Advancing Conservation and Restoration—2025 update on land strategy

2025 was no easy year, but it reminded us just how much can happen when we work together to care for these lands, communities, and waters we call home.

With your support, we expanded protected habitats, strengthened wildlife corridors, restored wetlands and creeks, and brought more people into closer connection with the natural world, all across Sonoma County. Every acre conserved, seed planted, and outing hosted reflects the collective stewardship of thousands of people working together towards a shared vision of a future where we live in harmony with the natural world.

Protecting Biodiversity

To understand how wildlife moves through a landscape carved by roads and development, we launched a 36-camera study along Highway 12 in the Sonoma Valley. The photos and footage captured on these cameras will help identify patterns of how and where animals are trying to cross this busy rural highway. This study is in partnership with Caltrans, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, and Pathways for Wildlife, and will help us improve habitat connectivity throughout the Sonoma Valley Wildlife Corridor and reduce fatal collisions. By helping us identify areas where mountain lions, deer, and other species are more likely to cross, this study will inform any work that can be done to ensure their safe crossing—for people and wildlife.

Statewide, our advocacy helped secure over $3.5 billion in funding for habitat connectivity, coastal resilience, and Bay shoreline restoration through the release of Proposition 4 funding that almost got left out of the State’s current budget. That victory carried real weight here at home in Sonoma County. For example, the State Coastal Conservancy received $62 million for coastal resilience and the SF Bay Restoration Authority received $40 million. This funding has been critical for our Baylands program, and we are relying on Prop. 4 funding for the 2026 Osprey Hill Ranch acquisition on the Sonoma coast. Another key partner, the Wildlife Conservation Board received $200 million in funds for protection and restoration of rivers and water resources and important habitat areas.

Living With Wildfire

This year, we completed more than 100 acres of prescribed burns across four preserves: Little Black Mountain, Pole Mountain, Glen Oaks Ranch, and Sonoma Mountain Vernal Pools. In total, we’ve treated 450 acres toward our 500-acre goal by 2028, and the difference on the ground—healthier grasslands, revived oak woodlands, resurgence of native plants—show that good fire is working.