As several of us have learned who are fortunate to live here and make a livelihood studying and working to restore and preserve parts of our valley, this place is remarkable. Sonoma Valley is extraordinarily diverse. There are many kinds of climatic and topographic niches that create unique places for things to grow. In these places, since we are fortunate enough to have avoided the worst of human disturbance until very recently, many unique things reside here as they have for millennia. They use each other's bounty and waste to create a web of life that is easy to witness in the light of spring as it still is-lush and vibrant.
Visitors flock to witness our beauty.
Scientists and life itself flocks here because there is so much wealth of nature, even in the midst of so much human presence. Our challenge is as obvious as the beauty that marks this unusual and important place. I think reverence is a key. Sharing is another key, I think. Sharing love of life, and gifts given us as stewards, in a way that will preserve the opportunity for ourselves and others to love life for years to come.