News + Features

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Agricultural Preservation & Open Space District Receives $216,000 Legacy Gift from Don Bradley Trust

SANTA ROSA, CA (July 19, 2017) – The Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation & Open Space District (District) is deeply honored to have received a $216,000 legacy gift from Donald Charles Bradley, a 67-year-old resident of Forestville who passed away June 20, 2016. The District was humbled to receive this gift …

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At Jenner Headlands Preserve, work begins to provide public access

Mary Callahan | The Press Democrat | June 28, 2017 Construction work is beginning next week on a parking lot, trailhead and other amenities needed to provide public access to the 5,630-acre Jenner Headlands Preserve, putting exploration of the coastal hillsides overlooking the Pacific Ocean nearly within reach of the …

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Towering, remote Sonoma County forest preserved with $4.5 million from local taxpayers

J.D. Morris | The Press Democrat | May 7, 2017 ANNAPOLIS – Deep in northwestern Sonoma County’s thickly forested mountains, about 10 miles from the coast and a world away from the bustle of any population center, Mike Young walked beneath a towering canopy of redwood and Douglas fir trees …

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Sonoma County open space planners launch broadest, most extensive planning effort ever

J.D. Morris | The Press Democrat | March 6, 2017 Hoping to set a commanding agenda for conserving its landscapes, Sonoma County’s taxpayer-funded Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District is launching its broadest, most extensive planning effort ever to guide its work for the next 15 years. The open space …

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Sonoma Land Trust donation doubles size of Tolay Lake Regional Park

Nick Rahaim | The Press Democrat | March 3, 2017 Tolay Lake Regional Park doubled in size Friday with the gift of an adjoining 1,665-acre protected ranch from the Sonoma Land Trust, a transfer envisioned for years and coming less than a year before the expansive, grass-covered preserve is set to …

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Calabazas Preserve OK’d to be part of county parks system

Alec Peters | The Kenwood Press | March 1, 2017 In the maybe not so distant future, the public will have access to close to 1,300 stunning acres that make up the Calabazas Creek Open Space Preserve in the Mayacamas above Glen Ellen. At its Feb. 21 meeting the Sonoma …

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The state of Sonoma County’s forests

Arthur Dawson | For the Press Democrat | March 1, 2017 Editor’s Note: This is part two of a series about the indigenous forests that blanket Sonoma County — their past, present and threats to their future. Our forests “are undergoing a sea change,” observes Mark Tukman, founder of Tukman …

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Sonoma Coast’s Stewarts Point becomes part of historic agreement for coastal ranch

Derek Moore | The Press Democrat | February 23, 2017 Martina Morgan’s black hair whipped about as she gazed out from Stewarts Point in northwest Sonoma County this week at a stunning expanse of Pacific Ocean. Far below her, waves crashed on a rock-strewn beach where Morgan and her great-grandfather …

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The history of Sonoma County’s woodlands

Arthur Dawson | For The Press Democrat | January 26, 2017 Editor’s Note: This is part one of a series about the indigenous forests that blanket Sonoma County — their past, present and threats to their future. Sonoma County’s early chronicles are full of praise for the trees and forests. …

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Sonoma County takes another major step toward dream of a Mark West Creek park

Derek Moore | The Press Democrat | December 11, 2016 Plans for a regional park in the Mark West Creek area northeast of Santa Rosa received another major boost last week with county officials authorizing the $2.5 million purchase of forested property situated at the heart of the envisioned outdoor …

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