Hood Mountain’s Lawson Addition future being mulled

Final planning is underway for a 247-acre addition to Hood Mountain Regional Park and Open Space Preserve near Kenwood, a backcountry area the county hopes to have open to the public by summer of 2017.

Prospective uses, according to park planner Karen Davis-Brown, could include several environmental campsites, additional trails and use of an existing, ramshackle structure for reserved overnight stays on a ridgeline offering breathtaking views of the Sonoma Valley from above 1,800 feet.

Residents who want a voice in creating the addition master plan can attend a May 19 workshop at the Kenwood Firehouse, 9045 Sonoma Highway. The event begins with an open house from 5:30 to 6 p.m., followed from 6 to?8 p.m. by the workshop.

The so-called Lawson Addition marks the latest expansion of the now 2,000-acre park, the regional system’s largest, thanks to its 2005 acquisition by the Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District. The property was turned over to the park in 2014, filling in a middle section of sprawling wilderness used mainly for hiking.

No major development is planned, but planners and stakeholders so far have prioritized linking up existing trails in the park and providing some hike-in camping opportunities. Overnight visitors would likely have to treat any water, as if they were backpacking, and would be limited to a pit toilet, Davis-Brown said.

“Very backcountry,” she said.

The property features mixed evergreen forest, oak woodlands, grasslands and chaparral, with some special-status plants.

This is the second public workshop toward creation of a master plan, which would be subject to subsequent environmental and public review and then go before Sonoma County supervisors for approval early next year.

More information on the project is available at parks.sonomacounty.ca.gov/About_Us/Project_Details/Hood_Mountain_Lawson_Expansion_Master_Plan.aspx.

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