Sonoma Mountain Institute

Have you ever noticed a small little bird with a striking blue head, throat, and wings within your backyard? If so you may be familiar with the Western Blue bird which is known for its vibrant colors and gentle demeanor. They are commonly spotted across western North America, and are a favorite among backyard birders and conservationists alike. You will typically find these birds in open woodlands, forest edges, orchards, and pastures. Unlike some insect-eaters that catch bugs entirely mid-air, Western Bluebirds use a “drop-and-pounce” hunting strategy. They scan the ground from a low perch—like a fence line or a lower tree branch—and drop down to snatch up beetles, caterpillars, ants, and grasshoppers. During the winter when insects are scarce, their diet shifts heavily toward berries, particularly mistletoe, juniper, and elderberries.

Western Bluebirds are secondary-cavity nesters, meaning they cannot excavate their own holes and must rely on natural tree hollows or abandoned woodpecker nests to raise their young. Since dead and decaying trees are frequently cleared away by land developers or removed for landscaping it often leads for few places for them to nest. Building and maintaining proper nest boxes provides crucial support for their populations.

Dan Guyer, Cory Brush, and Mark Sindt have been working hard for us at SMI on preserving the Western Bluebird Species on our Pike property. Over the last 25 years we have made and put up over 35 blue bird houses. Most houses produce two clutches of 4-6 pale blue eggs per season. Every year some boxes need to be replaced and we come up with new places to put them. This year Dan, Cory, and Mark replaced 20 or so houses in addition to installing 6 new houses on our Pike property. The wood used to make these bird houses was from cedar trees that snapped off in the winter and were milled on site for the bird realm.

If you are ever looking to attract them to a property, setting up a properly spec’d bluebird box in an open area with low grass is one of the most effective ways to support the local population. Please click the link below for a how to build a one-board bluebird house plan:

https://www.birdwatching-bliss.com/support-files/bluebird-house-plans.pdf

Key tips in how to properly construct and place birdhouses that are vital are:

• Make sure you are using untreated wood like cedar.
• The entrance hole needs to be 1.5 inches in diameter. This is important to keep out larger predator birds such as starlings and house sparrows.
• Face the bird house east toward an open area with short vegetation, as bluebirds hunt for insects on the ground.
• Mount the bird house on a metal pole to keep predators like raccoons, snakes, and feral cats out of their nests.

Over the Summer of 2025, we took a pasture walk through SMI 1 to survey the general composition of grasses. Various native bunchgrass plantings, previously thought to have been relatively ineffectual, were visited and visually surveyed. Many of the sites within Smi 1 that had been sown with grass plugs had thriving communities of mature bunchgrasses, especially those where Purple Needle Grass (Nassella Pulchra) had been sown. A decision was made to revive the program!

Ten species of native California perennial grasses were chosen by our native nursery expert Matthew Weger and sewn into trays by him and the rest of the SMI team. Luckily, the shade house that was built years ago for this exact purpose still stands and after replacing some of the aging shade cloth, it was ready to go. 125 trays totalling 17,136 total cells (breakout below) were seeded over the course of two days in mid October and the irrigation set to water. By the first week of November, the trays were thinned out to one plant per cell.

An unusually foggy late October/early November restarted the growth of our grass plugs significantly and through the persephone period (Nov 18th through Jan 23rd in Sonoma County), when the amount of sunlight drops below ten hours, the grass plugs experienced very little growth. Thankfully, the sun came out in February and by the middle of that month, the plugs were ready to plant in the ground.

The planting strategy took two distinct approaches. The first was to locate narrow but long stretches of pasture that bridged variously changing topographies, soil types, and sun exposures. A sequence of all the grass plugs was then repeated into the strip to test which species might do well and where. The second was site specific plantings that targeted conditions we consider preferable to specific species based on our years of pasture walks on Sonoma Mountain (not to mention thousands of hours of herding cattle across them!). For example: Two large plantings of Nasella Pulchra were undertaken on open, western facing slopes in thin rocky soils.

As an extension of the planting, 300 plugs were up-potted into 2″ pots to over summer in the shade house. These more mature grasses will be planted in the early fall after the first rain to discover whether their maturity increases the survival rate in similar contexts as the smaller plugs were planted into. 

