Projects + Plans

  • Riparian Conservation Program

    Ag + Open Space is launching a new program to expand its conservation efforts to protect – and in some cases enhance and restore – critical streamside and floodplain areas throughout Sonoma County. We will be working with private landowners …

  • Van Hoosear Wildflower Preserve

    Healthy Lands & Healthy Economies

    The Healthy Lands and Healthy Economies initiative is documenting the multiple benefits of natural areas and working lands in Sonoma County.

  • Cows standing in lush green field at Tolay Lake Regional Park with hills in background.

    Sonoma County Venture Conservation Partnership

    The Sonoma County Venture Conservation (SCVC) Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) is a collaboration of partners, funders, residents, farmers, and ranchers working to conserve and restore land in Sonoma County to ensure resilience to climate change through healthy soils, high-quality …

  • trees at the Jenner Headlands

    Climate Action Through Conservation

    Land conservation is an important tool in addressing climate change, as agricultural lands and natural systems sequester carbon and have substantially lower rates of GHG emissions than urban areas.

  • Sloping hillside at Beltane Ranch

    Sonoma County Vegetation Mapping and LiDAR Program

    Mapping Sonoma County’s diverse habitats, crops, and terrain using state-of-the-art technology and data will ensure the District and its partners protect the most important lands for water, wildlife, and people.

  • Rolling hills at Bianchi Dairy

    OpenRoad with Doug McConnell

    The District has teamed up with OpenRoad with Doug McConnell, a TV show that explores the natural, historical and cultural treasures of the Bay Area and Northern California focusing principally on parks and open spaces protected by the public.

  • “Protected Forever” — Creating Ag + Open Space

    The late Ted Eliot recalls the intense pressure in the 1980’s to develop land in Sonoma County. Dee Swanhuyser remembers farmers being forced to sell their land in order to sustain themselves. And the late Jim Harberson, a former County …

  • Saddle Mountain OSP Management Plan

    Preserving land for the future Before becoming the Saddle Mountain Open Space Preserve, this 960-acre property northeast of Santa Rosa had long been considered for subdivision and development. In response to strong public support for protecting the property as open …

  • Calabazas Creek at the Calabazas Preserve

    Calabazas Creek OSP Resource Management Plan

    In 2004, the District purchased a 1,285-acre ranch just north of Glen Ellen in order to establish the Calabazas Creek Open Space Preserve.

  • Wright Hill Ranch Preserve Management Plan

    In 2007, the District purchased a 1,236-acre ranch just south of the town of Jenner and the mouth of the Russian River to form the Poff Ranch Preserve.