Marin County, California

In 1972, the voters of Marin County approved the dedication of one percent of property tax revenues for the preservation of the County’s natural landscapes and environmental lands, such as the Bolinas Lagoon shown here.

The Golden Gate Bridge tethers Marin County to the City of San Francisco. Despite its location near the center of San Francisco Bay metro area, Marin steadfastly retains much of its rural character through the dedication of government, non-profit organizations and generous individuals.

National and state parklands represent one quarter of the County’s land area. Nevertheless, Marin has been a pioneer in local open space preservation. In 1972, Marin voters approved the creation of the Marin County Open Space District to acquire and manage the County’s outstanding natural landscapes and significant environmental lands as identified for preservation in the Comprehensive Plan, including oak-bay woodlands, savanna, grasslands and salt marshes. The District is funded primarily by a local property tax assessment representing one percent of all property tax revenues. The Open Space District now has 34 open space preserves offering 175 miles of trails within 14,675 acres of land. The County has published a trail guidebook designed to encourage people to hike, bike and enjoy these lands, partly to maintain support for the program.

The Marin Agricultural Land Trust has preserved 38,000 acres to date, including this farm, which forms a greenbelt for the community of Nicasio.

The dairy farms and cattle ranches of western Marin County have been threatened by development for decades, even after zoning code changes increased the minimum lot size to 60 acres. In 1980, a group of dairy farmers formed the Marin Agricultural Land Trust (MALT) designed to purchase easements from landowners who want to stay in farming. Funding comes largely from grants, particularly from the California Coastal Conservancy. So far, MALT has preserved 38,000 acres.

Marin County offers 14 parks and three multi-use recreation paths, including one that takes joggers and cyclists past the houseboats floating in Richardson Bay on their way between Mill Valley and Sausalito.

In addition to the open space preserves and agricultural easements mentioned above, Marin County boasts over 105,000 acres of parks representing roughly one third of its land area. The National Park Service operates the Point Reyes National Seashore and the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, which in combination stretch from San Francisco Bay to the northwestern corner of the County. California adds no fewer than six state parks to this total. Two water districts protect another 22,000 acres of critically-located watershed land. Finally, most of the remaining privately-owned agricultural land is at least temporarily protected by state programs that maintain farmland under contract for agricultural use for ten or twenty years.

Marin County’s 105,000 acres of parkland protect a wealth of rare animals and plants including these dwarf oaks along a trail in Mount Burdell Preserve in the hills above the City of Novato.

In combination, the open space preserves, MALT easements, parks, watersheds and farmland contracts are succeeding in concentrating development in eastern Marin County where it is easiest to serve with transportation and other infrastructure. That leaves roughly the western three quarters of Marin County in rural and natural uses for future generations.