Harriet Mitteldorf

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Harriet Mitteldorf grew up as a city girl, taking the subway in New York City to high school and college. Occasionally she would cut classes to go walking in Central Park. She enjoyed the fresh air and nature and was glad to get out of a history lecture. Little did she suspect that one day her appreciation for nature would lead to her and her late husband Arthur Mitteldorf to make history in a way that would benefit generations to come.

Shortly after the Mitteldorfs had settled on the Monterey Peninsula to retire, they met a former executive director of the Land Trust, who was seeking partners to help prevent further redwood logging by the Westbrook Timber Company in the foothills of the Santa Lucia mountain range. In 1987, the State of California had lifted a county logging restriction that had been in place, and in 1989 the urgent threat of renewed logging motivated the Mitteldorfs to help BSLT purchase the property in 1990. Today, thanks to the Mitteldorfs’ generosity, Mitteldorf Preserve is one of the crown jewels of the Central Coast, to be protected and undeveloped forever.

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Mitteldorf has fond memories of the early years. “The volunteers were wonderful,” she says. “They cleaned the Lodge, built and maintained trails, and fixed up the barn which was totally ramshackle. Arthur had polio and walked with a cane, so they created an easy quarter-mile circle trail for him.”

Her favorite place on the Preserve is a sizeable old grove of madrone trees. “They are really something to be seen,” Mitteldorf says. She recalls one February day, eighteen years ago, when she joined her son and his two dogs for a walk. “We’d just planned a short hike—Arthur was sitting on the patio below—but we were walking and talking, the path just kept going up, steeper and steeper, and then we’d arrived at this old madrone grove, very near the end of the tree line. Those trees are gorgeous and unusual—really something unique. There was snow up there, and it was just wonderful wilderness—the spirit of open space.”

Recently, a group of Land Trust supporters and partners gathered on the property to celebrate Harriet and her legacy. “It was a perfect day,” she says. “The mood was good and everyone was in good spirits.” BSLT Board Chair George Somero lauded Harriet for “…her enormous contributions to the Land Trust and other non-profits and for her ability to inspire others to join her in supporting these important causes.”

While the Mitteldorfs’ gift to the Land Trust was extraordinary, Harriet says that everyone can make a positive difference. “It’s important for people to promote sustainability and to counteract all the misinformation that is out there. The abuse of our natural resources is unconscionable. We need to find ways to live in balance with all the other species on the planet.”

You can help protect the plant and animal communities of Mitteldorf Preserve.