Residents near Estero Americano preserve worry about the impacts of visitors to the area. Photo: Elba Mora//The Wildlands Conservancy//Instagram
As outdoor enthusiasts celebrate a newly opened chunk of California coastline, residents near the preserve are up in arms over the increase in visitors. Neighbors adjacent to the Estero Americano Coast Preserve in Sonoma County expressed their concerns at a county meeting in January attended by more than 100 homeowners. Their main concerns are parking congestion, hits to property value, and impact on the habitat, according to a report in The Press Democrat.
The preserve, which fully opened to the public in late 2025, went viral among local and national media outlets in January, leading to a surge in visitors. Resident John Loughlin said up to 300 cars and roughly 1,000 people entered the neighborhood on a busy day. The neighborhood’s homeowners’ association commissioned a report that claims visitors to the area will increase up to 10 times, reaching as many as 102,000 people per year. The preserve does not include an official parking lot, so visitors use the adjacent public street parking.
“Getting out of our driveway is becoming unsafe,” said one resident at the meeting.
The Press Democrat says another man at the meeting worried about how the increased traffic could affect his property value.
“We moved back here for quiet enjoyment,” he said. “We’re losing that now.”
The preserve had been in private hands for a century until it was purchased by a nonprofit, The Wildlands Conservancy, in 2015. They subsequently secured the necessary permits and opened the reserve’s 547 acres and five miles of trails last year.
Residents criticized a streamlined approval process for the preserve that didn’t allow for public input. They say they had been warning officials for years about the problems they are experiencing.
“Every step of the way, we’ve been ignored, dismissed, and disrespected,” said Lisa Beaty, a resident of the community.
The Press Democrat reports that on their visit, parking was controlled by a security guard and a staff member of The Wildlands Conservancy. They were, with mixed results, trying to get visitors to park on one side of the street to avoid congestion.
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While representatives of the conservancy believe crowds will thin once the novelty fades, residents are not convinced. The organization held an “emergency working group meeting” with residents to create a dialogue and put forward proposals such as painting the curb red on one side of the street, which residents think will only push traffic deeper into the neighborhood.
“This is a sensitive environmental area,” said resident John Loughlin. “It’s not designed for (this traffic).”
Sonoma County leaders are directing residents to air their grievances at the next town hall on February 25.
