Bohemia Ecological Preserve is located on the ancestral home of the Coast Miwok people, past, present, and future. We recognize them as the first people and the first stewards of this land. We are on occupied territory and acknowledge the ongoing devastation of colonization.
This 1,000 acre protected open space preserve stewarded by LandPaths in partnership with a private landowner, in the western hills of Sonoma County, is a land of old-growth forests, oak woodlands, coastal meadows, and a treasured waterfall. The land is home to several endangered and at-risk species of flora and fauna, including northern spotted owls, red tree voles, and Pennell’s bird’s beak.
How to Get Involved
Bohemia Ecological Preserve is not open to the public but you are invited to experience the land through one of our many program opportunities. These include regular volunteer stewardship days, hikes, campouts, Inspired Forward, Owl Camp, and outings with a trained Bohemia Docent.
Bohemia Docents are volunteers that lead outings at the property, in exchange for access on their own time. For more information about the Bohemia Docent program, contact Laura Revilla at laura@landpaths.org.
History
The rich watersheds and abundant forests of the Dutch Bill Watershed is the homeland of the Coast Miwok, past, present, and future.
Homesteaders arrived and settled in the area in the late 1800s, including Danish seaman “Dutch Bill” Howards.Three of Bohemia’s creeks are named for him. And keep your eyes peeled for evidence of the old homesteads dating back to the 1900s, including naturalized Amaryllis belladonna flowers (naked ladies) and fruit trees.
The settlers logged the property and mined for chromium through the 1940s. They left behind trash and other relics of the time that we are still cleaning up to this day.
When Bohemia went up for sale in the 1990s, the call to protect and conserve the land began to rise up. In 2012, a deal was struck between private landowners, LandPaths, and the Sonoma Land Trust. Just over 300 acres went to conservation-minded private owners, while the remaining 554 acres were donated to LandPaths. We work in partnership with the family, in common purpose, to steward the land and host environmental education programs and summer camps that are wildly popular and impactful for local youth from all walks of life. It’s a wonderful model of public/private partnership and an example of the benefits of creative, expansive thinking when it comes to land ownership and management.
