UPPER LAKE, Calif. – The Lake County Land Trust hosted more than 100 people for its annual dinner on Saturday, Oct. 12 at The Lodge at Blue Lakes.

The event is held every year and offers land trust members, as well as the general public, a chance to learn about projects the trust is involved with, along with enjoying great music, food, fun and a fabulous silent auction.

Guest speaker at this year’s event was fisheries specialist, Charlotte Ambrose, who works as a Salmon Recovery coordinator for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Ambrose discussed the federal Endangered Species Act, including its successes and failures, and talked about the alarming decline in salmon over just the space of a lifetime.

Also discussed was the Lake County Land Trust’s effort to protect wetlands on the shores of Clear Lake, including its current drive to raise funds to purchase a 31-acre parcel near Kelseyville.

The land features beautiful native wetland and shoreline forest as well as upland wet meadow, pasture, and oaks. The trust has been successful in raising more than $50,000 to go towards the purchase price of the land, set at $225,000. The land trust has an option to buy the property valid until March 2014.

Val Nixon, a retired California state parks ranger and avid volunteer for the Land Trust was honored as the trust’s 2013 “Supporter of the Year.”

Nixon received a plaque from the trust and a proclamation from Congressman Mike Thompson. She was honored for her work on creating interpretive signs at the land trust’s Rodman Preserve near Upper Lake, as well as other volunteer work.

Sponsoring this year’s dinner were Homestake Mining of California, the Law Office of Dennis Fordham, Brad and Kathy Barnwell, John Wise and Evelyn Wachtel and the North Coast Winegrape Brokers.

A beautiful venue and delicious dinner was provided by Maryann and Peter Schmid with several dinner attendees opting to spend the night at the Lodge and enjoy a lovely morning on Blue Lakes.

The Lake County Land Trust is a local, nongovernmental nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting the natural habitats and open spaces in Lake County.

For more information about the organization go to www.lakecountylandtrust.org and “like” the trust’s page on Facebook.