To: Board of Directors of the Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District
Department or Agency Name(s): Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District
Staff Name and Phone Number: Misti Arias, General Manager: 565-7264; Leslie Lew, Natural Resources Specialist: 565-7367
Vote Requirement: Majority
Supervisorial District(s): Fifth District
Title:
Title
Camp Meeker Forest Open Space Preserve - Initial Public Access and Operation & Maintenance Funding Agreement (Property No. 0585)
End
Recommended Action:
Recommended action
Authorize the General Manager of the Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District to enter into a funding agreement with the Camp Meeker Recreation and Park District to provide $1,421,252 for initial public access and operation and maintenance of the Camp Meeker Forest Open Space Preserve.
(Fifth District)
end
Executive Summary:
The 371-acre Camp Meeker Forest Open Space Preserve (“Preserve”) is owned and operated by the Camp Meeker Recreation and Park District (CMRPD). Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District (Ag + Open Space) contributed $2,225,000 towards the purchase of the Preserve. CMRPD conveyed a Conservation Easement (“Easement”) and Recreation Conservation Covenant (“Recreation Covenant”) to Ag + Open Space on December 13, 2024. The Easement protects the scenic, natural, recreational, and educational resource values of the Preserve, which is adjacent to the unincorporated community of Camp Meeker. The Recreation Covenant ensures the Preserve is open to the public in perpetuity as an open space preserve after compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act
CMRPD is requesting $1,421,252 for specific initial public access and operation and maintenance activities. Consistent with Ag + Open Space's Expenditure Plan and its Initial Public Access and Operation and Maintenance (IPAOM) Policy, Ag + Open Space may provide funding, on a reimbursement basis, to assist in providing public access on Ag + Open Space-protected recreational properties. In addition, due to the extraordinary circumstance of potential damage to Baumert Reservoir, the term of this IPAOM agreement will be extended for an additional three years. The Reservoir is located upstream of the primary trailhead for Camp Meeker Forest Open Space Preserve and was damaged during heavy rains in early 2026.
Discussion:
The Preserve is located on western edge of the unincorporated community of Camp Meeker, about 14 miles west of Santa Rosa. Land cover is primarily second- and third-growth coast redwood and Douglas fir forest with a typical mixture of hardwood species such as tanoak, madrone, and California bay laurel. The Preserve includes Baumert Reservoir, which is at the upper end of the primary trailhead into the Preserve, the dam of which was overtopped and damaged during 2026 storms. Dutch Bill Creek runs along the eastern portion of Property and is a perennial stream used by anadromous fish, including federally and state-listed endangered coho salmon.
The Preserve is a treasure in the community, and hikers have been using the area informally for years. The Preserve includes about 10 miles of historic logging roads constructed prior to modern drainage and erosion control standards. While these corridors provide the most environmentally appropriate locations for recreational access because the landform is already disturbed, the logging roads currently exhibit drainage failures, surface erosion, and localized slope instability that contribute significant amounts of sediment to nearby ephemeral streams and ultimately into Dutch Bill Creek and the Russian River.
One of the proposed projects funded by this agreement will rehabilitate these corridors through targeted drainage improvements and erosion control measures, allowing them to function as stable access routes and natural-surface recreational trails. By stabilizing and restoring these areas, the proposed project will reduce sediment delivery to nearby waterways while establishing sustainable trail system of hiking and biking trails that allows the public to safely experience the preserve. The proposed project also includes sections of new trails and roads which are intended to prevent visitors from hiking onto adjacent, privately-owned properties and to optimize emergency access.
In addition, a landslide affecting the Baumert Reservoir embankment has created stability concerns that require corrective action to protect reservoir infrastructure, reduce erosion, and improve site safety. The proposed project includes slide removal, geotechnical assessment, engineering design, and embankment reconstruction to stabilize the affected slope, reduce
sediment delivery, and protect water resources.
The Preserve is intended to be a recreational destination point for Camp Meeker residents and visitors, offering the public the ability to access and experience multiple habitat types and scenic vistas within walking distance of nearby homes. Pursuant to the Recreation Covenant, the Preserve will be open to the public daily once the CMRPD completes its California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) review and public access improvements, which will be funded through the proposed agreement.
