Issue 310 A Publication of the Docent Council, Martin Griffin Preserve of Audubon Canyon Ranch © March 2019 The Marincello That Might Have Been Lydia Mendoza and her fellow hikers headed to the Marin Headlands for the January hike. Along the way, they heard the tale of what was to have been a large, planned community that nearly became a reality in 1965. In the windswept and wild valley sweeping down to Rodeo Beach one can find the remnants of a development plan for 30,000 people; a city slated to be called Marincello. Here is the story, courtesy of and with thanks to Doug Ferguson. In 1965, Marin County approved a master plan for “Marincello,” a planned community of between 25,000 and 30,000 residents in the Marin Headlands west of Sausalito. Anticipating approval by a majority of the Board of Supervisors, the Marin IJ stated, in early November 1965: “It would be wishful thinking to dream forever of keeping these lands in their primeval state, especially under private ownership.”It took another five years and the determined opposition of dedicated citizens to prove that prophesy wrong. Dairying and the Forts Much of the Marin Headlands was still open after several generations of cattle grazing and dairying on the former Rancho Saucelito Mexican land grant. In 1850, the US government had purchased lands clustered around the Golden Gate for strategic defense of the Gateway. The Forts (Barry, Baker and Cronkhite) were installed and roads and artillery sites were built. Monterey pine and cypress trees(and later eucalyptus) were planted, and for many years the area was fenced off from the public. After World War 11 the forts were no longer needed for defense. Efforts were underway to transfer some of the federal lands to the state for parks and recreation. Set back from the Golden Gate and north of the forts, ranch lands were still in private hands. Standing above a broad 2,138- acre valley that descends to Rodeo Lagoon and the Pacific Ocean, East Coast developer Thomas Frouge said: “This is probably the most beautiful location in the US for a new community.” At a time when educated forecasts for the future (1980) population of Marin County ranged between 295,000 and 400,000 fueled by the new crop of ‘war babies’ coming into adulthood, the idea of this complete community in the Headlands was not as outrageous as it now seems. As a consequence, the plan —continues on page 14 A Look at What’s Inside Change Is In the Nature Guides Are The Singing Wells A Wild And How Does It All The Not-So-Secret Air at MGP Busy! of the Samburu Wonderful Read Happen? Trainee Bring yourself Nature Guide Tribe Discover what Peer inside the Last but not least, a up to date on training begins on Prepare to be book has gripped a workings of the poignant peek at what’s been March 9. Read transported to a certain reader in Docent Council… training from happening about this and magical spot in the past months., and find a spot for another point of around ACR. more. Kenya. yourself. view. Page 9 Page 2 Page 3 Page 5 Page 10 Page 12 "1 SEQUOIA CLUB Co-President’s Report By Mary Fitzpatrick Welcome to 2019 and Winter at MGP. Winter rains are filling our creeks and streams while mushrooms, luscious ferns, misty hillsides and brimming ponds are setting the stage for a splendid spring. Though Punxsutawney Phil and the Farmers Almanac disagreed on when, MGP will be ready! Trails are being cleared, classroom kits are being updated, the Curiosity Room has been reorganized, storage bins, supplies, and teaching aids are being readied. We’ll be hiking under blooming buckeyes before we know it! Spring Hiking Season On March 19th we’ll welcome the first classes for 2019 spring hiking. 61 classes are scheduled for day hikes and there are 4 overnight sessions. To help us to hit the trails “running.” the School Program Committee is holding a “Kit and Trail” day on March 13th. It will be a fun day to brush up on trail techniques, review classroom materials and activities, and explore MGP with fellow docents. Staffing Changes On January 15th over 70 docents, nature guides, staff, friends and family gathered for a potluck lunch to honor and say “good bye” to Yvonne Pierce, MGP’s land manager. Yvonne retired at the end of December after more than 25 dedicated years! It was quite a gathering and many people,,including Marty and Joyce Griffin, Skip Schwartz and Patti Blumin, shared stories about working with Yvonne, expressing their deep gratitude for all she did for them and ACR. Filling her shoes seems an impossible task but ACR is figuring out how best to do that. Stay tuned!. In