Bayland
Bayland

The Sonoma Land Trust was established in 1976 to provide permanent protection of Sonoma County lands, their natural beauty and their biotic resources.  More than 12,000 acres have been preserved in the last quarter century, thanks to landowners and supporters who work with the Trust to protect the land forever.

Bayland

This 431 acre former diked oat hay land along San Pablo Bay was restored to tidal action in 1996 through a partnership between the Trust, the California State Coastal Conservancy and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Sonoma Baylands offers the salt marsh a chance to reclaim some of the territory it held in early California.  The Sonoma Land Trust purchased the property as part of a larger ranch, reshaped the levees and allowed the bay waters to start the restoration process.  Establishment of the tidal marsh provides habitat for the salt marsh harvest mouse and the California clapper rail, two endangered species.  The California State Coastal Conservancy now owns this land.

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Duck's Head Estero Americano
Duck’s Head Estero Americano

Duck’s Head, Estero Americano

Sonoma Land Trust’s 127 acre Estero Americano Preserve, along the Pacific Flyway, is considered one of the most important areas along the Northern California coast.  The Preserve’s fjord-like slopes and fragile wetlands host abundant wildlife: bat rays forage the mud flats as eagles and hawks hunt the brushy uplands.  The Land Trust purchased 87 acres in 1996 with funding assistance from the California State Coastal Conservancy and Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District, and added another 40 acres in 2001.  Our land stewardship provides for both carefully managed traditional grazing and ecological restoration of the land.

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Estero Americano Fog
Estero Americano Fog

South of Bodega Bay, the Estero Americano separates Sonoma County from Marin County running several miles inland from the Pacific Ocean to Stemple Creek near Fallon.  Rolling grassy hills and rock outcroppings border the Estero, which is part of a national marine sanctuary.  This agricultural area is also a favorite of birder and nature lovers.  In 1997, the Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District, in cooperation with the Sonoma Land Trust and the California Coastal Conservancy protected the 87 acre Hepper property along this scenic waterway.  On the Marin side, the Marin agricultural Land Trust has protected several agricultural properties.

The Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District was formed in 1990 by a vote of the people of Sonoma County to help halt the growing loss of farmland and natural scenic landscapes in the County.  By the end of 1998 the District had protected over 11 properties totaling 28,000 acres.  For more information contact the District at (707) 524-7360

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Farallons chocolate ship
Farallons Chocolate Ship

The Farallones are a small chain of granitic isles lying 25 miles due west of the Golden Gate.  Perched on the brink of a steep undersea escarpment, these islands provide a vital marine refuge where the deep pelagic ocean meets shallower waters of the Continental Shelf.  Fed by oceanic upwelling and the plume from San Francisco Bay, this is one of the world’s richest marine ecosystems.  Hundred’s of thousands of sea birds ~ numbers found nowhere else along the coast ~ form breeding colonies alongside thousands of seals and sea lions.

Biologists from Point Reyes Observatory have studied and protected these islands and their wildlife since 1968, providing year-round vigilance and stewardship under a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service PRBO is a non-profit organization that relies on individual contributions to help protect the unique natural treasures of the Farallones. PRBO, Stinson Beach, CA 94970

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Farallons Indian Head 1995
Farallons Indian Head

The Farallones are a small chain of granitic isles lying 25 miles due west of the Golden Gate.  Perched on the brink of a steep undersea escarpment, these islands provide a vital marine refuge where the deep pelagic ocean meets shallower waters of the Continental Shelf.  Fed by oceanic upwelling and the plume from San Francisco Bay, this is one of the world’s richest marine ecosystems.  Hundred’s of thousands of sea birds ~ numbers found nowhere else along the coast ~ form breeding colonies alongside thousands of seals and sea lions.

Biologists from Point Reyes Observatory have studied and protected these islands and their wildlife since 1968, providing year-round vigilance and stewardship under a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service PRBO is a non-profit organization that relies on individual contributions to help protect the unique natural treasures of the Farallones. PRBO, Stinson Beach, CA 94970

From Jack Stuppin’s 1995 Farallons Series

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