Preserving marshland

Jon Sassin walks through the lush marshland on the Lower Pitkin Marsh area that adjoins his property in Forestville. Twenty-seven acres of the marshland will be preserved as part of a conservation easement. Sassin and other near the property along Highway 116 in the Forestville area (Photo by - mark aronoff) xxx Photos by MARK ARONOFF / The Press Democrat

By Katy Hillenmeyer
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
Wednesday, May 23, 2007

Twenty-seven acres of west Sonoma County marshland where rare plants exist would be preserved under a deal struck by conservation groups and a Rohnert Park chiropractor who had planned to build a health facility there.
The parcel on Highway 116 between Forestville and Graton has "unique, rare plant species that are found literally nowhere else in the world," Sonoma Land Trust Conservation Director Wendy Eliot said.
One of the plants, white sedge, was believed extinct until it was rediscovered in 1983 in Pitkin Marsh.
Alan Goldhamer, the chiropractor, has agreed to sell his portion of the lower marsh for $970,000.
"They're getting a very, very beautiful piece of property for a very reasonable price," Goldhamer said. "This will preserve the land in its entirety."
Last fall, Goldhamer sought approval for a 29-bed inpatient nutritional facility that he envisioned as an "environmental demonstration project" to conserve the land's creekside, wetland, forest and grassy habitats. Goldhamer said he invested two years and $1.6 million in the property and environmental studies.
But neighbors and county, state and federal agencies sought more protections, setting the stage for negotiations between the Sonoma Land Trust and Goldhamer's company, Synergy PMC, that yielded a sale agreement Friday.
"It's just an amazing biotic resource," said Jon Sassin, a neighbor whose back yard abuts the land Goldhamer sold. "Precious pieces of property like this need to be preserved for everybody's benefit . . . not just for the local benefit."
The Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District on Thursday agreed to spend up to $500,000 toward the purchase, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has committed $25,000 with the possibility of adding more, Eliot said.
Other collaborators include the state Department of Fish and Game, California Coastal Conservancy and the California Native Plant Society.
Pitkin Marsh is the only known spot in the western United States where three species of beaked rush occur together, according to the Land Trust, and it is home to other unusual features, including fragrant native azaleas and floating mats of vegetation called "quaking bogs."
In between surrounding vineyards, farms, estates and homes, species including mountain lions, bobcats, weasels, rabbits, squirrels, eagles, red-tail hawks and turtles have found a haven there, Sassin said.
The money to complete the land's sale is expected to come from the state's Wildlife Conservation Board, which holds its next quarterly meeting in August, Eliot said.
The Land Trust will take title and manage the property until a public agency takes over, and the Open Space District will hold a perpetual conservation easement over the land, she said. Scientists have limited access to Lower Pitkin Marsh, but docent-led public tours are expected to begin in September.
A dip in busy two-lane Highway 116 borders one edge of the property, making safe parking one of the hurdles visitors will face.
"We do want folks to see how special this place is, but we'll need to do it carefully," Eliot said.

You can reach Staff Writer Katy Hillenmeyer at 521-5274 or katy.hillenmeyer@pressdemocrat.com.

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