2025 Year in Review: Protecting What Matters, Together
As we look back on 2025, we’re struck by just how much this work is shaped by people: landowners, partners, volunteers, community members and staff who care deeply about Sonoma County. From protecting new lands to caring for the places already conserved, 2025 was about steady progress and meaningful relationships. Here’s a look at what we accomplished together.
Conserving Land for Today and Tomorrow
Land conservation remained at the heart of our work in 2025 and the momentum is carrying us into 2026 with over 60 active projects across conservation easements and Community Spaces Matching Grant Program efforts.
This year, we helped permanently protect 1,889 acres of land, investing $12.6 million in projects that will benefit Sonoma County for generations. These efforts included the creation of two new parks, a new public access point along the Russian River, and the addition of 1,539 acres to existing parkland. We also supported the protection of a working dairy, ensuring agricultural land remains productive and viable.
Community Spaces projects continued to transform neighborhoods and expand access to open space. From the Graton Town Square and River Lane to major investments at Mark West Area Community Park and Helen Putnam Regional Park, these projects reflect strong local vision backed by public support. Larger-scale conservation efforts, like the Monte Rio Redwoods Expansion and McClelland Dairy, protected forests, farms, and habitat at a landscape scale while strengthening climate resilience.
Behind the scenes, we also made big strides in how we track and plan our work. We launched a new organizational database, rolled out improved GIS tools and public-facing maps, and contributed to regional conservation and wildfire resilience planning efforts that will guide the county well into the future.
Caring for the Lands We’ve Protected
Protecting land is only the beginning, stewardship is where conservation becomes real on the ground. In 2025, our stewardship team completed 120 monitoring reports, worked through dozens of landowner requests and amendments, and resolved 17 enforcement cases.
We cared for the lands we own through mowing, fence repair, habitat restoration, prescribed burns, invasive species removal and ongoing research. Highlights include the Clara Hunt prescribed burn at Saddle Mountain, ensuring continued wildfire resilience research in partnership with Sonoma State University, as well as welcoming new Volunteer Patrollers who help care for and monitor these lands.
At Haroutunian South, regular surveys revealed exciting news! We saw significant increases in rare plant populations and the discovery of a new rare species, the Marsh silverpuff. Across our preserves from Oken and Chanslor Ranch to Paulin Creek and Auberge-Ceanothus our teams addressed erosion, restored habitat, supported grazing and balanced public access with ecological health.
We also hosted our first-ever easement landowner open house, creating space for connection, shared learning, and future collaboration, something we’re excited to build on in the coming years.
Investing in Community, Access and Connection
In 2025, our work extended far beyond land boundaries. Through programs, grants and outreach we continued to invest in people and communities across Sonoma County.
Our Buy-Protect-Sell pilot program took important steps forward with strong interest from agricultural producers as well as the formation of a local assessment panel. We have ongoing work to match qualified farmers with protected land. We also convened resource fairs, advisory committees and regional partners to strengthen agricultural viability and land transfer pathways.
The Community Spaces Matching Grant Program supported projects large and small, from reactivating long-standing park projects to launching new ones. We implemented updated grant guidelines, increased applicant support, activated multiple projects across the county, and began procurement for a new Grant Management Platform to improve transparency and access.
Community engagement flourished through 176 public outings and the same number of K–12 field trips, as well as participation in festivals and events across the county. We expanded outreach to youth, Latinx families, LGBTQ+ communities and new cultural partners including celebrating our first year at the Many Moons Festival.
Online, we launched a new website design, grew our social media following across every platform (with especially strong growth on TikTok), expanded our eNews audience, and introduced new campaigns like Land for Scenic Beauty. We also partnered with Nexo Media to launch culturally relevant Spanish-language ads in local grocery stores and on Spanish radio, helping us reach more of the community than ever before.
And in a milestone moment, we proudly celebrated 35 years of Sonoma County Ag + Open Space, reflecting on where we’ve been and recommitting to where we’re headed.
Looking Ahead
As we move into 2026, we’re carrying forward the lessons, partnerships, and momentum of this year. Whether it’s completing new acquisitions, opening more parks, supporting farmers, strengthening wildfire resilience or deepening community connections, our work continues to be guided by the same goal: protecting the lands that make Sonoma County special for everyone.
Thank you for being part of this journey.