ABSTRACT
Sonoma County, with shores on the northern end of San Francisco Bay as well as the Pacific Ocean, saw its population almost double between 1970 and 1990. The 1989 general plan warned that growth threatened to replace the county's famous vineyards, forests, foothills, and dairy farms with uninterrupted sprawl. The plan implements these ambitious goals through a combination of regulations and preservation, including the acquisition and administration of open space using the Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District, which receives roughly $18 million per year of funding from the quarter-cent open space sales tax. Sonoma County acknowledges that its success in open space preservation is greatly helped by the work of other public agencies and private conservation organizations. The California State Parks system protects more than 31,000 acres in Sonoma County. The California Department of Fish and Game protects the 539-acre Laguna Wildlife Area, the second-largest remaining freshwater wetland in northern California.
