California tech founder relinquishes nearly 1,000 acres of private land for public use

Nearly 1,000 acres of private land have been transferred to the Mendocino National Forest for public use, opening a “critical wildlife corridor” for the forest’s sprawling ecosystem, a Dec. 12 news release from the Wilderness Land Trust reads. The property, known as the Thomas Creek project, marks a victory for conservationists seeking to protect U.S. forests from future development. 

Nestled between the Sanhedrin Wilderness and roaring Eel River, the wooded Northern California region is home to spotted owls, martens, mountain lions and deer, as well as the Anthony Peak lupine, a “critically imperiled” rare plant species. The distinctive white flowers only bloom in the Mendocino National Forest, the Wilderness Land Trust said, and so far have been discovered in only four locations, per the United States Forest Service website. 

The Trust paid just over $2 million for the Thomas Creek property in 2022, Margosia Jadkowski, the organization’s director of Marketing & Communications, told SFGATE by phone. Had the sale not gone through, it’s possible that residential buildings would have been developed in the area. 

According to the organization’s December news release, this recent purchase is the sixth protected property either adjacent to or within the Sanhedrin Wilderness, an unruly swath of forest with no marked trails where you’re unlikely to find safe drinking water. D’Artanyan Ratley, a press officer for the United States Forest Service, told SFGATE that 19 threatened, endangered or proposed species of concern might live in the remote area, along with 21 rare plant species. 

Luckily, Wes Boyd — the original landowner and Bay Area software engineer who co-founded the petition site MoveOn.org — chose “the path of conservation,” Jadkowski said. (Boyd stepped away from MoveOn in 2013, he told SFGATE via email.) 

This also isn’t the only time the Wilderness Land Trust has struck a deal with private owners. In August 2023, the Montana-based nonprofit purchased 160 acres near Big Sur from the San Francisco Zen Center, SFGATE previously reported, and its website says it has completed similar projects throughout California.

Rep. Jared Huffman, who represents Mendocino County in Congress, praised the purchase in a release. 

“The Thomas Creek project meets the mark for all the benefits of designating public lands — it’s going to protect critical habitat and treasured species, support biodiversity, and get us closer to our conservation and climate goals,” Huffman said. “I’m incredibly grateful to the Wilderness Land Trust and the Mendocino National Forest for stepping up as stewards of this land.”