JENNER HEADLANDS PRESERVE

Jenner Headlands is a spectacular 5,630-acre mosaic of redwood and Douglas-fir forests, oak woodland, chaparral and coastal prairie overlooking the Pacific Ocean. The Preserve adjoins Pacific Coast Highway for 2.5 miles adjacent to Sonoma Coast State Park, just north of the Russian River Estuary. Many rare and endangered species inhabit the property including the northern spotted owl, peregrine falcon and red tree vole. Deer, bobcat, coyote, mountain lion and steelhead trout are also found on the property.

This 2009 acquisition was a result of the dedicated four-year effort by the Sonoma Land Trust and Sonoma County Ag + Open Space. Five other funding sources include the California Coastal Conservancy, the California Wildlife Conservation Board, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, and Forest Legacy Program. The Wildlands Conservancy loaned and guaranteed loans totaling $10.6 million to ensure this acquisition when funding was threatened. It is the single largest nonprofit land acquisition in Sonoma County history that is open to the public daily free of charge.

CONSERVATION OUTCOMES

The Wildlands Conservancy and Sonoma Land Trust worked closely in developing a resource management plan to restore the coastal prairie and to aid the recovery of old growth redwood forests from decades of logging. Removal of logging road impacts and restoring clear running streams will aid the recovery of the endangered Coho salmon.