As always, the unpredictable rainfall and Spring temperatures (an extremely hot and dry March) gave the grass plugs plenty to contend with. However, after digging up a couple in late April to check on progress, we found roots that had struck down as much as 7 inches into the soil. This seems to have also occurred in plants that hadn’t expressed a great deal of blade growth, giving us hope that their prioritizing of root growth increases their chance of longevity. Whether they will survive the summer and go to seed next spring remains to be seen. As with all things, nature runs the show, but if even 10% of the plugs survive and go on to foster growing communities of bunchgrasses, we’ll consider that an enormous win.

Grass Plugs Planted (total = 17,136)

Blue Wild Rye (Elymus Glaucus) – 2016

Pine Blue Grass (Poa Secunda) – 1008

California Melic (Melica Californica) – 2016

California Oatgrass (Danthonia Californica) – 2016

Purple Needle Grass (Nassella Pulchra) – 3025

Idaho Fescue (Festuca Idahoensis) – 2016

California Brome (Bromus Carnatus) – 2016

Meadow Barley (Hordeum Brachyantherum ssp californicum) – 1008

Meadow Barley (Hordeum Brachyantherum ssp brachyantherum) – 1008

Molate (Festuca Rubra) – 1008

American badgers and western burrowing owls are crucial, specially designated California native species that share the grassland ecosystems, where badgers often create abandoned (engineer) burrows that provide vital nesting and winter shelter for the owls. Both are declining in California due to habitat loss.

Since we seldom see a badger after many years of hanging properties within their habitat we were so excited to see some burrowing owls poking around an old warren badger site obviously looking for habitat. Seeing them on the landscape was so exciting that we immediately jumped into action to build some habitat for them.

We initially cast tunnel sections and chamber sections out of concrete. To then be placed in tunnels that we dug on the site of their new habitat.

It was a super fun project and our crew at SMI was so happy to do it for these cute little owls.

After a couple of days of construction, cleaning up, and decorating, we had our first sitings of the owls checking out their new habitat.

Game cameras have since been installed and we have been getting lots of great shots. It doesn’t look like nesting will happen this year but we are very hopeful for next season. We will keep you updated if we have babies!

Another complex has been pre cast and we are working on a new location to try to bring more owls in next season.

As SMI prepares for 2026, we continue to build on a foundation of regenerative land management, guided by a commitment to observation, adaptive learning, and community-based experimentation. Our work will center on deepening our understanding of ecological systems while strategically investing in tools and partnerships to enhance impact across the 6,500+ acres we manage. 

Strategic Priorities for 2026 

In the coming year, SMI will focus on the following priorities: 

● Native Planting and Seeding 

We will ramp up restoration efforts at the SMI home property by establishing native plant communities through targeted planting, seeding, and transplanting. 

● Adaptive Grazing 

Grazing remains a central management tool. In 2026, we aim to refine our timing and intensity of grazing events to enhance habitat structure, cycle nutrients, reduce fire risk, and improve soil health across the diverse landscapes under our care. The majority of our grazing will take place from February 2026 to June 2026 once again. 

● Process-Based Restoration 

We will continue to implement low-tech, nature-based practices such as beaver dam analogs, woodland thinning, and woody debris placement to promote hydrological function, increase water retention, and support habitat complexity. 

● Observation and Learning Culture 

Building a stronger internal culture of observation and learning remains a key priority. We will host quarterly field days for collective reflection, document our observations using map-based software, and encourage storytelling that bridges field-based experiences with ecological insights. 

● Targeted Invasive Species Management 

Yellow star thistle remains a key focus. In 2026, we will conduct new soil analyses in heavily infested zones to explore potential soil drivers of infestation. We’ll also continue to evaluate monitoring data from past hay-feeding trials, burns, and seeding experiments to refine our strategies. 

● Prescribed Fire as a Regenerative Tool 

Following the success of the 2025 Triangle G burn, we plan to re-burn 50 acres and expand to an additional 50 acres in 2026. These burns serve as critical tools for reducing fine fuels, reinvigorating native grasses, and resetting ecological processes. 

● Mapping & Data Integration 

Our mapping partnership with Northway Ranch Services and the Mitsui Ranch will be instrumental in 2026. Using modern GIS platforms and mobile-friendly tools, we’re building the infrastructure to capture field-level management data, monitoring records, and ecological observations in one integrated system. This system will enable us to understand our past management practices better and connect them to future ecological trends. Hopefully, this can lead to improved decision-making in the future. 

This year marked a significant advancement in ecological standards across our managed landscapes. Triangle G, Mike Green, and Hellman Ranches each earned organic certification, a milestone made possible through SMI’s coordination, documentation, and on-the-ground leadership. These certifications represent not only regulatory compliance but also years of management decisions grounded in ecological integrity and transparency. 

