. In 2014, she was named the Sonoma Valley “Conservationist of the Year.”

We are lucky to have a dedicated person like Karen that supports the Overlook Trail and outdoor recreation in Sonoma County.

Congratulations Karen.

Tissues are Trash

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Filed under Stewardship

P1000925Far and away I pick up more facial tissues on the trail than any other type of litter. Just the other day I picked up four in one day. The photo to the right depicts one of them. So I feel compelled to insist that tissues are trash. I simply don’t understand what people are thinking. Do they imagine that tissues decompose within a few days of hitting the ground? Well, they don’t. Do they simply not care? Probably.

But if you toss your tissue you’re making me pick it up. And I pick them up, despite potentially exposing myself to disease. After spending the first five years of my childhood on an Indiana farm ingesting all kinds of microbes, I now have an immune system made of iron and antibodies. But that doesn’t make it OK for you to toss your tissues.

Tissues are trash. Carry out whatever you carry in.