Healdsburg Ridge Opens to the Public

The new 155-acre Healdsburg Ridge Open Space Preserve, jointly managed by the Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District and the City of Healdsburg, officially opened to the public on November 15. This spectacular property is located at the urban edge of northeast Healdsburg and features wetlands, oak woodlands, rocky serpentine outcroppings, and open grasslands. The District began protecting this prominent ridgeline in 1996. When improvements to the trail network and trailheads are complete, the District will transfer the land to the City and retain a conservation easement. The preserve supports animals such as deer, jackrabbit, bobcat, mountain lion, and more than 40 species of birds. Rare plants like serpentine rye grass and a species of Ceanothus, yet to be described by scientists, have also been found on the preserve. The property offers opportunities for hiking and picnicking, and has breathtaking views of the Mayacamas, Fitch Mountain, Lake Sonoma Basin, the Coastal Range, and the Russian River at Digger’s Bend.

Riverkeeper Stewardship Park Receives District Matching Grant

The District’s Board of Directors approved a $50,000 matching grant in November to Russian Riverkeeper, a local non-profit, for habitat restoration and recreational improvements to the Riverkeeper Stewardship Park, a five-acre riverfront property located in downtown Guerneville. The organization, formally know as Friends of the Russian River, received the land in 2005 as a donation from the Horne family.

The Riverkeeper property, once a tent-cabin resort, was abandoned following a severe flood in the 1950s. Riverkeeper envisioned the property as a park and opportunities to restore the habitat. The park will include an interpretive component that highlights topics such as riparian ecology, the area’s natural and cultural history, and the health of the river.

The proposed plans show a community gathering space, native plant demonstration gardens, children’s educational play areas, loop trails, informational kiosks, picnic areas, a floating classroom dock, an amphitheatre, a river overlook, a fish ladder swale, and parking. Riverkeeper staff, enthusiastic neighbors, and other dedicated volunteers, including employee groups, participate in weekly workdays and have made tremendous progress toward transforming the site. For more information about the Riverkeeper Stewardship Park and opportunities to volunteer, visit the Russian Riverkeeper website.

District Publishes Annual Report

Our current annual report, which covers the District’s accomplishments from January 2007 to June 2008, is now available online. In 2007, the District gained momentum from the overwhelming passage of Measure F - the Open Space, Clean Water, and Farmland Protection Measure in November 2006. With the support of the county’s citizens and our wonderful partners, the District protected nearly 5,000 acres, bringing its total protected acreage to more than 75,000. The report also reviews the District’s accomplishments in its conservation planning, stewardship, matching grant, outreach, and education programs. Visit sonomaopenspace.org to download the report.

District Welcomes New Staff

Three new staff members: Sara Press, Lulu Waks, and Karen Gaffney recently joined the District staff team.

Our new associate open space planner, Sara Press, worked as an urban and regional planner for eight years at Design, Community & Environment in Berkeley, where she managed comprehensive planning, urban design and environmental review projects. She also has extensive experience in designing and facilitating community workshops. In this job, she worked on the Laguna de Santa Rosa Protected Lands Trails Plan. Sara has her master’s degree in geography from the University of Oregon and is certified by the American Institute of Certified Planners. 

Stewardship Technician Lulu Waks worked as a research technician for the Sudden Oak Death (SOD) Adaptive Management Program in Big Sur, establishing longitudinal monitoring plots to track the presence and spread of SOD. Most recently, Lulu returned from a year of overseas travel to Indonesia, India, and Nepal, where she was involved in several conservation-related projects. In Northern India, Lulu worked with a nonprofit to formulate and conduct a survey that examined local stove designs and patterns of fuel-wood consumption in rural mountain villages. She has a bachelor’s degree in environmental studies from UC Santa Cruz.

We hired Karen Gaffney to lead the District’s Stewardship Division. Karen is an ecologist and co-founder/CEO of West Coast Watershed, a Northern California partnership focused on watershed planning and ecological restoration. Prior to West Coast Watershed, she directed the Center for Ecological Restoration at Circuit Rider Productions for sixteen years. Karen has been a leader in the field of ecological restoration throughout California and the Rockies for over 25 years, with recent watershed planning and assessment projects in the Navarro, Big, Noyo, Garcia, Gualala, and Russian river basins. She is an instructor at the Santa Rosa Junior College, where she teaches watershed ecology and restoration. A graduate of UC Berkeley, she has a master’s degree in biology from Sonoma State University. 

Check out our Winter Outings Calendar

In February, do you still just want to get cozy in your house by a fire? Are you still hibernating like the bear population? Or are you looking for opportunities to get outside and enjoy this beautiful county we live in? If so, check out the Winter Outings offered by the District at sonomaopenspace.org

Contact Us

747 Mendocino Ave, Ste. 100
Santa Rosa, CA 95401
Phone: (707) 565-7360
Fax: (707) 565-7359
openspace@sonoma-county.org

The Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District e-newsletter is distributed to Sonoma County residents, partner agencies, and volunteers who support our work to permanently protect family farms, ranches, and scenic natural areas for people and wildlife.