News + Features

group of people hiking to the ocean

A radical farm and the power of local agriculture

Person in raincoat, crouching in a field and pulling green, leafy vegetables from dense rows of plants.

Radical Family Farms centers LGBTQIA+ mixed-Asian American heritage and culinary culture through the vegetables, herbs, meals and events produced on their farm. This 3-acre farm was founded in 2018 by Leslie Wiser and Sarah Deragon.It’s located in Sebastopol and, as the founders note, operates on unceded territory of the Coast …

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Staff Spotlight: Kim Batchelder, Vegetation Management Coordinator

man standing in a grass field

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 …

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Cordage-making and stewardship at Dogbane Preserve

Cordage making with four people

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 …

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A year in review: Highlights from 2021

people looking at view from the top of a hill

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 …

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Staff Spotlight: Sara Ortiz, Administrative Aide

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 …

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Staff Spotlight: Stephanie Waite, GIS Analyst

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 …

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Board of Supervisors to protect Paulin Meadow in Santa Rosa as open space

Oak trees at Paulin Creek Open Space Preserve

Santa Rosa, CA – October 29, 2021 – The Sonoma County Board of Supervisors is expected next week to approve the transfer of Parcel J (Paulin Meadow), a 10.42-acre property that is part of a collection of publicly owned parcels adjacent to the County of Sonoma-owned Chanate campus, from the …

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Staff Spotlight: Kelsey Setliff, Stewardship Technician

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 …

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SRJC students join for workday at Haroutunian South

SRJC student looking at vernal pools at Haroutunian South.

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 …

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Forest health and resiliency work at Saddle Mountain

Healthy canopy at Saddle Mountain.

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 …

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