Greetings, friends and supporters (old and new!) of Wild Cherry Canyon (for more information about this fabulous land conservation project, please see www.alcnet.org):

It has been some time, and so we thought we'd provide a project update. First, despite the economy and other fiscal challenges, we are happy to report that the project is STILL ALIVE! The landowners have been extremely patient and generous, and have extended the deadline date until June, and we think we're going to make it - I'd say we're mile 24 of a conservation marathon. We can see the finish line, but some obstacles remain until we close escrow and open up a fabulous new 4000-acre coastal park (and a 20-mile coastal trail!) for you and the community.

We have two significant public hearings ahead of us - the Wildlife Conservation Board (WCB) and thePublic Works Board (PWB). The WCB hearing is scheduled for May, followed by PWB. If those hearings go as planned, we hope to have all the funding in place by this summer, with escrow closing not too long thereafter. We are also working now to finalize the legal documents (no small task) and get the funding already allocated by various entities into escrow.

How then, can you help (you may be asking!)? In two ways. First, if you have a moment, please write to the state funding agencies, and thank them for their support, as well as urge their continued cooperation during this final stretch. These agencies have worked extremely hard in putting Wild Cherry Canyon all together, and so a little note of thanks from you I am sure would be very appreciated. Here's the contact information:

Ruth Coleman Director California State Parks, 1416 9th Street, Sacramento, CA 95814

John Donnelly Executive Director California Wildlife Conservation Board, 1807 13th Street, Suite 103, Sacramento, CA 95811

Sam Schuchat Executive Officer California State Coastal Conservancy, 1330 Broadway, 11th Floor, Oakland, CA 94612

(If you'd be so willing, please copy your letter to American Land Conservancy at our new address: 369 Pine Street, Suite 700, San Francisco, CA 94101.)

Second, please consider joining us for a day or two in May/June -- to hop on a bus to Sacramento to attend the funding hearing(s) and provide support for the project. If you think you might be able to swing such a trip, please email me at this address and we will follow up with more details. Prior experience tells us that these "conservation caravans" are great fun and highly rewarding -- they can make the difference between project success and the opposite.

Thank you sincerely for your amazing, awe-inspiring support of Wild Cherry Canyon every step of the way. Thanks to you, we are almost there!

Cheers, Kara

Kara W. Blakeslee Project Director, Wild Cherry Canyon American Land Conservancy