Page 15 - Sonoma County Gazatte May 2017

Tolay Lake Regional Park Master Plan Up for Approval
By Vesta Copestakes
The Final Draft EIR for Tolay Lake Regional Park will be completed
and the EIR and Master Plan is slated to be taken to the County Board of Supervisors for approval in May 2017.
This process began in June 2015 with the Notice of Preparation of the Environmental Impact Report, followed by a public meeting in July of 2015. Community workshops and public meetings have been held throughout the process to make certain that all parties both interested and concerned would have a chance for input all along the way. Water rights, environmental review, wildlife concerns have all been taken into consideration while working to protect and preserve his valuable land for public access.
The whole process of obtaining this land for a public park began many
years ago when Regional Parks saw an opportunity to save this historic working ranch from being developed into housing. Not only does the ranch have considerable historic significance, but it is also a fragile ecosystem and watershed. A campaign was started to solicit funding to purchase the land and from there to open it to public access.
Because of the historic nature of the park as well as its fragile ecosystem, every phase of use and development has been carefully studied and monitored. The long-held tradition of a pumpkin patch every fall continues each October with educational opportunities to learn about the people who have inhabited and worked this land
over the past centuries.
It’s exciting to see the plan come to fruition, but especially fulfilling to know that the first park planners who
saw an opportunity to preserve this working ranch and open it to the public are able to see their dream come true.
To LEARN MORE
about this incredible journey from ranch to park, please visit: Tolay Lake Regional Park Master Plan.
5/17 - www.sonomacountygazette.com - 15