On May 14, North Coast Land Conservancy’s Coast Legacy Circle members gathered for an annual celebration of coastal conservation that highlights the long-term value of planned giving.
Our 2024 Coast Legacy Circle brunch took place at The Loft at the Red Building. A majority of CLC members were able to attend the event, which recognizes those who have chosen to make conservation a part of their legacy by naming NCLC in their estate plans.
To kick off the event, NCLC Executive Director Katie Voelke gave a brief overview of the projects, programs, and activities that are underway at our organization.
One of the large project currently in progress is the creation of the new Circle Creek Conservation Center at our reserve just south of Seaside. Construction started in late Fall 2023, with a target completion date set for fall of this year.
“That’s a major thing that’s been going on this year, and for the past decade,” Katie said. NCLC is planning to hold a celebration event once the project is finished.
She also spoke about the Marine Program of NCLC, through which ocean stewardship and community science is taking place—particularly at Cape Falcon Marine Reserve. Through the program, volunteers are contributing to marine debris surveys, sea star surveys, tidepool education, and more.
Additionally, we stay steadfast in our commitment to caring for the conserved lands and waters that are already under our stewardship. As Katie explained, “We have all the wonderful sameness going on.”
“We protect a place so it’s there next year, and the next,” she added. “It will go on every year, forever. That is the plan.”
The event also included a pinning ceremony for new CLC members—Mike Ehlen, Beatrice Michel, Eric Halperin, and Margo Lalich—and a moment of silence for those generous individuals who’ve passed away in the past year: Judith Myers and Peter Hurley. As CLC members, Judith and Peter’s legacy will continue to live on in the impact they made through conservation of the Oregon Coast and protecting a home where future generations of humans, plants, and wildlife can thrive.
Critical Data Collection for Wildlife Management
The guest speaker for the 2024 CLC brunch was Kayla Fermin, the Natural Resource & GIS Program Manager at Lewis and Clark National Historic Park. She shared about the ecological and cultural importance of the coast’s elk population and the park service’s elk-monitoring program on the Clatsop Plains.
To learn how and when the elk use the lands in and around those owned by the National Park Service, they have developed a two-prong approach to collecting data. It involves elk-pellet surveys to monitor relative use and proportion of area occupied (PAO) by the Clatsop Plains elk. They also conduct other surveys to identify elk-viewing opportunities for the public. In 2019, they added a third protocol to the monitoring program: GPS collars.
LCNHP has cultivated a robust dataset since 2008, which is in line with the organization’s mission and dedication to public support, education and partnerships.
“It gives us more insight on the elk and helps us make better decisions,” Kayla said. “Just like NCLC, we are tasked with caring for these special places, being stewards.” As part of that goal, she added, “We’re collecting data about everything.”
About the Coast Legacy Circle at NCLC
At NCLC, we make the commitment to care for land in perpetuity, but we know we can only fulfill that promise if we continue to exist and function at our highest level. The Coast Legacy Circle is a group of donors who share a similar understanding. By including NCLC in their estate plans, it ensures the long-term preservation of our treasured and beautiful Oregon Coast. It also becomes a treasured part of their legacy.
A legacy isn’t only what you leave to the world. A legacy is a statement of your deeply held values. When you add a charitable gift to your will, you help ensure that something you care about deeply today will continue long into the future. And your action may inspire others to follow your example.
Once the decision is made to put a charitable gift in your will, the process is simple. And the beauty of a bequest is that any chosen amount can have an impact—often a far greater and more lasting impact than you might imagine. Additionally, there are numerous ways to participate in planned giving: bequests, life insurance, real estate, retirement accounts, and charitable remainder trusts (CRTs), to name a few. For more information, you can call NCLC at (503) 738-9126 or email katiev@nclctrust.org.
If you’ve already taken steps to include NCLC in your estate plans in any of the aforementioned ways, we’d love to know about it. Not only so we can invite you to next year’s brunch, but also because this community of people—who value conservation so much they want to bolster it even after they have gone on—is profoundly meaningful to our organization and the future of the Oregon Coast, and it is our privilege to honor each and every one of them.
Thanks to All Who Supported and Participated in Our 2024 CLC Brunch
NCLC is grateful to the Loft at the Red Building; Nicolle Landwehr, CFP; and Brut Wine Bar for sponsoring our 2024 CLC Brunch. Check out the gallery below for more photos from the event!
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