Thistle Eradicators: Jon Thompson, Frank Bell, Fred McElroy, Susan Moon, Bob Rutemoeller

Photo by Linda Bell

We had a successful volunteer work party day at Hearn Gulch in June with volunteers who helped to remove three truck-loads of invasive weeds, mostly thistle. Work parties on all of our public access properties are an invaluable way to help defray costs associated with stewardship, however, every year our stewardship funds are tapped for contract work, permits, materials, refuse fees, insurance, fire protection, permits and other necessary expenditures.\

Stewardship requires a combination of volunteer support and donor funding (see related article Cooks Beach Ð Looking Good) to complete volunteers’ trail maintenance at Cooks Beach alongside the contracted services for placement of base rock at the entry from the road. RCLC works on a lean annual operating budget of $45,000 to $50,000 which includes management and maintenance of our current conservation and public access projects, a large portion from stewardship funds. We couldn’t do this important work without the dedication and expertise of our many volunteers, advisors and the continuing support of our donors. Please consider a donation to support your favorite coastal public access and know that your stewardship donations are used, when necessary, with local/regional contractors and services for circulation within the local economy.