Winter E-News

Happy Holidays from SLT & this whimsical addition to the office from Tom Ravizza

Holiday Cheer from Siskiyou Land Trust

With the Winter Solstice behind us, we are still busy at Siskiyou Land Trust. Please know how grateful we are for all of your generous, and often fun support. Check out this adorable SLT-inspired tableau from friend of the land trust, Tom Ravizza, whose whimsical designs continue to delight us! Thank you, Tom, for the creative ways you support conservation in Siskiyou County.

From all of us at SLT, may the end of your year be filled with warmth and cheer.
With gratitude and well wishes as we look to the horizon,

CA Climate Action Corps Successes

Siskiyou Land Trust is sending love to California Climate Action Corps alumna, Reilly Herndon, who just finished her first official week as Senior Park Aide for the Oceano Dunes District. Under the not so watchful eyes of the monarch butterflies spending their winter at the Pismo State Beach Butterfly Grove, Reilly will manage the junior park aides and run their environmental education programs.

“The majority of my interview talking points were based on my experience with SLT. I am confident I would not have been qualified for this without the experience I gained during my term here,” says Reilly. California Climate Action Corps (CCAC) is a state-level service corps created to make meaningful action actions to safeguard the climate through wildfire resiliency, urban greening, and food waste recovery.

I know you’ll join the team at SLT in sending a hearty congratulations to Reilly as she starts her year off with this next grand adventure.

New Partners for Biodiversity Exploration

Reilly isn’t the only CCAC/SLT alumna working on exciting new projects! After completing her term with CCAC at Siskiyou Land Trust earlier this year, SLT was thrilled to welcome Simbala Desilles to the team long term.

Simbala is an artist and rapidly evolving naturalist. She grew up in California but has been nomadic for many years, spending time in other cities and states, as well as abroad, networking and collaborating with other creatives. Her love for nature and the great outdoors inspired her move to Siskiyou County. She has a growing passion for studying the diverse ecosystems and vegetation in this area.

Siskiyou Land Trust is excited to announce the award of a grant that will allow Simbala and the new CCAC crew to engage in biodiversity assessment and documentation.

This grant is in collaboration with Stillwater Sciences, an employee-owned, science-based research firm. Stay tuned for more information as SLT continues to protect and explore the boundless biodiversity of Siskiyou County.

Bundle Up and Join SLT Under the Winter Sky

Grab your blankets, puffiest jackets, and a thermos to explore the night sky with Siskiyou Land Trust. If you love our deep, dark skies and don’t mind cooler temps, join Barbara Paulson and SLT in Lake Shastina on January 6th at 6:30pm. Barbara will focus on Jupiter and her moons and the winter constellations of Orion, Canis Major, and Taurus.

RSVP for Dark Winter Skies Here

Pictured here is a Great Horned Owl captured during the Audubon Society Christmas Bird Count near one of SLT’s permanently conserved Yreka phlox properties in Yreka, CA.

As is tradition here at SLT, let’s hear from Board of Directors President, Wendy Whitson, as we turn to the New Year.

A Letter from the Board President

Dear Siskiyou Land Trust Family,

Winter provides such a wonderful opportunity for rest, renewal, and reflection. As I look back on 2025 from this quiet season, I am thrilled with the ways that Siskiyou Land Trust has continued to thrive. We expanded our Nature Walk series to create more opportunities for you all to visit our protected properties and learn about everything from mushrooms to the night sky. Our incredibly talented staff stepped up, stretched, and embraced opportunity during our leadership transition and demonstrated their investment in our success. Our Board not only added new members but saw deeper engagement from all. Additionally, we significantly grew our family of volunteers and supporters and had our best fundraising year ever-all while moving 35,190 acres on 19 different properties along the conservation pipeline towards permanent protection!

I feel an even greater sense of awe in these accomplishments when I put them in the context of the challenges we faced in 2025. We lost our dear friend and Board leader, Gareth Plank, much too soon. We said goodbye to our long-time guiding light, Executive Director Kathleen Hitt, as she resigned to care for family and explore new opportunities. We had to take a hard look at our organization to understand what we need from our next leader and figure out how to bring those skills to the table. And we’ve navigated these challenges against the backdrop of uncertain grant funding for our conservation work.

We were able to do it all by keeping our vision for the future close at hand, staying resilient, by listening to each other and to our supporters, and by staying focused on the foundation on which Siskiyou Land Trust was built: our authentic relationships and love of this place.

Our ability to not only handle the “curveballs” this last year threw at us, but thrive despite them, gives me confidence that we can meet the “forever” commitment our conservation work requires. Looking forward, I know that, in partnership with this amazing community, Siskiyou Land Trust will be here to steward and protect our precious wildlands and open spaces, whatever may come.

Here’s to creating our resilient future together in 2026 and beyond!

Happy New Year,

Wendy Whitson, Siskiyou Land Trust Board President

There is still time left to make your contribution to the most successful fundraising year SLT has ever seen. Stand up for what you value. Stand with this community working to protect our beautiful home. Stand up for conservation.

Photo by Steve Huckabone

Make Your End of Year Contribution Now

Donate in Support of SLT!
Your tax deductible donation is so appreciated! Help Siskiyou Land Trust’s mission of long-term stewardship for agricultural, forest, and wildlands in Siskiyou County.