Guardian trees forever protected
The Mendocino Land Trust is pleased to announce an uplifting final chapter to the story of Beat Poet ruth weiss* and her Guardian Trees.
ruth came to Albion in the 1980s, purchasing a home in the forest. What ruth valued most about the property was the redwood trees. She referred to the trees around the house as the Guardian Trees and often said, “They protect me and I protect
them.”
Before ruth passed in July 2020, she was focused on ensuring that the trees on her property would never be harmed. She decided to bequeath the five-acre parcel to the Mendocino Land Trust with the condition that the trees are protected forever and the land conserved. The Mendocino Land Trust is deeply appreciative of this gift and thrilled to be able to make ruth’s final wishes a reality. As of Aug. 23, 2021, the trees on the Weiss property are permanently
protected through a conservation easement granted to the Land Trust.
It is ruth’s legacy that her property will serve as a wildlife habitat and sequester carbon for years to come. In addition to the redwood and Douglas fir forest, the conservation easement protects about two acres of rare Mendocino Cypress Woodland (more commonly known as “Pygmy Forest”). These forests are characterized by strikingly stunted trees and are highly valued by botanists
and ecologists as important habitats to protect coastal upland wetland ecosystems and their diverse associations of plants.
Conservation easements are a versatile tool landowners can use to ensure that what they love about their land is forever preserved long after they are gone, regardless of who may own the property. The Land Trust works with property owners to produce customized legal documents that specify permitted and prohibited
uses of the property for future owners. These documents are recorded with the county and are legally binding on all future owners.
In the case of the weiss property, the conservation easement protects specific trees — some old-growth and some newer. These trees may not be removed from the property unless a registered forester or botanist indicates that they are harmful to human safety or to the health of the other old-growth trees on the property. All second or third and subsequent generations of trees on the property shall be carefully managed to work toward forests more like those the Pomo people managed prior to colonization.
This is an amazing gift for ruth to leave, and it illustrates a process that other landowners may want to consider. Conservation easements are an investment in the future of our local natural resources. They can often bring tax benefits to landowners. In some cases, there are grants available to compensate the owner and pay for a land trust’s work associated with the creation and monitoring of conservation easements.
This conservation easement was unique for the Land Trust; Lawrence Turner, MLT’s Director of Conservation, calls it “small but mighty.”
“The trees are stunning and the whole place has a magical feel,” Turner says
“It’s enchanting. I’m looking forward to working with other property owners who may have other small and special properties.”
For more information about conservation easements,
bequests, and planned giving options, please contact Executive Director Conrad Kramer by emailing conrad@mendocinolandtrust.org or calling the MLT office at (707)
962-0470.
Note: ruth gained fame as a Beat poet in the 1950s and preferred her name to be written in lowercase. We honor her preference in this piece.