The PLT Project Manager and Volunteer Coordinator, Steve Diers, a retired Ranger/Naturalist of 39 years, and a career trail builder/trail volunteer coordinator, will lead the Stewardship Volunteers to the project site. Greg Strosnider, a botanist and biologist and the new Assistant Stewardship Coordinator, will share information about native plants and animals at Pedro Point Headlands.
Pacific Land Trust Stewardship Volunteers are pleasantly surprised by how good they feel, both physically and mentally, after spending the day working with great people in a beautiful setting on such worthwhile land stewardship and trail maintenance projects.
The project includes erosion control and habitat restoration on a bootleg trail near the trailhead. We will use a wheelbarrow to haul native soil to fill in ruts and compact it. Then scarify the compacted soil to sow native seed. Cover it with rice straw and secure the straw with jute netting. If time permits, we will transplant native plants collected on site. Be prepared to get down and dirty!
Removing Non-Native/Invasive Vegetation
There is non-native/invasive vegetation that needs to be controlled. Volunteers remove these invasive species to allow native vegetation species to re-establish! Learn the proper use of a myriad of hand tools to squelch these invaders!
Erosion Control
We do erosion control in areas where past ORV activity have caused severe erosion, making the area inhospitable to native vegetation due to the loss of topsoil.
Trail Work
We also work on the trails to cut back vegetation encroaching onto them. This includes cutting back the vegetation where the water bars divert water away from the trail tread. Volunteers build water bars to divert water away from the trails to stem erosion. As the grade (steepness) of a trail increases, so does the velocity of the water flow and the amount of erosion.
Projects will be performed in a variety of weather conditions, including light rain and in areas where poison oak, blackberry thorns, and ticks may occur. Be prepared and take appropriate precautions:
Dress in layers, wear closed-toe shoes, long pants, and long-sleeve shirts.
Bring: a backpack, water, gloves, insect repellent, and sunscreen.
Tools, gloves, and extra water can be provided.
Bathrooms are not available on site. They are available in the adjacent Upper Devil’s Slide Parking Lot.
Volunteers under 18 years of age need written permission from a parent or guardian, and an adult must accompany those under 16. Email Steve Diers at steved@pacifica-land- trust.org to request a PLT Young Adult Stewardship Waiver form for volunteers ages 16 and 17. They can bring it with them to the scheduled PLT Stewardship Volunteer Project.
The goal is to keep the fourth Sunday of the month as the PLT Stewardship Volunteer Project for the coming months (excluding December). Monthly notices are emailed 1 week before the workday. For information on PLT volunteer opportunities, contact Steve at steved@pacifica-land-trust.org
Access Pedro Point Headlands in one of three ways:
1. By the informal trail (Future Coastal Trail), leaving from Ace Hardware, “take the ankle express,” 1 mile hike to the trailhead.
2. By parking at the Devil’s Slide parking lot north of the tunnels and walking 1/4 mile north up the access trail to the trailhead
3. Through the “green vehicle gate” just 550’ north of the Devil’s Slide parking lot entrance, and driving up a short hill to the meeting area at the main trailhead.
To view the map of Pedro Point Headlands, go to https://www.pacifica-land-trust.org/projects/pedro-point-headlands/pph-volunteer/
2026 Monthly Volunteer Work Schedule: Sundays, 10am-1pm.
January 25
February 22
March 22
April 26
May 24
June 28
July 26
August 23
September 27
October 25
November 22
December No Project, Happy Holidays!
Steve Diers is a retired Ranger/Naturalist and a career trail builder/trail volunteer
coordinator with 39 years of experience. He will lead the Stewardship Volunteers to the
project site and share information about plants and animals at Pedro Point Headlands.
