San Geronimo Commons Now In Public Hands With Marin County

San Francisco, CA – Today marks a historic milestone in conservation efforts as San Geronimo Commons officially transitions from Trust for Public Land [TPL] into public stewardship under the guardianship of Marin County [The County].  With the full endorsement of the County Board of Supervisors and deep community support, this action brings the Commons one step closer to becoming the County’s newest park and future headquarters for the Marin County Fire Department, solidifying the commitment to preserve and protect this beloved landscape.   

“A landmark project like San Geronimo Commons is a force-multiplier. It not only prioritizes habitat and ecosystem restoration, but it also provides a critical linkage for thousands of acres of public land, while bolstering community climate resilience and making space for modern fire facilities in west Marin,” said Guillermo Rodriguez, California State Director for The Trust for Public Land. “TPL applauds the leadership of Marin County in ensuring this park and community space came to fruition, this is truly a win-win for the region. TPL is proud to have played a part in putting this incredible landscape into public use for generations to come.”  

San Geronimo Commons, spanning over 150-acres, boasts diverse ecosystems, scenic vistas, and recreational opportunities, making it a treasured asset for Marin County residents and visitors alike. Its significance as a habitat for endangered salmon underscores the ecological importance of its preservation. 

With approval from the Marin County Board of Supervisors, TPL and Marin County entered into an agreement that gave the County exclusive right to purchase the property. Under the agreement, the County conducted an environmental review process as it explored potential future uses of the property, including critical fire station and fire facility uses. 

“We must ensure our infrastructure is robust and capable of meeting the growing demands for emergency services and disaster response,” said Marin County Fire Chief, Jason Weber. “By centralizing our community’s Fire Department headquarters we can effectively serve for generations to come. We look forward to a robust community process as we develop the new Fire Headquarters.” 

“This purchase reinforces the County’s commitment to protecting this cherished landscape,” said Marin County Supervisor, Dennis Rodoni. “With the partnership among our departments, we are confident this space will serve the community in preserving natural habitats, enhancing public safety, and providing a vital community resource for years to come.” 

While under TPL’s stewardship, San Geronimo Commons enjoyed broad public use, serving as an important recreational and public safety hub for Marin residents – for example, TPL, in partnership with community groups, hosted COVID-19 testing and vaccination clinics, a drive-through food pantry, public health fairs, salmon walks, youth cross-country races, and even served as basecamp for CalFire firefighters as they battled the 2020 Woodward Fire in Point Reyes National Seashore. Now, those recreation and community efforts can be more formalized for future enjoyment. 

“Access to this incredible outdoor space during the pandemic was crucial. It enabled us to expand our Food Bank, offer local public health services, and provide healthy activities for our community members. We look forward to collaborating with Marin County Fire to create more opportunities for the wellbeing of our local residents,” said Alexa Davidson, Executive Director of the San Geronimo Valley Community Center.

San Geronimo Commons is one of the largest parcels of land adjacent to San Geronimo Creek and is also home to Larsen Creek, with the two waterways comprising critical aquatic habitat within the Lagunitas Creek Watershed, a key focus of local, state, and federal efforts to protect and conserve protected fish species. Protecting this land for future restoration and wildlife corridor enhancement will bolster climate resilience and allow animals to adapt and migrate, including critical fish species like the Coho Salmon. The Lagunitas Creek Watershed is a high-priority salmon recovery watershed, and San Geronimo Creek provides roughly 40% of the available spawning habitat in the entire watershed. 

“Trout Unlimited is proud of its partnership with Trust for Public Land and excited to partner with Marin County and the surrounding community in the restoration efforts at the San Geronimo Commons,” said Anna Halligan, Trout Unlimited’s North Coast Coho Project Director. “This is a unique site that will provide many opportunities to improve spawning and rearing habitat for endangered salmon and steelhead, restore the natural hydrology of the land, and reconnect wildlife across four adjacent open space preserves, while honoring traditional knowledge and protecting cultural resources.” 

Situated in the heart of West Marin, the San Geronimo Commons sits at the nexus of four existing public open space preserves – Roy’s Redwoods, French Ranch, Maurice Thorner, and Gary Giacomini Preserve. The work to rewild San Geronimo Commons is not only reconnecting riparian waterways and rebuilding habitat by expanding greenspace, but also creating a hub for recreational corridors.

San Geronimo Commons not only serves as an invaluable crossroads for both wildlife and public recreational trail use locally but also provides a critical linkage to trails connecting the Golden Gate National Recreation Area and the Point Reyes National Seashore, creating new opportunities for people to get outside and play.

This decades-long project to protect San Geronimo Commons would not have been accomplished without the generous support of California’s Wildlife Conservation Board [WCB] and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. 

“WCB is excited to help TPL and MOST protect this stunning landscape and guarantee public enjoyment forever,” said Jennifer Norris, WCB Executive Director. “This project’s accessible natural open space will be available to support community and recreational uses, including a multi-use trail system with connectivity to surrounding open spaces. The project will also provide wildlife connectivity across the San Geronimo Valley floor. Water that was diverted from Larsen Creek to irrigate the former golf course will now remain instream to support federal and state-listed Central California coast coho salmon, steelhead trout and California freshwater shrimp. With the importance of advancing biodiversity conservation through the 30×30 initiative, WCB’s mission is more important than ever before, and the protection of San Geronimo Commons serves as a monumental victory.”  

“This transfer represents a major milestone in the long-term protection and restoration of a critical watershed,” said Dan Winterson of the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, which provided funding for the project at multiple stages. “This has been a challenging process that could have failed at numerous points, and its success is testament to the diligent work and creative problem solving by TPL and the County.”  

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About Trust for Public Land     

Trust for Public Land (TPL) is a national nonprofit that works to connect everyone to the benefits and joys of the outdoors. As a leader in equitable access to the outdoors, TPL works with communities to create parks and protect public land where they are needed most. Since 1972, TPL has protected more than 4 million acres of public land, created more than 5,420 parks, trails, schoolyards, and iconic outdoor places, raised $94 billion in public funding for parks and public lands, and connected nearly 9.7 million people to the outdoors. To learn more, visit tpl.org