Page 10 - Sonoma County Gazette February 2020

COAST cont’d from page 1
For example, two small grants to the Sonoma Land Trust (total $180,000) for analysis of acquisitions south and north of the Russian River from willing sellers, have secured properties and leveraged $75 million to $85 million for the acquisition of more than 25,000 acres along the coast.
These types of partnerships and transactions are also now commonplace throughout the entire county with the leadership of the Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District and our highly successful and effective nonprofit organizations.
In 1962,
Estero Ranch (578 acres); Carrington Ranch (345 acres); Collis conservation easements (1537 acres); Wright Hill Ranch
Doran Beach
(1355 acres); Jenner Headlands (5,630 acres); north coast Lorenzini Ranch, (137 acres); north coast Kashia Pomo
in Bodega Bay
became the first
county park to be
created for public use. Gualala Point, Westside Park and Stillwater Cove followed Doran Beach as county coastal parks.
Reserve (688 acres); and the north coast Stewarts Point Ranch (873 acres).
Public input is also essential to produce the most thorough coastal plan, one that represents not only planning staff thoughts, but the inspection and responses of an engaged public.
One of the biggest threats to the coast – and county residents --came when Pacific Gas & Electric in 1958 proposed a nuclear power plant at Bodega Head, right on top of the San Andreas Fault.
camping improvements have been completed at Salt
We are fortunate to live here, with this
diverse and beautiful landscape. But to love
Their efforts launched a four-year-long
public and legal battle, joined by The Sierra
Club, The UC Marine Lab at Bodega Bay, and others. In 1962, PG&E reluctantly abandoned its plan.
being proposed will be critical to determining the fate of our coast and its resources for decades to come.
Additional parks have been created.
Public involvement is also essential in tracking coastal plan permits and approvals, plan development and implementation and its local and cumulative impacts throughout the county coastal zone. The 1980 Local Coastal Plan had 95 people serving on nine citizen advisory committees and hundreds more were involved. The current Local Coastal Plan effort mirrors that.
Some notable acquisitions are the Willow Creek State Park Addition (5,388 acres total); the Estero Preserve (127 acres); the
Stewarts Point Ranch
Kashia Costal Preserve
been implemented at Westside and Doran Beach county parks, and trail planning and construction are ongoing as part
At about the same time, plans were underway for
massive housing developments along the coast. In the mid-
1960s, the Jenner Bay Corporation proposed a 1,100 acre, 2,000-home project, with condominiums at Goat Rock, a golf course at Shell Beach, and a shopping center and Safeway at the intersection of Highway 1 and Highway 116. A 3,600-acre large lot subdivision was slated for Willow Creek.
What’s Next?
Salt Point State Park
Stillwater Cove Regional Park
The 1976 Coastal Plan allowed counties to make periodic updates to their local coastal plans and provided opportunity for public participation. Such an update is now underway here. Some of the changes
Along with acquisitions, vertical access ways such as Pinnacle and Short Tail Gulch have been built, park improvements have
of the Bodega Bay Trails Plan. On the north coast, trails and
Such steady commitment from all those involved should instill in all of us, a sense of love and caring for the unique and beautiful coastal zone. Those doing the work – volunteers, speakers at public hearings, staff members, nonprofit organizations, elected officials
– insure a lasting legacy for our children and our grandchildren.
Bodega Bay residents fought
back, led by Rose Gaffney and Hazel Mitchell, joined quickly by brothers Karl and Bill Kortum, and forestry student David Pesonen.
the coast, we have to continue to save it.
Fort Ross State Historic Park
https://sonomacounty.ca.gov/PRMD/ Long-Range-Plans/Local-Coastal- Program/Public-Review-Draft/
Point State Park.
For more information go to:
• Planning Commission Hearings (February-March)
The potential loss of the coast to the public sparked a revolution. In 1972, after a massive statewide effort spearheaded by Sonoma County environmentalist Bill Kortum, voters approved Proposition 20, the California Coastal Initiative.
It was a critical moment.
Sonoma Coast State Beach
Sonoma Coast SP Red Hill Addition
Carrington Ranch
Westside Regional Park
Bodega Marine Lab
• Board of Supervisors Hearings (Spring 2020) • Coastal Commission
Enacted into law in 1976, the Act declared that the public should have access to the shoreline all along the California Coast. It also created the Coastal Commission and the Coastal Conservancy to administer and implement the Act.
• Certification
Hearings (Summer 2020)
In the wake of the Act’s passage, intense negotiations between state and local governments with developers scaled back both the proposed Sea Ranch and Bodega Harbour residential developments from a combined total of 7,500 units to roughly 3,100 units. The Willow Creek subdivision was abandoned.
The Act led to incredibly successful partnerships between individuals, nonprofits and state and local agencies. As a result, thousands of acres of conservation easements, miles of coastal trail, and increased service facilities for public use and enjoyment have been acquired.
Doran Beach Regional Park
Sonoma County Protected Lands
Conservation Easement
Agriculture, Greenbelt, Natural Resource, Trails
Title Held by District
Future Parkland or Leased Farmland
Transferred to Partnership
Preserved for recreation & habitat protection
Public or Protected Land
Private Conservation Org.
Conservation Easement by Private Organization
Unprotected Federal, State, County land
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