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DEAR JOAN: I’m writing to ask your help.
We’re hoping you and your readers will help John Muir Land Trust (jmlt.org) raise $100,000 by the end of this year toward the acquisition of Almond Ranch. Two years ago, your readers generously helped us reach the $7 million needed to purchase Carr Ranch, a stunning 604-acre addition to the Upper San Leandro Watershed that helps keep intact 15,500 acres of essential wilderness habitat.
Almond Ranch — the long sought-after “missing piece” in Martinez — is vitally important. Preserving these 281 acres is the only way to connect a critical segment of the 550-mile Bay Area Ridge Trail and bring together three enormous conserved landscapes — the combined Carquinez Strait Regional Shoreline and Radke Martinez Regional Shoreline, Briones Regional Park, and Franklin Ridge Wildlife and Trail Corridor — altogether, a glorious 18,000 acres of protected open space.
This is a haven for wildlife. Grasslands, scrub, oak-bay forests and riparian areas all support native, rare and special-status species such as the Alameda whipsnake and the California red-legged frog. The ridge is home to mountain lions, American badgers, gray foxes and other mammals that keep the ecosystem in balance.
Skies are patrolled by golden eagles, white-tailed kites and various species of hawks. Keeping these wildlife corridors intact is essential as the booming economy puts increasing development pressure on our shrinking natural landscapes.
So far, gifts from early donors and an extraordinary lead pledge of $1 million by the East Bay Regional Park District means that we have raised half of the $4 million needed to complete the acquisition of Almond Ranch by the end of 2019. Here’s the best news: Gifts received by the end of 2018 will be doubled thanks to a generous 100-percent match grant from an anonymous donor.
Thank you for letting your readers know we need their support. With everyone’s help, John Muir Land Trust will be able to protect Almond Ranch forever. For photos, maps, and more information we invite your readers to visit jmlt.org/almondranch.
Linus Eukel, executive director, John Muir Land Trust
DEAR LINUS: I’m so excited to see this project gaining ground, literally. As more and more land is developed, we create conflicts with wildlife that usually do not end well for the animals.
Being able to preserve Almond Ranch and make that connection will give wildlife an expansive safe haven. The property also will help to complete the Bay Area Ridge Trail, a 550-mile loop that circumnavigates the San Francisco Bay. The trail now stops at the Almond Ranch property line.
The ranch is also one of the two remaining acquisitions needed to complete the 50-mile Carquinez Strait Scenic Trail.
Readers, you can donate by going to the John Muir Land Trust’s website, or by mailing contributions marked for Almond Ranch to the trust at P.O. Box 31, Martinez, CA 94553.
Oops
On Friday, I inadvertently mixed up my fleas and ticks. It is ticks, not fleas, that pass along Lyme disease, and which Western fence lizards help curtail. Sorry about that.