For the Love of California

Special Moments and Memories from TNC Staff

One moment that always sticks in my mind is from my first few months working at TNC. I was walking around at Shasta Big Springs Ranch on a fall day full of bright colors—with the imposing figure of Mount Shasta looming over that beautiful valley. What I remember most is standing directly over Big Springs Creek, looking straight down and watching huge male and female chinook salmon. The salmon were on the culminating journey of their lifetime, returning from the ocean hundreds of miles away to build the redds (nests) where they would lay their eggs and create the next generation. More salmon were in the stream that year because of the work TNC was doing: securing cold, nutrient-rich flows during peak fish migration and restoring the streamside habitat on an otherwise working ranch. It was such an inspiring, tangible example of the power of creativity and determination.

- Rodd Kelsey, Associate Director, Water Program

We were meeting with the owners of a family-run ranch on the Central Coast to celebrate agreement on a conservation easement. We were on the top of the mountain looking down on a beautiful oak woodland. One of the brothers said to me, “This is exactly what it looked like when my grandfather brought me up here; and now it will look like this for my grandchildren too.” We both got teary eyed and shared a hug. My best day at TNC. 

- Sharon Wasserman, Associate Director, Conservation Investments

I first met this second-generation Anderson Valley grape grower and winemaker under an old oak surrounded by rolling rows of vines in brilliant fall colors. I was there to inspire him to partner with us to restore water flows on the Navarro River, benefiting endangered salmon runs as well as improving the reliability of water supply for landowners. Before I knew it, he pulled out a folder and began showing me graphs illustrating how the Navarro’s summer base flows had diminished over time and offered his theories about why. He talked about walking the river every year, searching for pennies he’d glued to rocks along the riverbank decades ago to monitor changes in sediment levels. This man was clearly onboard with working together. His knowledge of the river and enthused scientific approach to problem solving was an inspiring reminder to me about the power and true potential of our partnerships with local landowners to advance conservation.

- Monty Schmitt, Senior Project Director, Water Program

The first time I remember hearing about TNC was just after I graduated from college. I was working with the wolf reintroduction project south of Yellowstone. My job was to track the various packs that are active in the Gros Ventre wilderness, collecting movement information and predation patterns, finding wolf-killed elk and moose, etc. Not surprisingly, the wolf reintroduction was wildly unpopular with the local ranchers that grazed cattle on these federal lands. Despite that, I got to be friendly with a few. I remember a cloudless night talking with one rancher in the middle of nowhere, under the stars, standing next to our snow machines. He was complaining about the wolves and about the “environmentalists” that were shoving things down everyone’s throats. Then he stopped and said, “Except for The Nature Conservancy. They walk in the front door. They listen to you. And they’re looking to make a deal that works for everyone.” That always stuck with me. Here was this surly rancher who saw the fundamental value in TNC’s approach to making change, finding common ground. Years later, I joined TNC for the same reason.

- Tom Dempsey, Oceans Program Director

About five years ago, there was a huge increase in whale entanglements observed along California’s coast. Whales were getting accidentally caught in the lines and buoys from Dungeness crab pots in numbers no one had seen before. It quickly became a priority conservation issue. A number of harvesters and local leaders reached out to me because they had worked with TNC on our groundfish project. They were scared. At that point, no one understood what was driving the uptick and certainly no one wanted to harm whales. The fishermen asked us to help them figure out what was going on and work with them to build proactive solutions. And TNC launched a very successful effort to do just that. I am tremendously proud to work for, and with, a team of people who are seen as the best problem solvers in the business and trusted partners for the diverse communities that rely on nature to thrive—from fishermen to farmers and beyond. 

- Kate Kauer, Associate Director, Oceans Program

California's First Land Acquisition

The story of the Heath and Marjorie Angelo Coast Range Reserve is both the story of a forest and the story of 60 years of conservation in California.

In 1959, the Angelos were at a crossroads. They owned 3,100 acres of pristine, old-growth Douglas-fir forest in Mendocino County, but a new California law forced property owners to pay taxes on the value of their timber whether or not they chose to harvest it. The Angelos refused to cut down their trees, but paying the tax would be impossible. That’s when they approached TNC.

TNC was less than 10 years old at the time. Though we’d never purchased land west of the Mississippi, we had a small presence in California and we understood the importance of this irreplaceable forest. Together with the Angelos, we designed a deal that would allow the family to continue to live on the land after it became a reserve, ensuring that the forest would be protected in perpetuity.

Over the last 60 years, TNC has protected 1.2 million acres in California and facilitated the protection of 3.8 million acres of ocean habitat off our coast. Today, the Heath and Marjorie Angelo Coast Range Reserve spans 7,660 acres and is operated by the University of California, Berkeley, as one of 39 reserves in a statewide system of protection.