Pepperwood Foundation

Pepperwood’s 3,200 acre preserve, in Eastern Sonoma County, serves as a refuge for over 900 species of plants and animals. They are leaders in ecosystem-climate research, producing critical science to help guide their region’s natural resource management and conservation planning. Pepperwood also offers environmental education opportunities for all ages to cultivate an ethic of conservation in the North Bay. (Substrategy: Wildfire)

The Pepperwood Foundation will lead the development of a comprehensive public-private strategy to improve the management of forested lands in Sonoma County, increase the resiliency of the forest, and protect residents living in the wildland-urban interface. The project will bring together landowners, government agencies, and business and civic leaders to develop an economically sustainable solution for the management of forest lands. The results of the pilot will serve as a model for other California counties and beyond. While there are a handful of emerging forest management collaboratives on public lands in the U.S., this model will meet the forest management challenges in Sonoma and much of California, where a large portion of forested lands is owned by small private landowners and is at increasing risk of wildfire.