Our hearts are overflowing with gratitude and inspiration in the wake ofour recent Lands & Legacy Celebration. The whole weekend was simply magical: filled with wonderful friends, endless encouragement, and dreams of the lands that we can conserve together.
Dreams that are already becoming realities thanks to the generosity of supporters like you.
Bringing together our conservation partnersfrom across the state and beyond,our 8th annual “Party of the Year” was fantastic fun. And it was so much more: it was a community coming together from all walks of life to stand side-by-side in support of our wild and working Eastside lands.
In addition to being an opportunity to celebrate the conservation successes you’ve made possible, Lands & Legacy is also our big annual fundraiser – and in this respect, too, the weekendwas a massivesuccess: together we beat our goal and raised over$90,000, more than we’ve raised at any other eventto-date.
And even better yet: these funds are already being put to work to protect the places, wildlife, and rural traditions that make the Eastern Sierra so special.
So thank you to eachof you who joined us at Lands & Legacy – and to all others who couldn’t be there, but who proudly stand behind our work to conserve the Eastside lands we all love. Thank you fordreaming up a vision of theEastern Sierra we want to pass on to our grandchildren, andfor all that you do to bringtheseshared hopes to life.
Lands & Legacy Benefit Dinner
“As flatlanders, it’s so inspiring to come to the Eastern Sierra each summer and to find an energetic community of people who spend their whole year (and some have spent their whole lives) engaged in preserving these open spaces for all of us and for the future. We joined ESLT as a tribute to my brother and his love for the mountains, and now we’ve become infused with the same passion. Thank you for making us feel so welcome.
“We especially enjoyed Jan Hunewill’s cowboy poetry recitation [at the Lands & Legacy Benefit Dinner]. Her family’s devotion to the land and to a legacy of ranching and western heritage is a vital element in the vision of ESLT.”
~Travis Silcox and Preston Rudy, ESLT Members living in Sacramento
Our Benefit Dinner on July 30 was generously hosted againthis year by Mammoth Mountainat their stunning Parallax Restaurant. Rusty Gregory, Tom Hodges, Mike Brownlie, Mary Walker, and the entire Mammoth Mountain Ski Area team wereincredibly instrumental in making this event possible, and I can’t thank them enough.
We’re grateful to all those who sponsored our Benefit Dinner, including table hosts Tim Bartley, Bob & Karen Gardner, Ruth & Roger MacFarlane, Brynn Pewtherer and Tony & Sherryl Taylor, and the Mammoth Lakes Rotary Club. Our thanks also go to event patrons Rick Kattelmann, and Bruce &Karen Licher of Independent Project Press (who were responsible for the lovely Lands & Legacy hand-letterpress invitations our membersreceived earlier this summer).
Longtime ESLT supporterBetsey Tyler sponsored our Lands & Legacy walking tours, and we are deeply thankful for her generosity. With her support, we hosted a tour of Bridgeport Valley on Friday afternoon, and another tour of our Black Lake Preserve on Sunday morning. Both outings were simply marvelous! I encourage you to take a look at the slideshows below formore on these two tours.
From start to finish, the energy at Lands & Legacy was electric. I spoke with countless ESLT members,volunteers, and friends, and each and every conversation lifted my heart. And that’s becauseit’s supporters like you whomake our conservation successes possible. So thank you for all that you do to help shape a better future for our treasured Eastside lands.
Bridgeport Valley Ranching Legacy Tour
“The field trip to the Bridgeport Valley was a walk through time. ESLT’s work in the Valley builds on the long-term stewardship by families who love the land—the caretakers of that amazing natural resource. Looking out from the back patio at Centennial and beyond the barn at Hunewill, the view takes my breath away again and again. With ESLT’s continuing work to complete the tapestry of protected land across the Valley, those views will be around for my children, and their children.
“In this election year, the Bridgeport Valley provides a vivid illustration of how we can come together—working through our political differences—to find common ground and protect this very special place for plants, animals and families who call it home.”
~Brynn Pewtherer, ESLT Board Member living in the North Bay
Black Lake Preserve Tour