Funding Agreement
On February 2, 2016, by Resolution No. 16-0040, the Board adopted its current Initial Public Access and Operation and Maintenance (IPAOM) Policy under which Ag + Open Space provides initial public access and operation and maintenance funding for recreational lands protected by Ag + Open Space, consistent with the Expenditure Plan approved by Sonoma County voters in November 2006 as part of the Sonoma County Open Space, Clean Water and Farmland Protection Measure, Measure F.
Ag + Open Space recommends entering into an IPAOM funding agreement with the CMRPD in which Ag+ Open Space will provide $1,421,252 for specific initial public access items described in the IPAOM Grant Agreement (Attachment 1). The items include trail development and road rehabilitation, operations and maintenance, compliance and permitting, signage and other visitor facilities, reservoir stabilization upstream of the primary trailhead, and community outreach and volunteer coordination.
All funds must be expended by December 13, 2030. In accordance with the 2016 Ag + Open Space IPAOM policy, the term of IPAOM agreements shall be “three years from the date of acquisition by the receiving entity, unless extraordinary circumstances can be demonstrated.” The Ag + Open Space General Manager is requesting an extension of three years to complete the work plan for the Camp Meeker Forest IPAOM agreement because the Baumert Reservoir spillway was blocked by debris during heavy rains in early 2026. The Reservoir is located upstream of the primary trailhead for Camp Meeker Forest Open Space Preserve and must be evaluated for potential structural damage and repaired, if needed. This extraordinary circumstance necessitates a six-year term for the Preserve IPAOM agreement so that permits pertinent to dam and embankment repair can be obtained and any structural damage remediated.
California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)
Funding for CEQA review by the CMRPD is included in the proposed funding agreement. All funding for alterations and improvements is conditioned on a determination by the Ag + Open Space General Manager that there has been full compliance with CEQA.
Was this item identified as an opportunity to apply the Racial Equity Toolkit?
No
Prior Board Actions:
August 20, 2024, Reso. 24-0332: Ag + Open Space Board of Directors authorized up to $2,225,000 of funding toward the Camp Meeker Recreation and Park District’s purchase of a fee interest in the Camp Meeker Forest Open Space Preserve, Ag + Open Space’s acquisition of a conservation easement and recreation covenant over the Preserve, and replacement of the Aho-Chenoweth conservation easement with the Camp Meeker Forest Open Space Preserve conservation easement.
February 2, 2016, Reso 16-0040: Ag + Open Space Board of Directors approved its IPAOM Policy.
April 11, 1995, Reso 95-0420: Ag + Open Space Board of Directors authorized acceptance of a conservation easement and assignment of development rights from Pat Chenoweth-Aho et al, in the vicinity of Occidental-Camp Meeker Road.
Fiscal Summary
|
Expenditures |
FY 26-27 Adopted |
FY 27-28 Projected |
FY 28-29 Projected |
|
Budgeted Expenses |
$921,746 |
$328,408 |
$171,098 |
|
Additional Appropriation Requested |
|
|
|
|
Total Expenditures |
$921,746 |
$328,408 |
$171,098 |
|
Funding Sources |
|
|
|
|
General Fund/WA GF |
|
|
|
|
State/Federal |
|
|
|
|
Fees/Other |
$921,746 |
$328,408 |
$171,098 |
|
Use of Fund Balance |
|
|
|
|
Contingencies |
|
|
|
|
Total Sources |
$921,746 |
$328,408 |
$171,098 |
Narrative Explanation of Fiscal Impacts:
Ag + Open Space has adequate appropriations in its FY 26-27 IPAOM budget for the full grant agreement amount of $1,421,252, although only $921,746 is expected to be expended in FY 26-27. The project is funded by Sonoma County voter-approved Measure F, whose Expenditure Plan allows up to 10% of annual Measure F sales tax revenue to be accumulated in a separate fund for IPAOM activities. The fund had accumulated $12,982,805 as of June 30, 2026.
Narrative Explanation of Staffing Impacts (If Required):
N/A
Attachments:
1. Camp Meeker Forest Open Space Preserve Initial Public Access and Operations and Maintenance Agreement
Related Items “On File” with the Clerk of the Board:
None