Land Love Letter Issue: Accipiter 1 - COLUSA COUNTY
September 2022
Dear Land Lover,
Welcome to the inaugural issue of the Land Love Letter (L3)!
In this issue, you’ll find:
- Who Is a Land Lover?
- The Courtship, What to Expect
- Pheasants, Bees, and Happy Soil
- Featured Properties for Conservation Buyers
- Featured Land Trust: Sutter Buttes Regional Land Trust
- Northern Harrier (ring-tailed hawk)
- Valley Oak
- Big Yellow Taxi (3 renditions)
- Why Gardening Makes You Happy and Cures Depression
- Energy Efficient Mortgage; Do You Know a Renter?
- About Avis Kalfsbeek
I came upon the name Land Love Letter when I realized that some of these communications might be mailed via the U.S. Postal Service on paper. I asked myself, “What would be worthy of paper?” A love letter, of course!
Who is a Land Lover?
You might consider yourself a Land Lover for many reasons. Here are just a few:
- You understand that you are a steward of the land and just passing through.
- You have dirt under your fingernails because you are a gardener or farmer (studies show that the bacteria in the soil makes us happier and harvesting and gathering increases dopamine in our brains — see article below).
- You experience peace when your feet walk on a path and hear the sounds and sights of nature.
- You volunteer to clean up polluted areas or donate to these causes.
- When you drive through a town whose stoplights have grown exponentially, you find yourself singing Big Yellow Taxi.
The Land Love Letter will focus on topics related to land conservation --practical and policy-related -- to speed up the matchmaking of conservation buyers and sellers and remind you of your love of the land. Hopefully, it will also be an enjoyable read!
The Courtship: What to Expect
In the first issues of the Land Love Letter, you may expect information on conservation topics, a spotlight on one or two Land Trusts and conservation organizations, and a few properties with conservation attributes. I’ll also include words of affection for some animals, plants, and nature writers.
Pheasants, Bees, and Happy Soil
What’s Happening at the Farm Service Agency Colusa County? (USDA, RCD, NRCS):
I checked in with the Colusa County Farm Service Office to learn about a few of their soil and habitat priorities. My biggest takeaway was, “Although it can seem a bit daunting to fill out the paperwork at the start, once you have applied the first time, it becomes much easier!” Onward!
Would you like to learn more about cover cropping, including programs to help pay for it?
Several programs are available, and the folks at NRCS and RCD say it is best to come and visit the office in person (100 Sunrise Blvd, Colusa) and meet with a “planner” so they can assist you in finding avenues of funding for cover crops.
They say there will also likely be a round of funds from CDFA and the healthy soils program opening in November, so a good time to stop by is late October / early November. Visit the CDFA healthy soils home page at https://www.cdfa.ca.gov/oefi/healthysoils/ and sign up for email notifications to be notified when the applications open. Then, they’ll schedule a visit to your farm.
Sign up for the Colusa RCD’s newsletter to get notices of upcoming field days and general updates: http://colusarcd.org/sign-up-for-ccrcd-s-newsletter.
The Bee’s Knees: RCD is looking for areas for future pollinator habitats. Could that be your farm? Ask them about bees when you visit. You can also apply for the Seeds for Bees program through Project Apis. Go to www.projectapism.org for many resources including their Quick Guide with a calendar and links to apply for grants and a wonderful article “Tips and Tricks for Planting and Planning Cover Crop.”
More Pheasants Please: If you’re looking for a seed supplier for attracting pheasants and beneficial insects, visit Pheasants Forever www.pfhabitatstore.com. Their North Central California mix includes “Native and Introduced species including 27 wildflower species, which bloom throughout the growing season achieving 70 seeds per square foot. Designed to provide forage for beneficial pollinator insects and produce brood rearing habitat for upland birds.” (I am not an affiliate, just a bird lover!)
Featured Properties for Conservation Buyers
2,092 Acres - Colusa County: This 2,092-acre ranch is located in the western hills of Colusa County in the Lodoga Stonyford area and adjacent to Bureau of Land Management land. It comprises ten contiguous parcels and is the home of deer, wild hogs, wild turkeys, quail, doves, and bass and catfish in a private year-round reservoir. The property has three solar wells, water tanks, and a sprinkler system and also includes the sale of a luxury RV and generator. Price: $1,926,420.
A conservation strategy may be to purchase this ranch and then sell a conservation easement to recoup a portion of the costs and ensure the land remains undeveloped. Many easements promote working lands and can still be used for recreation, farming, and sustainable grazing. A handful of the possible conservation partners for this property:
- Sutter Buttes Regional Land Trust: https://www.sutterbutteslandtrust.org
- California Rangeland Trust: https://rangelandtrust.org/
- National Resource Conservation Services: https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/national/programs/easements/acep/
- Find a Land Trust www.findalandtrust.org/land-trusts
Call for help navigating conservation real estate and programs: Avis Kalfsbeek 707-210-2595 or email akalfsbeek@showcaseagent.com, Showcase Real Estate, DRE#01062009
Riverfront Parcels – Colusa County totaling 24.46 Acres (2 adjacent listings):
Riverfront acreage in Colusa County, just outside Meridian: 10 acres plus an adjacent 14.46 acres. The properties border the Sacramento River west of Meridian and off State Highway 20. They have prime soil, and the zoning allows for a residence and multiple agricultural-related uses. The 14.46-acre property has a 2-bedroom house and several outbuildings. The properties may be eligible for sustainable/organic certifications due to no synthetic herbicide/pesticide use (buyer to confirm). 10 acres price: $260,000. 14.46 acres price: $827,895.
