Pepperwood at 10 seeks next phase
SANTA ROSA — It has been 10 years since Herb and Jane Dwight co-founded the Pepperwood Preserve Foundation, and five years since the Dwight Center for Conservation Science first opened its doors on the 3,200 acres of pristine habitat that forms the headwaters of the Russian River and the Laguna de Santa Rosa.
To honor these milestones, a special 'State of Pepperwood' meeting was held March 26 to recap progress over the past decade and to capture a vision of the future for this research, education and community-building nonprofit.
Newly promoted President and CEO Lisa Micheli, Ph.D., thanked the more than 75 attendees and special guests and addressed the achievements Pepperwood has made. She also announced newly appointed Pepperwood board members, including Sonoma County Fourth District Supervisor James Gore and Midstate Construction President Roger Nelson, who oversaw construction of the Dwight Center.
'Pepperwood is all about creating a conduit to the future for adapting to climate change and preserving our environment,' Gore said.
He said you feel the heartbeat of this special place with its ability to bring together land and public access managers, researchers, educators and local leadership interests to focus on the issues.
'We don't disagree on what needs to be done, just the how. All of us want to protect our future. We need buy-in from land owners and the business community to develop an economic plan for our environment,' he said. 'While conservation investment is everywhere in Sonoma County, what we lack is synthesis, integration and convergence of these efforts. We need a business case for conservation based on outcomes.'
Supervisor Gore, former assistant chief of the U.S. National Resource Conservation Service, sees Pepperwood as the rudder that can guide conservation investments.
He admonished those present to enlist others in this effort to build a groundswell for action and get things done.
'The work under way at Pepperwood has the makings of a legacy in terms of what we will become if we can steer our resources the right way. It's not just the right thing to do, it's the imperative thing to do,' Gore said.
More than 10,000 visitors came last year to this five square mile preserve with 750 species of plants and 150 species of wildlife to see how Pepperwood is crafting strategies designed to advance the health of Northern California's land, water and wildlife.
'What makes Pepperwood different is its emphasis on science,' Midstate's Nelson said. 'It is providing a sound basis for coordinating community-based approaches to natural resource challenges, like the current drought in our region.'
Micheli said the biggest challenge in conservation science today is how to plan for a world our research shows is more dynamic than ever imagined.
'Access to water determines who or what can live and where they can live. We're dedicated to monitoring nature's vital signs, such as weather, soil moisture, fog-drip, plant stress tests and drought-induced changes in trees, as well as other factors that impact our increasingly unpredictable environment, climatic water deficit and quality of life,' Micheli said.
She said these data are providing actionable information for land trusts, open space and water districts, along with foresters, farmers and private conservationists, to help them better manage our resources.
For example, Pepperwood research between 2010 and 2013 helped protect 38,883 acres, including 31 miles of streams — an 18 percent increase — reaching a total of 210,870 acres in Sonoma County, according to the Bay Area Open Space Council.
Micheli believes community supported philanthropy and volunteerism combined with science, play a major synergistic role as 'our engine of impact.'
'We can't just continue to preach to the choir when it comes to conservation. We have to reach out to everyone if we are going to improve our environment.'
The trend in total giving to Pepperwood has risen steadily since 2010, from under $50,000 annually to $525,000 in 2014, according to Development Director Julie Bartice, including a combined total of 500 grants, gifts and donations from foundations, concerned citizens and corporate partners. Total net assets for the organization reached $21.6 million as of June 30, 2014 close of the fiscal year, including the value of real property.
Major business community supporters include Audubon's Toyota Together Green Conservation Program, American Ag Credit, Apple, Jackson Family Wines, PNI Sensor Corporation, Summit State Bank, Exchange Bank, EJ Gallo Winery, Kaiser Permanente, Spaulding McCullough & Tansil, LLP, and many others listed in Pepperwood's Annual Report for 2013–2014.
