Quailbrook: The Place of Hope and Beauty By Margaret Spaulding

"We've been looking for a place for three years, and this was our sixth escrow. I'm so happy the other five escrows failed," observed David Anderson, MD, who with his partner Marie Chandoha, recently purchased the 160-acre Quailbrook Ranch on Sonoma Mountain. Asked what was so special about Quailbrook, Anderson noted, "Years ago Marie had a dream that someday we would find a piece of property. In the dream it was called the place of hope and beauty. The dream informed our search." He added that this choice involved a public&em;private collaboration that "seems to be what we wanted to do all along."

This public-private purchase, while fulfilling their personal dreams, has provided some gifts to others who love Sonoma Mountain .

Conservation Protection

On April 22, Earth Day, this year, the Sonoma County Open Space District announced the acquisition, for $1.6 million dollars, of a conservation easement over the entire 160 acres of Quailbrook. The District purchased the easement from the previous owner, in consultation and negotiation with the aspiring buyers, Anderson and Chandoha. According to realtor Michael Friedenberg who represented the buyers, creating the easement reduced the market value of the property making it more attractive to the purchasers who also wanted to see the protections in place.

According to District 1 Supervisor Valerie Brown, "The easement provides multiple public benefits by preserving important scenic and biotic resources while enhancing recreational access."

Quailbrook, on the north slope of Sonoma Mountain, actually consists of two 80-acre parcels. The northern acreage, consisting largely of oak woodland and in places overgrazed and suffering from erosion, has now been designated "Forever Wild."

Sustainable Ag and a Trail

In the southern portion, now protected for agricultural use, the new owners plan to build a residence and engage in a form of agriculture known as permaculture, described by Anderson as “domesticating what nature does on its own in an ecosystem. Agriculture gives back to the land instead of extracting from it. It's all about how you tend the soil and the water."

Also, according to Marta Puente of the Sonoma County OSD, across the southern 80 acres, Anderson and Chandoha have agreed to dedicate to the county an "irrevocable trail corridor" that will ultimately connect to Jack London State Park.

Quailbrook Ranch, traditionally used for cattle grazing, borders Cook ranch to the west and south and touches the south west corner of Jacobs Ranch, both protected by the Open Space District. Roughly square in shape, the land that now constitutes the ranch is reported to have been part of the Duerson Ranch that dates to the turn of the last century. Michael Dow and a group of investors purchased the property in the mid- 1970's, according to documents from OSD.

Anderson and Chandoha, who refer to themselves as stewards of the land, are now looking for a new name for the land, one that reflects its earlier twolegged residents, the Coast Miwok. May they find the hope and beauty they seek.