Projects + Plans

  • Farm vegetables

    Farmland for All: Buy-Protect-Sell Pilot

    In order to forward the goals of the Vital Lands Initiative and in response to the input of our agricultural community stakeholders, Sonoma County Ag + Open Space is developing a “Farmland for All” program. The Farmland for All program …

  • Land Access Study

    The Land Access and Land Tenure for Limited Resource Farmers: Assessment of Conditions and Opportunities in Sonoma County study was developed to better understand the needs of limited resource farmers, and to make recommendations for actions that Ag + Open …

  • Riparian Conservation Program

    Ag + Open Space is launching a new program to expand its conservation efforts to protect – and in some cases enhance and restore – critical streamside and floodplain areas throughout Sonoma County. We will be working with private landowners …

  • A cow stands in the foreground as other cows lie on the ground in the distance.

    ASAP Emergency Matching Grant Program

    Agricultural Support and Protection (ASAP) Emergency Matching Grant Program In 2020, Ag + Open Space created the one-time Agricultural Support and Protection (ASAP) Emergency Matching Grant Program to help mitigate the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on Sonoma County’s agricultural …

  • Van Hoosear Wildflower Preserve

    Healthy Lands & Healthy Economies

    The Healthy Lands and Healthy Economies initiative is documenting the multiple benefits of natural areas and working lands in Sonoma County.

  • Cows standing in lush green field at Tolay Lake Regional Park with hills in background.

    Sonoma County Venture Conservation Partnership

    The Sonoma County Venture Conservation (SCVC) Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) is a collaboration of partners, funders, residents, farmers, and ranchers working to conserve and restore land in Sonoma County to ensure resilience to climate change through healthy soils, high-quality …

  • trees at the Jenner Headlands

    Climate Action Through Conservation

    Land conservation is an important tool in addressing climate change, as agricultural lands and natural systems sequester carbon and have substantially lower rates of GHG emissions than urban areas.

  • Sloping hillside at Beltane Ranch

    Sonoma County Vegetation Mapping and LiDAR Program

    Mapping Sonoma County’s diverse habitats, crops, and terrain using state-of-the-art technology and data will ensure the District and its partners protect the most important lands for water, wildlife, and people.

  • Rolling hills at Bianchi Dairy

    OpenRoad with Doug McConnell

    The District has teamed up with OpenRoad with Doug McConnell, a TV show that explores the natural, historical and cultural treasures of the Bay Area and Northern California focusing principally on parks and open spaces protected by the public.

  • “Protected Forever” — Creating Ag + Open Space

    The late Ted Eliot recalls the intense pressure in the 1980’s to develop land in Sonoma County. Dee Swanhuyser remembers farmers being forced to sell their land in order to sustain themselves. And the late Jim Harberson, a former County …