The California Coastal Trail stretches along the coast of California, from the beaches of San Diego to the rugged, dramatic coastlines in Northern California. KCET, a broadcasting station in California, created a video series that allows people to follow the trail, learning about the coastal land areas and the people who live there.
One important part of the trail featured in the series is Wilder Ranch State Park in Santa Cruz County. People in the community, along with funders including the Moore Foundation, helped to conserve the land around Wilder Ranch, a beautiful area that adds to the special character of the Bay Area.
Julia Sidel, interpreter for Wilder Ranch State park describes ones of the beaches there as “Something you don’t always see in a lot of our central coast communities, because it’s a beach that is specially protected. It looks the way a California coastal beach would have looked for thousands of years – back to when the Ohlone people would have lived here.”
Even further north along the California Coastal Trail, the Kashia Coastal Reserve sits in Northwestern Sonoma County, right on the ocean. “Understanding Kashia’s history is understanding the struggle,” says Reno Franklin, Chairman of the Kashia Band of Pomo Indians. The Kashia Band of Pomo Indians were the first inhabitants of the coastal Sonoma County area around Fort Ross. However, by 1870, only three villages remained in the area, and by 1914 the United States Federal Government began the process of taking the land into a trust.
In 2015, the Trust for Public land partnered with the Kashia Band of Pomo Indians to gather resources to purchase the property now known as the Kashia Coastal Reserve, restoring ownership of the land to the Kashia people.
Throughout three seasons, the California Coastal Trail series provides a stunning and picturesque look into the people and natural landscapes that makes California unique.
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