Sebastopol holding session on Laguna de Santa Rosa preserve

Sebastopol will hold a community workshop Saturday morning to discuss the future of the Laguna de Santa Rosa Wetlands Preserve at the eastern edge of town.

The aim of the 9 a.m. session is to collect public input toward a longer range management plan designed to protect wildlife habitat while enhancing human appreciation and enjoyment of the 80-acre site.

Issues to be considered include needs for new trails or walking bridges, native plant restoration, illegal camping and maintenance resources, Planning Director Kenyon Webster said.

Webster also has suggested the plan should address connectivity between various areas with in the preserve and downtown Sebastopol and The Barlow.

The city council approved a nearly $90,000 consulting contract with Prunuske Chatham last winter to facilitate and draw up the management plan, which is required of the city by conservation partners and local regulators, Webster said.

The city-owned preserve is part of the 14-mile-long Laguna de Santa Rosa, which freshwater wetland complex that runs from the Russian River in Forestville to the community of Cotati, draining a 254-square-mile watershed.

The preserve created by the city in 1998 and expanded since then includes several properties on both sides of Highway 12 at the city gateway.

Prunuske Chatham and the Laguna Foundation will lead Saturday’s workshop, which runs from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. at the Sebastopol Center for the Arts, 282 South High St.

Those who cannot attend but would like to submit comments to the city can email their thoughts to kwebster@cityofsebastopol.org,

You can reach Staff Writer Mary Callahan at 521-5249 or mary.callahan@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @MaryCallahanB.