Recently, Ag + Open Space’s Allison Schichtel and Karen Gaffney spoke with NASA for their “A Partnership Forged by Fire” story about our vegetation mapping efforts, and how the data are being used today to plan and prepare for the future. Well before the 2017 Sonoma Complex Fires, Ag + …
Several hundred sheep have arrived at our Calabazas Creek Open Space Preserve! Sheep from Sweetgrass Grazing Company will spend the next several weeks grazing about 50 acres of grassland near the Nun’s homestead, an area that was home to early settlers in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. The grazing …
We at Ag + Open Space were deeply saddened to hear of Ted Eliot’s passing earlier this month. Ted was an avid conservationist, whose tireless efforts over the last thirty years led to the preservation and protection of some of the most precious natural areas and open spaces throughout the …
Since 1997, Ag + Open Space has owned and stewarded a greenbelt property, Dogbane Preserve in north Santa Rosa between Highway 101 and Old Redwood Highway. Dogbane Preserve is three acres of open space that helps to create a buffer between Santa Rosa and Windsor. Greenbelts preserve the unique character …
Our competitive Matching Grant Program brings open spaces into urban environments by working with public agencies and nonprofits to protect and enhance local agriculture, community recreation, natural resource restoration, and public access within Sonoma County communities. With partial funding from our Matching Grant Program, the City of Sonoma and the …
Duckworth Family Farms, otherwise known as our Nahmens conservation easement, is an 80-acre organic blueberry farm outside of Sebastopol. The easement was originally acquired in 1999, and Duckworth Family Farms bought the property in the early 2000’s. While the property is the perfect location for growing blueberries, the farm also …
Earlier this month, our GIS Coordinator, Allison Schichtel, and Acquisition Assistant, Curtis Kendall, attended the ESRI User Conference in San Diego. The theme of this year’s conference was See What Others Can’t – in essence, a call to action for GIS practitioners to put their skills to good use in …
Ag + Open Space partners with local organizations to provide innovative programs that get young people outside to explore nature, science, agriculture, and environmental stewardship in their communities. One such program is the TEAM program, which stands for Teaching Environmental and Agricultural Memories. Led by Gold Ridge Resource Conservation District …
On June 17, 2019 our Sonoma Valley Wildlands Collaborative partner Sonoma County Regional Parks completed a 34-acre prescribed burn at the Sonoma Valley Regional Park. The burn area included portions of the Sonoma Developmental Center 3 and Curreri properties, which Ag + Open Space purchased in 2007 and 2014, respectively, …
The Nathanson Creek Preserve is a 0.6-mile creek corridor in residential Sonoma located less than a mile south of the historic Sonoma Plaza and along the east side of Sonoma Valley High and Adele Harrison Middle schools, ending at Nathanson Creek Park. Nathanson Creek starts just east of the Plaza …