As part of the certification process, we worked closely with landowners to refine management practices, including reducing non-organic herbicide use along grass trails, thereby further aligning operational choices with regenerative principles. 

This year marked a substantial step forward in restoring natural water flow and resilience across our working landscapes. Through a combination of beaver dam analogues (BDAs), gully repair, and the Fuels to Flows initiative, SMI continued to invest in process-based restoration efforts to help heal streams, capture sediment, and rebuild hydrological function from the ground up.

Over the winter, all existing BDA sites reached full hydrological function, actively capturing sediment, regrading stream channels, and spreading water across floodplains. Building on past efforts, the team installed three new BDAs and one gully-stuffing structure at Triangle G, along with two new BDAs at SMI, and completed maintenance across several existing sites to ensure continued performance. The season also included a field restoration day with the Triangle G landowners, creating a hands-on opportunity for collaboration, learning, and shared investment in watershed health. 

These restoration structures—simple in design but powerful in effect—helped transform previously incised channels into slow-moving, moisture-rich systems. The benefits extended beyond water: by trapping sediment and absorbing woody material, BDAs also reduce potential wildfire fuels and support the recovery of vegetation in riparian zones. 

In a further effort to connect fire management with watershed restoration, SMI took inspiration from the Occidental Arts & Ecology Center’s Fuels to Flows concepts. The SMI team reduced the ladder canopy of potential fire fuel and redirected woody “fuel” materials into riparian zones, where they now stabilize channels, capture sediment, and slow water flow. 

These process-based restoration projects demonstrate the effectiveness of small, strategic interventions in restoring function and building resilience that benefits both ecosystems and the communities that depend on them. 

In 2018, Sonoma Mountain Institute partnered with the Sonoma Resource Conservation District to launch a multi-year Healthy Soils Demonstration Project, funded through CDFA’s Climate Smart Agriculture program. Over the next three years, we applied compost to 53 acres of treatment plots and established 22 acres of control plots without amendments. These efforts were paired with adaptive rotational grazing and systematic ecological monitoring. 

From 2018 to 2021, initial sampling showed promising increases in soil carbon. To evaluate whether those improvements would persist, we returned to all original sampling locations in 2025–four years after compost application had ceased–and re-sampled using the same laboratory, methods, and personnel to ensure continuity and scientific rigor. 

2025 Results 

● Treatment Plots: On average, soil carbon increased by 22% relative to 2018 levels. 

● Control Plots: Even without compost, control plots showed a 5.35% increase in soil carbon. 

● However, when we exclude Treatment Area 1—which showed poor results in both treated and control areas— even stronger outcomes are apparent: 

○ Treatment plots improved by 26% 

○ Control plots improved by 12% 

● Increased carbon leads to significantly increased water retention for the soil. ○ At a 26% relative carbon increase, an additional ~4.4 million gallons of water is held in 400 acres of soil, and nearly 72.1 million gallons across 6,500 acres. ○ At a 12% relative carbon increase, approximately 2.05 million additional gallons of water are held across 400 acres. 

These trends suggest that the landscape as a whole is improving, and the treatments may have catalyzed broader soil-building processes, which could be amplified by grazing management and improved plant community function. Our re-monitoring effort this year demonstrates the long-lasting effects of early regenerative interventions. Even after halting compost applications, the system appears to be continuing on a positive trajectory. Significantly, the use of consistent sampling protocols enhances our confidence that these are genuine gains, rather than simply artifacts of measurement. 

While there is more to be parsed from the dataset, including variations between subplots and site-specific responses, the overall findings are encouraging. They suggest that regenerative practices can build lasting soil health resilience, reduce the risk of carbon loss, and potentially amplify gains over time, even in control areas. 

Monitoring Results Highlights 

As always, we are deeply grateful for the exceptional work of Jim Coleman and Kate Sindt in conducting, organizing, and synthesizing our ecological monitoring data. Their efforts make it possible for us to engage in analysis and reflection, as we manage our properties across diverse landscapes and evolving conditions. 

With so many different management strategies—from compost and seeding to differing grazing pulses, fencing, and fire—it remains challenging to attribute specific ecological changes to individual interventions. However, a consistent insight from nearly a decade of work is that our grazing generally correlates with increased vegetation biodiversity. 

