Towering old-growth forest … protected forever

April 19, 2017 — The project has been completed. Howlett Ranch is now protected for all time!

February 21, 2017 ­— Back in 2014, Sonoma Land Trust began working to help a family on the North Coast protect their 1,380-acre property that includes one of the last remaining intact old-growth forests in Sonoma County. The property is also adjacent to Buckeye Forest, the former Preservation Ranch, and so provides desirable habitat connectivity. Thanks to the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, Sonoma Land Trust provided the landowners with a loan that enabled them to keep their forest intact until they could complete the sale of a conservation easement to our partner, the Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District. In the meanwhile, our acquisitions staff also secured additional funding from the Moore Foundation ($1.28 million) and The San Francisco Foundation ($50,000) toward the $6.13 million easement cost. Today, we’re excited to announce that the Open Space District received approval this week from its Board of Directors (the Board of Supervisors) to purchase the conservation easement over Howlett Ranch. “Projects like this one are important because it takes generations to restore old-growth redwood habitat — so we need to protect what remains now while we have the chance,” says land acquisition project manager Ariel Patashnik.