Fitzsimmons Ranch in Sonoma County – an inholding of private land within 2,000-acre Hood Mountain Regional Park and Open Space Preserve – encapsulates much of what makes the Bay Area’s natural areas special. Blessed with stunning views as far away as San Francisco, the ranch is part of an 85-mile wildlife movement corridor that also possesses rare plant communities and is a significant source of water resources.
With long-time partner Sonoma Land Trust and other local stakeholders, the Moore Foundation supported efforts to ensure that Fitzsimmons Ranch is preserved so future generations of visitors can benefit, and wildlife can thrive and adapt in this important corridor of the Mayacamas Mountains.
The land has a rich modern history; it is an undeveloped historic cattle ranch located adjacent to Hood Mountain and has been in family ownership since it was homesteaded in the early 1900’s. It has a long history of cattle grazing, family occupancy and recreational uses. It is located in the Sonoma Creek watershed of the Mayacamas Mountains, with mountain meadows, chaparral and rare serpentine areas.
Preserving this L-shaped ranch is an important step to protecting and expanding the linkages for wildlife habitat across the Mayacamas. Rapidly increasing development is stressing wildlife and fragmenting open space and natural habitats in this range. If this property is not conserved, the current zoning would allow for homesite or other development that would threaten watershed health, biological diversity, climate resiliency and management integrity of Hood Mountain Regional Park and Sugarloaf Ridge State Park.
The foundation’s Bay Area Program aims to preserve the special character of areas like Fitzsimmons Ranch, and the expansion of conserved lands networks benefits the plants and animals native to California. Keeping this open space intact and developing plans for future public access will allow Bay Area residents to explore and connect with these lands that are vital to the past, present and future ecosystems in the area.
Image: View of the grasslands and forested hills on Fitzsimmons with the San Francisco Bay, Oakland, and San Francisco beyond. Credit: Sonoma Land Trust
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