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By Eric Johnson
Published Sep 23, 2024

How We Helped Create a National Monument

Greetings from your friendly pro-democracy, pro-community, anti-pessimism Newsletter. As always—local news from YOUR community below. Along with other good news, and a recipe! (I do not get tired of saying this.)

Also this week, as we often do, we bring you a true story about something good that worked. In this case, it's a first-person story—first-person plural, as in: “we.” 

The “we” that you will read about here, if you’re curious enough to click, includes myself, my wife and business partner Traci Hukill, and our colleague Mike Kahn. This “we” also includes the oldest land trust in California, the current mayor of Santa Cruz, tens of thousands of Santa Cruz County residents, and one of America’s greatest environmental heroes: former Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt. (I am leaving a lot of folks out for lack of space.)

What did we do that deserves memorializing here? We convinced Pres. Barack Obama to protect a beautiful piece of land on Santa Cruz County’s North Coast in perpetuity, and make it available for visitors to love.

The Cotoni Coast Dairies National Monument, named to honor the people who lived there for 7,000 years (pronounced cha-toni) and to recognize the ranchers who worked there for more than 100 years, will forever be protected, and it will soon be open to the public. I got to visit the place a couple weeks ago, and you'll find a short story about how this all happened, along with a virtual tour, by scrolling and clicking your device. ;-)


The Making of a National Monument

More than a dozen years ago, Traci Hukill and I sat in an office in Los Altos, California, and were pitched on an idea by two powerful friends—Reed Holderman, director of the Sempervirens Fund, and Fred Keeley, that organization's board chair. Thier plan was to create a National Monument to protect a big chunk of rare property north of Santa Cruz, and they wanted our help spreading the word. Here's what happened next.


A Collective, Monumental Effort

The author, left, with Hilltromper Managing Director Mike Kahn at the Cotoni Coast Dairies National Monument.
The Cotoni Coast Dairies National Monument, just north of Santa Cruz, brought a community together.


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Direct your browser to https://sanbenito.californialocal.com/ to catch up on the latest news in California and San Benito County. Bookmark the link and visit often, there's a lot happening in your community!


Recipe of the Week

Our friends at Sacramento Digs Gardening publish a recipe from their gardens every Sunday, which we feature here so you can start your week with some yum.

See more recipes in their Taste Fall! cookbook.


Squash and carrots team in flavorful fritters

These squash and carrot fritters make a great side dish, but also can be cooked mini-size for appetizers.
New! End-of-summer squash in a side dish or appetizer


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San Benito Agricultural Land Trust logo San Benito Agricultural Land Trust

The mission of the San Benito Agricultural Land Trust is “to conserve regionally significant lands that sustain productive agriculture, preserve open space, and maintain the rural character of the county.”

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Benito Link logo Annual Veterans Day Parade Set for November 11

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