January we also welcomed Henry Inman as MGP’s new Resource Ecologist. Gwen tells us she’ll be tackling years of deferred maintenance while creating a land stewards program for MGP. No small tasks! Docent Training New Docent Training is nearing the finish line with only 3 classes remaining and graduation scheduled for March 6th. Time flies! Under the amazing, tireless leadership of Susie Nelsen and Joan Fellers as well as the wonderful support of Natasha Lekach, it has been an in-depth, comprehensive 26 week program for 22 trainees. They will be a very welcome addition to the docent community! In mid January, the trainees and many of their mentors visited Bouverie where Jen Potts and Jared Childress led tours across the preserve. It was humbling and inspiring to see how much the dedicated staff, volunteers and nature itself are doing to restore the lands, restart programs and support the Bouverie community since the 2017 fires. Sequoia Program The Sequoia Program, under the enthusiastic leadership of Jeanette Carr, has scheduled several docent outings this year for pure fun and enjoyment! The first ones, a trip to the Oakland Museum on Jan 11th, and a tour of the Sausalito Bay Model on February 8th, were roaring successes. One upcoming outing is a guided bird walk to Rush Creek on April 5th. That has a $10 fee. Next on May 12th, Jeannette is planning a tour of the Sebastopol Butter Garden tour. Contact Jeanette Carr for specifics. Nature Guides Our “sister” program, the Nature Guides starts a new training program on March 9th and there’s still time to sign on. If you know fellow nature lovers who might be interested, they can call 415-868-9244 ext 122 for more information. The program runs for 9 consecutive Saturdays. ACR Strategic Plan The ACR Board’ adopted a new Strategic Plan on January 26, 2019 and on February 6th, Joan Turner emailed the plan overview to MPG docents. The plan covers 2019-2022 and is, she explained, “ the result of countless hours of work by staff and volunteers.” The plan is supported by information from interviews and surveys of a wide range of ACR’s internal and external stakeholders, including staff, volunteers and donors. In coming weeks, John Peterson and ACR staff will be targeting priorities for the first year implementation. "2 AUDUBON CANYON RANCH Nature Guide Update By Ellen Thomas, Nature Guide Council Vice President Driving out to MGP early morning Saturday, February 9 for our monthly Volunteer Access Day (VAD), I couldn’t get the tune “... for the beauty of the Earth …” out of my head. With the recent rains, everything was gorgeous and green, the ferns were plumped up, the creeks were rushing, and the surroundings looked refreshed and renewed. Such good fortune for us to have access to all this land and ocean. At both the January and February VAD we welcomed people who wanted to learn more about becoming a Nature Guide. The Preserve speaks for itself, the staff and volunteers are wonderful and warm (aren’t we!), and as a result, it looks like we’ll have a sizeable group of trainees starting the training on March 9th. When you read this, there may still be time for people to sign up if you know of anyone – email [email protected] or call 415-868-9244 x.122. At the January 12th VAD the MGP Docents trainees were hiking the loop, as their originally scheduled hike in the fall was cancelled due to smoke from the horrendous fires in the north. Gratefully the 12th was a glorious day, and a handful of NGs and those interested in becoming a NG joined in. “The Zumie Trail was beautiful, especially in the area of the redwoods. Recent rains brought the moss, ferns, creeks, and fungi alive. We saw several kinds of mushrooms, including amanita, bolete, coral, and even a few chanterelles.” Elizabeth Terplan. From Michele Liapes: “It was a treat to walk the entire loop, which I almost never do. The standout for me continues to be that glorious stretch between Zumie's swing and the junction with the Griffin Trail, with all that deep redwood forest, abundant undergrowth, and rushing waters – to my mind, the best on a Preserve already abounding with other glorious habitat. Loved the rainy-weather banana slugs and lush outbursts of the different fern species (and it was great to have the opportunity to review and ID them all one more – I tend to forget so much from one year to the next). Looking forward to getting back, and availing myself of the splendid Zumie loop a little more often.” And Claire Seda, our wonderful Weekend Program Coordinator, shared: “It was fun to get to know the new docent trainee class.