This month, we’re checking in with Kim Batchelder, the County’s Vegetation Management Coordinator. Kim has been with Ag + Open Space for over a decade, and recently moved into this role focused on the planning, development and implementation of funding and incentive opportunities for ecosystem health and wildfire mitigation through …
For centuries, Indigenous peoples have harvested the Dogbane plant for use in making cordage, nets, bags, and belts. With many years of community care, the Dogbane plant has thrived on the special three-acre, culturally-significant Dogbane Preserve in what is now northwest Santa Rosa. Each year, Ag + Open Space partners …
We are grateful to be able to do the work of protecting our county’s natural and working lands. As we move into a new year, we wanted to take a moment to reflect on the work we’ve done with you, our Sonoma County community, over the last year. Even as …
This month, we’re hearing from Sara Ortiz, one of our fantastic Administrative Aides, who works to make sure our agency runs smoothly. Our staff spotlights are a chance to learn more about the people who work to protect our natural and working lands, and also to hear about how they …
This month we’d like to introduce you to our newest team member, Stephanie Waite, GIS Analyst. Read on to learn more about Stephanie, and join us in welcoming her to Ag + Open Space! Stephanie is part of our Geographic Information System (GIS) team, who help gather and analyze data …
At Ag + Open Space, we have an incredible team of talented and driven individuals working together to carry out the community’s vision of a beautiful, thriving, and resilient Sonoma County. We’re proud of our team, so we are going to be sharing more about the amazing people working behind …
Earlier this month, Taylor Acosta, one of our Stewardship Technicians, welcomed a biology class from Santa Rosa Junior College to Haroutunian South for a workday caring for and learning from the land. Haroutunian South is a 21-acre property in southwest Santa Rosa that we purchased in 1995 for its values …
This fall, Ag + Open Space will begin implementation of a 60-acre understory thinning project and two shaded fuel breaks at Saddle Mountain Open Space Preserve. The Preserve was impacted at varying levels of severity by the 2020 Glass Fire, and in some areas where fire intensity was lower, the …
As you know, our mission is to permanently protect the diverse agricultural, natural resource, and scenic open space lands of Sonoma County for future generations. The act of “protecting” a piece of land is multi-faceted: it starts with careful planning, then moves to the actual conservation of the land, then …
Have you gone for a hike at Healdsburg Ridge Open Space Preserve recently? If so, you may havseen the sheep and goats working their way around the preserve to help create buffers between the preserve and the city of Healdsburg in preparation for the current and future wildfire seasons. The …