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Staff Spotlight: Julie Mefferd, Administrative and Fiscal Services Manager
November 17, 2022
Posted in: News Articles
In our November Staff Spotlight, we get to hear from Julie Mefferd, our Administrative and Fiscal Services Manager. Julie has worked in public service for more than 20 years, and prior to joining Ag + Open Space in 2019 she …
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Wildfire preparation at Calabazas Creek
October 27, 2022
Posted in: News Articles
Southeast of Santa Rosa, the upcoming Calabazas Creek Regional Park and Open Space Preserve is 1,290 acres of forests, grasslands, and creeks nestled in the Mayacamas Mountains. Although we transferred this property to Regional Parks in 2021, we’re in a …
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Staff Spotlight: Marina Montes, Stewardship Specialist
October 27, 2022
Posted in: News Articles
In this month’s Staff Spotlight, we caught up with Marina Montes, who was recently promoted from Stewardship Technician to Stewardship Specialist! Marina grew up in the East Bay and spent many weekends and holidays exploring the natural world through camping, …
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Remote monitoring: A new way to “visit” conserved lands
September 28, 2022
Posted in: News Articles
Conservation easements run with the land forever. As the easement holder, Ag + Open Space works with landowners to ensure the conservation values defined by the easement – agriculture, habitats, watersheds, and more – remain healthy and thriving. To support …
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Staff Spotlight: Mary Chambers, Agricultural Specialist
September 28, 2022
Posted in: News Articles
In our latest Staff Spotlight, we chatted with Mary Chambers, our Agricultural Specialist. Mary grew up in the East Bay, hiking, camping, and eating as many fruits as possible at her hometown farmers market. She studied agriculture at Stanford University and …
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Recovery and resilience at Modini Preserve
September 28, 2022
Posted in: People & Places
In October of 2019, the Kincade Fire swept through large swaths of Sonoma County, impacting several Ag + Open Space-conserved properties. In the northeast part of the county, the 3,125-acre Modini Preserve burned in almost its entirety (the only spots …
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Staff Spotlight: Pierre Ratte, Acquisition Specialist
August 25, 2022
Posted in: People & Places
In this month’s Staff Spotlight, we’re tuning in with Pierre Ratte – one of our Acquisition Specialists, and the newest member of the Ag + Open Space team. Before joining us, Pierre earned a Masters in Regional and Environmental Planning …
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Restoration and growth at Oken
August 23, 2022
Posted in: News Articles
We have inspiring news from Oken, one of the greenbelt properties we own and manage in southeast Santa Rosa! Greenbelts are open space lands that act as community separators to limit urban sprawl, to retain the rural and open character …
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Strengthening our local ag community
July 28, 2022
Posted in: News Articles
We’re back with more ASAP Emergency Matching Grant program updates! Read on to hear about how we supported the development of CAFF’s Small Farm Tech Hub, which offered technical support to local ag producers, and how our funds helped Lennie …
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Staff Spotlight: Fraser Ross, Stewardship Specialist
July 28, 2022
Posted in: News Articles
This month we’re catching up with Fraser Ross, one of our Stewardship Specialists, to hear more about his work at Ag + Open Space. Fraser moved to Sonoma County from Scotland in 2014 and has been working with Ag + …