This growth pattern has held true across treatments, controls, exclosures, and across the range of properties under SMI management. And while we recognize the natural variability of ecosystems and annual weather impacts, our long-term data continues to reinforce this broad trend. 

Sonoma Mountain Institute (Home Ranch) 

● Biodiversity increased by 6.5% in grazed treatment plots, compared to a 3.5% increase in exclosures. While this is within the range of annual variation, it mirrors a broader trend we’ve seen over time. 

● Historically, grazed areas have shown 120% relatively more vegetation biodiversity than ungrazed controls at SMI. 

● Native species cover has increased by 4.5% year-over-year, although this could also be influenced by favorable weather conditions, standard deviation of the data, or a wide range of other factors. 

● Perennial species cover is up 10% from 2024, although still below the peak levels observed in 2017. 

Triangle G 

● Biodiversity saw a 4% increase—a modest change, but directionally positive. 

● Native species cover rose by 24%, and perennial cover by 9% in 2025, both promising signs, especially in areas where grazing has been paired with infrastructure upgrades and resting riparian corridors. 

● Native species cover rose by 130% and perennial cover by 162% relatively since 2022. 

Cayetana 

● Perennial species cover rose by 17.5% year over year, and by 40% since 2023. Other Properties 

● Across several other properties, we’ve noted encouraging increases in native species cover, although in some areas this is accompanied by declines in perennials. This type of variation underscores the importance of continually analyzing data across time, treatment, and ecological context. 

To deepen our analytical and observational processes, the team convened in July for a field-based review of grazing impacts and the year’s star thistle experiments. These collaborative monitoring days in the field are an invaluable tool for interpreting trends, refining our management strategies, and strengthening the shared understanding and trust that sustain our regional grazing community. 

TG Star Thistle Treatment Review and Analysis 

As we all know, Triangle G has been characterized by a nearly ubiquitous presence of Yellow Star Thistle (YST) since the start of our management efforts. Over the past three years, SMI has implemented a wide range of treatments to determine whether a shift in species composition could be encouraged, particularly in the most infested area—Benny’s Ranch (ACC1). Initial site-level monitoring suggested that star thistle cover in these areas ranged from 70% to 85%. In early 2023, we launched a series of experimental treatments involving high-density cattle grazing combined with alfalfa feeding, followed by a cross-sectional vegetation assessment of 13 monitoring points in summer 2025 to try to compare as best as we could the effectiveness of treatments. 

Treatments Overview 

Cattle/Feeding Treatments: Conducted in February 2023, spring 2023, and again in June 2024, with between 1–3 tons of feed per acre. Some plots were also seeded with rye, Festulium, and livestock mixes in November 2024. 

Goat Grazing Treatments: Took place in late summer across 2023, 2024, and 2025. Control Plots: Maintained without intervention for baseline comparison. 

Key Findings 

In plots treated with cattle and hay, YST cover decreased from ~75% to 45%, representing a relative reduction of ~30%. Repeating the grazing treatments two or three times did not always produce marginally greater reductions in YST cover. Seeding appeared to correlate with an additional 15–20% reduction in YST compared to adjacent non-seeded areas with similar treatment history—an encouraging trend, though causality cannot be confirmed. 

The goat grazing plots showed the strongest effect. One goat-treated plot dropped from an estimated 75% to 35% YST cover. A second goat-grazed plot inside Benny’s camp dropped all the way to 3% YST cover, though it lacked a formal control and had other treatments involved historically in addition to the goat grazing. 

Conclusions 

● Cattle + hay feeding treatments were effective, reducing YST cover by approximately 32%. 

● Seeding in conjunction with feeding may amplify impact, though more data is needed. 

● Goat grazing emerged as the most impactful strategy, both in terms of consistency and scale of suppression. 

Broadly speaking, our endeavors this year aimed not only to test the efficacy of prescribed burning as a method for combating yellow star thistle (YST) but also to establish a protocol for post-burn land management. Control of YST is only the initial step towards healthier rangeland ecosystems; without adequate and appropriate management following a burn, landscapes will likely remain vulnerable to infestation by YST or other invasive colonizer species. 

In conjunction with Fire Forward, the prescribed fire arm of Audubon Canyon Ranch, we observed a prescribed burn on ~60 acres of YST-infested pastureland on the upper ridgeline of Benny Peretz’s property at Triangle G on June 26, 2025. The burn was conducted safely—with no spot fires, cold containment within 48 hours, and minimal public disturbance—and it significantly reduced invasive species pressure, including an estimated 6 million YST plants. However, the burn also consumed all dry litter present in the burn zone, posing a potential problem for the planned follow-up burn in 2026. 

