Eastern Sierra Land Trust

ESLTs Community Connections Program provides people of all ages with opportunities to connect with the land and cultivate a spirit of stewardship. In 2024, the program hosted 28 events, certified 7 new pollinator gardens, and worked with over 150 local students.Public events included GardenFest, World Migratory Bird Day, and the annual Mule Deer Migration Corridor Field Trip. Additional community involvement included the Bishop Pride Festival and Bluesapalooza at Mammoth Lakes. ESLT organized highway cleanups on their adopted section of Highway 395 and co-hosted the Great Sierra River Cleanup at the Artesian Wells.With 7 new gardens certified in 2024, the Eastside Pollinator Garden Project grew to a total of 177 pollinator gardens certified. Sunflower Kids a program that educates Bishop Elementary third-graders about pollinators, native plants, and gardening continued in 2024.

ESLTs Land Conservation Program continued to work with federal, state, and local conservation partners to help protect private lands containing agricultural, ecological, historical, and cultural value. Our organization progressed two conservation projects, including one conservation easement and one land return to a local tribe, both expected to close in 2025. ESLT continued to monitor its growing portfolio of 27 conservation projects, totaling 23,045 acres of conserved land in accordance with the Land Trust Alliance Standards and practices. The organization gathered volunteers for Stewardship Days at Conway Ranch and made significant headway with invasive weed management and habitat restoration. The organization continued to map noxious weed populations on the Conservation Easements in Swall Meadows to improve habitat for the Round Valley mule deer herd. Additionally, the organization was awarded a grant from the Sierra Meadows Partnership to assess planning for meadow restoration, sediment reduction, water-quality improvements, and habitat enhancement on the Ullman Ranch Conservation Easement.