Wildways 2010 Underway   The latest installment of the Wildways series of events, in support of Shasta Land Trust, will began on February 27th at the annual Kickoff Party.  The Kickoff was your first chance to buy tickets to the other Wildways events held throughout the year.     The full descriptions of ALL of the events in Wildways 2010, including dates and prices, can be found on this website here.  Events include a tour of a new SLT conservation easement property, a winery tour and wine tasting, birdwatching outings, wildflower hikes, and a campout on Hathaway Ranch.  There is sure to be an event for everyone!      Tickets to Wildways events are now on sale and can be purchased here on this website, or you can order them by phone (241-7886) or by stopping by our offices.   ALL NEW:  Shasta Land Trust Online Marketplace Shasta Land Trust has launched our all new Online Marketplace.  You can enter our Online Marketplace by clicking on the button (with the same name) on the left side of our webpage.  Inside the marketplace you'll find the 2010 Shasta Land Trust calendar and beautiful greeting cards.  Both items feature photography from the beautiful landscapes that Shasta Land Trust protects with your support.  To read more about these items, please click here.              Conservation Easement Completed                         for Fall River Ranch In late summer 2009, Shasta Land Trust completed the acquisition of a conservation easement that will permanently protect the resources of the 430 acre Fall River Ranch in the Fall River Valley.   The Ranch will continue to be available for productive agricultural uses, and the conservation easement will strictly limit any further residential development on the property. The conservation easement was purchased by SLT and partner organization, the Trust for Public Land, from the willing landowners who wished to conserve their special property for generations to come.  To read more about this exciting conservation success, please click here.                New Shasta Land Trust Americorps Member Caitlin O'Hara has joined the Shasta Land Trust team and will be with us for all of 2010, assisting with our volunteer and environmental education programs.  Caitlin is a native California and recently graduated from UC Davis.  Caitlin's skills and enthusiasm will be great additions to our capacity.   You'll probably see Caitlin at various events in the near future, so please help us make her feel welcome here in Shasta County!            New Volunteer Recognition on this Website Our volunteers are very important to us; in fact volunteers make all of Shasta Land Trust's work possible!  In order to say thanks to some of the many folks who keep us going and able to continue conserving more land in the northstate, Shasta Land Trust has launched a new page at this website that will highlight a different volunteer every month.  Please visit our new Volunteer Spotlight page and learn about our volunteers and all the ways they help make Shasta Land Trust conservation work possible!               SLT Donates Properties to the Forest Service In August 2009, Shasta Land Trust completed the donation of two properties to the US Forest Service.  The properties will now be included in the Ishi Wilderness Area.  The parcels were purchased by SLT in 2007 from a willing landowner, with funds provided by a private foundation.  The properties are rugged and remote, and contain biological and historic resources important to this region.  To read more about this historic addition of property to a federal wilderness area, please click here.              SLT Volunteers Help Beautify Our Area      Shasta Land Trust participated in the first ever Great Sierra River Clean Up on September 19th, helping to remove almost a ton of garbage from a City-owned property in Redding.  Over 40 volunteers turned out representing church groups, local schools, and SLT members.  The effort was a great success with 1800 pounds of trash removed from this site adjacent to the Sacramento River.  And, on Wednesday, April 22nd Shasta Land Trust staff and volunteers pitched in to help an ongoing restoration project on a property protected by an SLT conservation easement. A team of volunteers spent the morning with Shasta Land Trust removing the invasive blackberry bushes from around flagged elderberry bushes. Shasta Land Trust sincerely appreciates all the volunteers that helped out at our first restoration event. Your enthusiasm and hardwork actually made removing pesky blackberry bushes by hand fun, and we could not have done it without you! For information on upcoming restoration events or volunteering in other types of field work, please contact our office by email or call us as (530) 241-7886.                                               WILDWAYS  Shasta Land Trust's Wildways 2010 has gotten underway, and features a diverse array of great events.  You can click here for an updated list of Wildways Parties and Events.  Tickets for each event may be purchased on this website by clicking on the Party Number that is next to each event here. Planning and scheduling of the entire Wildways series of events could not happen without the dilligent efforts of many volunteers.    Proceeds from all SLT Wildways events support Shasta Land Trust in our mission to conserve important land in this region.  We look forward to seeing you at one of our events, and we thank you for your continued support of Shasta Land Trust!                           Shasta Land Trust Participates                        in Stewardship Council Process  For many months now, Shasta Land Trust has been an active participant in a planning process for an important property in the Fall River Valley.  The McArthur Swamp is over 7,000 acres of grazing land adjacent to the community of McArthur.  Its vast expanses also include important cultural resources, impressive habitat for a variety of wildlife like raptors, and provides recreational opportunities to local residents. In the first week of February, SLT submitted a proposal for the McArthur Swamp which involved a collaborative approach involving a partnership between Fall River RCD, Pit River Tribe, California State Parks, SLT and others.  You can check out the executive summary for that proposal here.