Without sufficient material to sustain a second fire next year, the YST infestation could persist due to the viable YST seed bank in the soil. In consultation with Fire Forward, the SMI team designed and implemented a seeding trial in which we planted various grass species–including native, introduced, annual, and perennial grasses–using different seeding methods, including broadcast and no-till drill after the prescribed burn. The goal of the experiment is to identify grass species that could germinate in a post-burn zone without irrigation. Ideally, the process will produce enough fuel to carry a second fire next year; however, if a second fire is not possible or the YST persists in the area following the second burn, hopefully, the experiment will still produce high-quality forage. 

For the experiment, the 60 acres were split into three zones of approximately twenty acres: a control zone, where nothing was seeded; an individual species trial zone, where each of the five annual grasses was broadcast across a four-acre strip; and, a no-till mixed seed zone, where the give grass species were drilled into areas where YST was particularly thick using a 6’ Truax drill. A separate one-acre plot was seeded with three native perennial grasses, as well as orchardgrass. This perennial plot will be excluded from the secondary burn. 

These experimental sites will be monitored over the coming year for effective germination and stand establishment, as well as suitability for fuel production and competition with YST seedlings. To this end, we’ve added eleven new monitoring locations to Triangle G in areas of hyperconcentrated YST, allowing us to monitor the impact of various treatments. It’s worth noting that the burn greatly impacted our star thistle data for our ten established monitoring points on TG, as we burned two of the most infested areas. We should have more insight into the long-term effects of the prescribed fire in the next two years. 

This year, the SMI team deepened our role as a catalyst for collaborative, community-based land stewardship. Through hands-on learning, inclusive leadership, and shared monitoring frameworks, we worked to strengthen the resilience and capacity of our regional regenerative grazing network.

One of the year’s highlights was the stockmanship workshop we co-hosted with Whit Hibbard at the Eames Institute. Whit is one of the foremost experts in low-stress stock handling in the United States and consults for and supports the biggest ranches in the country. The event brought together approximately 50 participants, offering an invaluable opportunity for operators, ranchers, and land stewards to develop practical skills in low-stress cattle handling. The workshop’s diverse audience reflected the growing inclusivity within the ranching community—with participation from female operators, BIPOC ranchers, and teams representing TomKat Ranch, Paigelynn Trotter’s Coastal Land & Livestock, Open Field Farms, and Picenas Ranch.

The gathering strengthened regional capacity for thoughtful, adaptive stockmanship, helping participants improve both animal welfare and operational efficiency. Whit Hibbard’s reflections were deeply positive; he commended the professionalism of the crew and, in a generous act of support, declined compensation for the major cattle gathering and move that we did as part of the event, underscoring the spirit of partnership that defines this work. It’s worth noting that he sees more stock handlers than most people and continually complimented our team’s care and competency.

California Data Collaboration 

The SMI team continues to provide regional leadership in ecological monitoring, helping shape a shared data framework that supports consistency and collaboration across multiple grazing organizations. This cross-organizational effort enhances our collective ability to assess ecological outcomes and align management decisions with the long-term health of the land. We look forward to continuing and expanding our goals through multiple upcoming initiatives. 

Regenerate Conference Presentation in Santa Fe, New Mexico 

As part of Sonoma Mountain Institute’s ongoing leadership in the California Grazing Data Collaborative–a partnership that includes Point Blue Conservation Science, White Buffalo Land Trust, Paicines Ranch, TomKat Ranch, Gabilan Ranch, and others–SMI was invited to present at the Regenerate Conference in Santa Fe, New Mexico. 

Byron and Shae Lynn Watt of TomKat Ranch Education Foundation led a packed session that explored how better systems for organizing and analyzing management and monitoring data might help land stewards understand patterns and relationships on the ground. Drawing from over 13 years of vegetation and soil monitoring across SMI’s 6,500 acres, Byron shared how the organization’s biodiversity has improved dramatically, while highlighting the challenge of understanding which parts of our management actions drive those outcomes, as well as discussing the variability in other indicators like native and perennial vegetation. 

The talk emphasized SMI’s commitment to collaborating with other organizations and partners to develop tools that enhance the management of data, improving how it is recorded, organized, and analyzed. The goal is to help land managers make smarter, more informed decisions about trade-offs in the future, directing their energy where it matters most across a wide range of management activities.