Call or email for brochures: Avis Kalfsbeek 707-210-2595 or akalfsbeek@showcaseagent.com, Showcase Real Estate, DRE#01062009.
Featured Land Trust:
Sutter Buttes Regional Land Trust
The Sutter Buttes Regional Land Trust specializes in agricultural and working lands conservation easements in Colusa, Sutter, and Yuba Counties. Their summary of a conservation easement is below and find their Land Owner Guide online at https://www.sutterbutteslandtrust.org/conservation/landowners-guide/.
What is an Conservation Easement?
• A voluntary legal agreement a landowner makes with a non- profit land trust or government agency that permanently restricts the type and amount of future development while continuing to use the land for farming or ranching.
• The landowner continues to own the property.
• The nonprofit land trust or government agency that purchases the
easement is responsible for ensuring that continuing land uses are
consistent with the easement terms.
• The easement “runs with the land” and remains in place even
after the land is sold.
• The easement is a flexible document that can be tailored to the
specific property and needs of the landowner.
• An easement can be purchased or donated.
For more information, contact Alyssa Lindman, Executive Director, 530-755-3568, email: info@sutterbutteslandtrust.org. Please say you found them in the Land Love Letter.
Northern Harrier (ring-tailed hawk):
During the sequestering, I was walking along the Sacramento River near Colusa and saw two hawk-like birds flying above. They looked quite large, and had whitish-grey bodies and dark upper wings. I took some photos and searched for the birds on the Internet when I got home. They turned out to be Northern Harriers and have become some of my favorite hawks to see!
Northern Harrier
Species: Circus hudsonius
Order: Accipitriformes
Family: Accipitridae
“The Northern Harrier is distinctive from a long distance away: a slim, long-tailed hawk gliding low over a marsh or grassland, holding its wings in a V-shape and sporting a white patch at the base of its tail. Up close, it has an owlish face that helps it hear mice and voles beneath the vegetation. Each gray-and-white male may mate with several females, which are larger and brown. These unusual raptors have a broad distribution across North America.”
Courtesy of All About Birds: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_Harrier/overview
Valley Oak:
The Valley Oak grows into the largest of North American oaks. It ranges over the hot interior valleys of California, where there is a water table within reach of the roots. Valley Oaks grow quickly, reaching 20 feet in 5 years, 40 feet in 10 years, and 60 feet in 20 years. Mature specimens may attain an age of up to 600 years. Its thick, ridged bark is characteristic and evokes alligator hide. The sturdy trunk of the Valley oak may exceed two to three meters in diameter, and its stature may approach 100 feet in height. Description courtesy of Calscape.org. https://calscape.org/Quercus-lobata-(Valley-Oak).
Big Yellow Taxi – by Joni Mitchell (3 renditions)
“Don’t it always seem to go
That you don’t know what you got ’til it’s gone
They paved paradise and put up a parking lot.”
You’ll be sure to smile if you watch and listen to these renditions of Big Yellow Taxi!
Harry Styles – Big Yellow Taxi: https://youtu.be/reAh-InZ5KA
Morgan Evans (Country, looping version) – Big Yellow Taxi: https://youtu.be/SqlzMlvp6gM
Joni Mitchell – Big Yellow Taxi Live Isle of Wight 1970: https://youtu.be/wKRThOEPl7Y
Why Gardening Makes you Happy and Cures Depression:
“While mental health experts warn about depression as a global epidemic, other researchers are discovering ways to trigger our natural production of happy chemicals that keep depression at bay, surprising results. All you need to do is get your fingers dirty and harvest your own food.”
Enjoy the full article: https://permaculture.com.au/why-gardening-makes-you-happy-and-cures-depression/
Energy Efficient Mortgage; Do You Know a Renter?
When you refer a renter to me, I’ll help them learn more about buying an energy-efficient first home with FHA’s Energy Efficient Mortgage program. In many cases, energy improvements such as windows, heating and air, and “cool roofs” can be rolled into a first mortgage. If you refer the buyers to me, I’ll help them find a home AND learn about the FFA energy-efficient program. By helping them, you’re helping the environment. Please ask them to mention that you referred them!
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Thank you for reading the first issue of the Land Love Letter. If you want to make sure to get the next issue of Land Love Letter, please subscribe at www.AvisKalfsbeek.com/LandLoveLetter. Find a digital version of the Land Love Letter and past issues (when there are some) on my website at www.AvisKalfsbeek.com/L3. If you enjoyed this issue, please consider telling a friend. Who doesn’t need more love?
Slow down. Take the long view. Love land more.
Yours in peaceful love of the planet,
Avis Kalfsbeek 707-210-2595
Subscribe: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com/LandLoveLetter
Broker Associate DRE# 01062009
Showcase Real Estate
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I acknowledge that we are on the traditional, ancestral, unceded lands of the Wintun Indians from central California including the Cachil Dehe Band of Wintun Indians.
Avis Kalfsbeek
Avis Kalfsbeek is a Real Estate Broker (DRE #01062009) with over 20 years of real estate experience. Her current focus is conservation real estate. Avis holds a Master of Business Administration in Wine Business from Sonoma State University. She has represented buyers and sellers in land transactions in Northern California (Colusa, Sutter, and Napa Counties), including orchards, row crops, recreational and ranch properties, vineyards, and wineries. Her MBA coursework in marketing, financial statements, strategy, and sustainability and her business, legal, and hospitality work experience help her solve problems and guide clients in their property decisions. Avis writes an environmental adventure book series called Pedro the Water Dog Saves the Planet.
Avis Kalfsbeek, Showcase Real Estate, DRE#01062009.
Land Lover Letter (L3) Copyright 2022.