LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Lake County Land Trust, founded in 1994, is updating its logo, signs and printed materials, and is pleased to be using a beautiful and evocative design by local publisher and graphic artist, Gaye Allen.

Allen first created the design, which features an iconic red-winged blackbird perched on cattails with a Western Grebe swimming nearby, for the Land Trust’s fundraising campaign for its Big Valley Wetlands project, an effort aimed at preserving and protecting the stretch of Clear Lake’s shoreline between the Clear Lake State Park and south Lakeport.

The effort has been an ongoing project and is intended to save some of the last remaining wetlands and tule marshes on Clear Lake through fee-title purchase and conservation easements.

The Land Trust is working with the Department of Fish and Wildlife on this goal and has developed a conceptual area protection plan that has been approved by the Wildlife Conservation Board to achieve this purpose.

The new logo was initially featured as the graphics for a “thermometer” type display showing how much money had been donated to the effort for the purchase of the initial “keystone” property of the project.

Board members and land trust supporters liked the display so much that it was decided to transform the image into the new Land Trust logo to be featured on letterheads, future newsletters, stationary, and the Land Trust’s Web site and Facebook pages.

The transition will be gradual as there are many items that need to be updated.

Allen, a resident of Cobb since 2010 and a former member of the Lake County Land Trust Board of Directors, has an impressive career in publishing and graphic design.

Originally from England, she founded her own company, Meadowlark Publishing, in 2010, but has been a book designer and publisher for more than 30 years.

She has published high-quality illustrated coffee table books and for 10 years was the vice president and creative director of San Francisco-based publisher Weldon Owen, which specializes in producing branded book programs for organizations such as Williams-Sonoma, Pottery Barn, The Body Shop, Gymboree, 3M, Hallmark and more.

Locally she has published The Lake County Wine Guide, a comprehensive guide to the vineyards and wineries of Lake County and also published a custom souvenir book for the beautiful and luxurious historical Tallman Hotel in Upper Lake.

“The Land Trust is so fortunate to have the expertise of someone like Gaye to help us improve our look and our brand authority,” said Land Trust President Val Nixon. “We truly appreciate her expertise and her generosity.”

For more information about the Lake County Land Trust, go to www.lakecountylandtrust.org .