Land trust holds fundraiser

The McKinleyville Land Trust invites the public to attend its 19th annual dinner and fundraiser at Azalea Hall in McKinleyville on Sunday evening.

The menu features chicken cacciatore or baked eggplant, both with pasta, Tomaso’s sauce, fresh mixed green salad, bread from the North Coast Co-op Bakery, Ramone’s coffee or tea, and dessert. The guest speaker for the evening will be Phil Johnston, a mountain lion biologist for the Hoopa Valley Tribe. Johnston is a professional wildlife tracker, wildlife photographer, nature writer, and a captivating speaker.

A silent auction and raffle of items donated from local businesses, artists, and friends of McKinleyville Land Trust will round out the evening’s program. A no-host wine and beer bar opens at 5 p.m. Dinner will be served at 6 p.m. Tickets are $30 for adults, $25 for students or seniors and $15 for children. Tickets can be purchased at the door or on MLT’s website, www.mlandtrust.org.

The purpose of the McKinleyville Land Trust is to conserve local open space for ecological, historical, agricultural, educational, recreational and scenic values. MLT manages three properties with public access trails at both Chah-GAH-Cho, located south of the Mill Creek Shopping Center and Mad River Bluffs, west of the Hammond Trail and the Hiller dog park. The Dows Prairie Educational Wetland is dedicated to natural history education for students and teachers at Dow’s Prairie School.

For more information, check out the MLT website or call 707-839LAND.