As of Friday, December 14, 2001, RCLC, on behalf of the public, is the new owner of the Hearn Gulch Beach and Headlands. Congratulations! Thanks to everyone, especially Moira McEnespy, Karyn Gear, Jack Judkins, and Hong Truong of The Coastal Conservancy, for their invaluable help, and Barbara Russell and Cecilia Moelter of RCLC for their hard work in making this happen.
The public now owns this precious piece of coastal property at Mile Marker 10.4 on Mendocino County Highway One. It includes the Hearn Gulch bluff top and pocket beach. Dr. Jon Bell was the previous owner.
RCLC thanks Dr. Bell for his patience over the several months of negotiations. RCLC was able to buy the property through a generous grant from CalTrans and the Coastal Conservancy and would not have achieved this without their financial help. Many local persons made significant contributions. Peter Reimuller collected signatures and statements of public use and composed a book of pictures for better understanding of the site. Mary Rhyne wrote the excellent plant analysis.
The public is invited to enjoy the spectacular setting. Please park autos near the road. Improvements anticipated include filling in the rutted areas, defining a parking area, restoring the disturbed land and providing a simple stairway down to the beach. The Coastal Conservancy will provide some funds for these improvements. RCLC is also seeking Stewardship donations toward maintaining this beautiful coastal access property. Call 785-3327, or write RCLC, PO Box 1511, Gualala, CA for information or to offer support. A celebration of this acquisition will be announced in the Independent Coast Observer.