North Sonoma Mountain Regional Park and Open Space Preserve provides public access to one of Sonoma County’s most significant summits, with stunning views of the Bay Area. The scenic grasslands and relatively unfragmented oak, bay, and redwood forests of the 821-acre Preserve also provide crucial habitat for wildlife, watershed protection, and regional trail linkages. PCI completed an ecological assessment of the property for Sonoma County Ag + Open Space in 2013. PCI’s Ecological Resources Report mapped vegetation communities on the Preserve and described the ecological processes important to the Preserve:  fire, grazing, dispersal and natural regeneration, hydrologic cycling and geomorphology, maintenance of habitat diversity, and nutrient cycling. This information helped guide conservation easement and long-term park planning.

Since 2019, PCI’s biologists and landscape architects have been working with Regional Parks to develop a plan for public access opportunities on the site that meets both community goals and protects and enhances sensitive resources. PCI will also prepare the CEQA documents for the Master Plan.