Tour the NCRC&DC
The North Coast RC&D Area includes four counties north of San Francisco. Marin, Sonoma, and Mendocino Counties are Pacific coastal counties and Lake County is inland. The Area begins immediately north of San Francisco at the Golden Gate Bridge, and spans the coast for 175 miles. The area has a combined population estimated at 869,675 in 2006, with as much as 38% of the population in rural areas. Major cities include San Rafael, Novato, Petaluma, Santa Rosa, Cloverdale and Ukiah.
LAKE COUNTY
Lake County with 890,560 acres and a population of 65,933 takes its name from Clear Lake, the dominant geographic feature in the county. Lake’s population is projected to increase by 31% over the next ten years with retirees attracted to lower land prices. Agriculture is a large industry with grapes, pears and walnuts being major crops. The gross value of Lake county agricultural production for 2005 was $61,542,811.
Clear Lake, Lake County, California
MARIN COUNTY
Almost 50% of the land use of Marin County’s 530,050 acres is agriculture. The majority of the population of 248,742 lives in the eastern and southern portion of the county. The agricultural community consists mostly of dairy and livestock operations accounting for 80% of agricultural production. Tomales Bay and other estuaries support shellfishing, including commercial aquaculture operations.
 Dairy pasture lands, Marin County |
 Tomales Bay, Marin County |
MENDOCINO COUNTY
Menndocino County represents a land area of 2,482,050 acres with a population of 87,400. The economy of the county is traditionally agricultural and forestry based, with newer economic growth coming from tourism tied to the rugged beauty of the county. The forest products industry is in a major downturn—the county now ranks fifth in timber products production behind Humboldt, Siskiyou, Shasta, and Plumas Counties—and produced 103 million board feet of logs ($74.5 million value) in 2007, down six percent from 2006 and down from 227 million board feet in 1999. Wine grapes are now planted on over 17,000 acres, and in 2007 were worth over $75 million, equaling the value of milled logs. Pears, apples, and livestock production follow in revenue generation. The tourism economy is generally growing, with nature- and agri-tourism growth particularly strong. The county population is projected to grow at 18% over the next ten years with Bay Area migrants relocating to rural homesteads.
 Anderson Valley, Mendocino County |
 Navarro Winery, Mendocino County |
SONOMA COUNTY
Sonoma County with 1,131,650 acres and a population of 464,222 hold by far the largest population in the council area. Urbanization and conversion of agricultural and open space lands to housing development has increased pressures on water and land resources. Wine grapes are a $416 million crop in the county, followed by dairy at $98.7 million. Other livestock and poultry then follow, representing a $59.4 million industry. With over 250 wineries, tourism related to the wine industry is a strong economic force in the county. In 2004, agriculture generated over a half billion dollars while total tourism in the county generated nearly twice that with over a billion dollars in destination spending.
Overall, the economy of the four-county area is broad-based. It includes agriculture (vineyards, dairy and forestry), wholesale/retail trade, services, high technology research and development and manufacturing. Tourism is an important activity. Agriculture is struggling as family farms are often marginally profitable. Issues of water quantity and quality are of keen concern in the area. Increased use by residents and agriculture contribute to inadequate water supplies. This coupled with the needs for abundant cold water for salmon has lead to salmon and steelhead listing on the Federal endangered species list.
 Russian River, Sonoma County |
 Mustard field by Sebastopol, Sonoma County |