Sonoma Coast Ranch Preserved by $3.8M Purchase

(The Sonoma Land Trust’s Estero Americano Preserve)

SONOMA COAST - A section of land along the Sonoma Coast south of Bodega Bay has been preserved with the purchase of the 547-acre Estero Ranch, several conservation organizations announced Thursday.

The $3.8 million purchase was completed Dec. 24 and made possible with funding by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the California Coastal Conservancy and the Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District.

The Open Space District, which contributed $1.95 million, will retain a conservation easement and a passive recreation covenant on the property to protect natural resources and agricultural values, according to Sheri Cardo of Sonoma Land Trust, which secured the funding.

The Wildlands Conservancy took title to the property and will manage it, Cardo said. Grazing and scientific research and education will continue and the expansion of the existing California Coastal Trail will provide passive recreation.

The property includes three-quarters of a mile of Pacific coastline and a mile of frontage of the Estero Americano Preserve, Cardo said. The property affords views of Point Reyes, Bodega Head and Doran Beach. It contains rare coastal prairie and elevations between sea level and 600 feet.

The Sonoma Land Trust’s 127-acre Estero Americano Preserve, a relatively undisturbed fiord-like coastal estuary, is one of the most biologically dynamic areas on the Northern California Coast, Cardo said.

The Bottarini family bought the ranch in 1954 and placed it on the market in 2014, Cardo said. The Albini family owned the ranch between 1919 and 1954 and ran a dairy, but the southernmost tip of the land is used as an aquaculture farm, Cardo said.

“This special property deserves to be thoughtfully managed to protect the natural resources while continuing its historic productive agricultural use,” Sonoma Land Trust’s Acquisitions Director Amy Chestnut said. “It was loved and cared for by the Bottarinis for more than 60 years and the intent is to carry on in much the same way.”

“The estuary is where life begins for hundreds of fish and wildlife species, and the working ranch is a cornerstone in the scenic landscape of the Sonoma Coast,” Sonoma Land Trust Executive Director Dave Koehler said.

“Its permanent protection has been a conservation goal of all the partners for more than 20 years.”

-Bay City News Service; image via The Sonoma Land Trust; map via Marin Watersheds