FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                        Contact:           Wendy Eliot

May 18, 2007                                                                          Conservation Director

                                                                                                707-526-6930 ext. 103

                                                                                                wendy@sonomalandtrust.org

Sonoma Land Trust Purchases and Protects the Lower Pitkin Marsh

Santa Rosa, California – Botanists have dreamed for decades of preserving a Sonoma County site like no other on Earth, and that vision is becoming reality this year. Sonoma Land Trust (SLT) and Synergy PMC signed an agreement this week for the Land Trust to purchase Lower Pitkin Marsh, 27-acres of significant open space located on Gravenstein Highway, between Graton and Forestville in Sonoma County.

"There's nothing else like it on the planet," declared Trust Conservation Director Wendy Eliot. "It's an example of why we do this work."

Just a few months ago, a very different scenario was envisioned for Pitkin Marsh: a development proposal of a 24,000 square foot residential care facility. The development was in its last stages of the permitting process when the owner decided to put the plan on hold and pursue a conservation outcome instead.

The Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District (SCAPOSD), California Department of Fish and Game, California State Coastal Conservancy, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the California Native Plant Society are partners in the protection of this botanically distinctive and irreplaceable wetland property. On Thursday, May 17, SCAPOSD approved $500,000 toward the purchase price of Pitkin Marsh, and Fish and Wildlife has committed $25,000 in federal funding with an eye to adding more.

The Lower Pitkin Marsh property is in the Atascadero Creek watershed and its wetlands have been recognized for many years as an important biotic resource due to their unique habitat characteristics and significant botanical attributes, including several species that are currently listed and protected at either the state or federal level, including white sedge (Carex albida) - a species determined extinct until its rediscovery in 1983 at Pitkin Marsh.  This species is endemic to Sonoma County and has been in decline for many years due to loss of habitat, alteration of hydrology and competition with exotic species. Pitkin Marsh is the only known location in the Western U.S. where three species of beaked rush (Rhyncospora) occur together.

The preservation of this critical piece of natural area would conserve some of the most valuable and vital habitats in Sonoma County, protecting portions of complex mixed native riparian, marsh, oak woodland, and grasslands as well as irreplaceable habitat areas such as perennial wet freshwater marshland and “quaking bogs”.  The creek corridor on the Property provides movement and protection for wildlife between the surrounding ranchettes, agricultural operations, estates and vineyards.  

This acquisition implements the highest ranking priority project identified by Sonoma County’s Planning Department’s “Atlas of Natural Habitat in Sonoma”.

Sonoma Land Trust’s primary goal for acquisition and management of the Lower Pitkin Marsh is the protection of rare, endangered and other sensitive plant species and associated wildlife communities.  Sonoma Land Trust will hold title to the Property and SCAPOSD will hold a perpetual natural resource conservation easement over the land.  The State Coastal Conservancy and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have expressed a commitment to stewardship and restoration to assist in protecting this distinctive area. The property also provides significant educational and interpretive opportunities.

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ABOUT SONOMA LAND TRUST

Founded in 1976, the Sonoma Land Trust works to provide permanent protection of Sonoma County land, its natural beauty and its biotic resources, offering stewardship, education, and guidance for the preservation and enhancement of agricultural, natural, scenic, and open space lands. More information at www.sonomalandtrust.org.