A new park on Mt. Konocti will be open in April 2011. Courtesy photo.

KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – County officials reported this week that the new park on Mt. Konocti will open next spring.

The county acquired 1,520 acres on Mt. Konocti from the Fowler family for $3.8 million, as Lake County News as reported.

The park had originally been set to open this past May, but 10 months of negotiations with the sellers regarding an easement to access the park pushed the opening back, the county reported.

Although an agreement is finally close to completion, the grading season ends Oct. 15, which will be before the easement documents are ratified by the seller and the Lake County Board of Supervisors, according to Public Services Director Kim Clymire.

Clymire said construction of the easement, that will consist of a approximately 1,350 foot trail, which will have to wait until the grading season opens again on April 15, 2011, with a park opening tentatively scheduled for Saturday, April 30, 2011.

In the interim, park staff will continue to work on pre-opening improvements, Clymire said.

In 2007 county staff was approached by Peter Windrem, attorney for the Fowler family, who were the longtime owners of a major portion of Mt. Konocti, the county reported.

At that time, Windrem told the county that in order to satisfy a family trust the Fowlers needed to divest themselves of the property. Clymire said that, to the Fowlers' credit, they wanted to give the county the first right of refusal to purchase the property because the Fowlers knew that the county’s dream for the mountain mirrored theirs, which is to preserve and conserve the mountain in perpetuity for current and future generations enjoyment.

As a result, county staff, with the full support of the Board of Supervisors and 99.9 percent of the public, began to seek grant funds to acquire the property, Clymire said.

In 2008 Clymire and his staff appeared approximately 40 times to in front of several groups and organizations to garner support for the acquisition of Mt. Konocti. Speaking and PowerPoint presentations were given to various clubs and organizations, among them Rotary, Kiwanis, Lions, garden clubs, woman civic clubs, business associations, the Audubon Society, the Sierra Club, the Lake County Land Trust, six public night meetings and tribal members.

In addition, numerous press releases were issued, editorials in favor were written, information was posted on the Internet, direct mailings were sent out, flyers were posted and booths were staffed at the heron and pear festivals. As a result, more than $91,000 was donated by the general public and club members toward the acquisition of what Clymire called a “jewel of a mountain.”

In addition to the funds raised, a perfect storm for the acquisition materialized in 2008 shortly after the Board of Supervisors agreed to exercise an option to purchase the property and find the money.

The county received an unexpected geothermal royalty revenue sharing check from a lease that was entered into and the amount was almost the same as the purchase price, Clymire said.

The Board of supervisors agreed to use the money to purchase the mountain, “a decision that was probably the most significant action they will take during their term in office,” Clymire said.

The purchase also included a communication site on Buckingham Peak that generates a little over $100,000 annually in license agreements and the board agreed to use the net proceeds from those license agreements to make capital improvements to and do maintenance on the mountain, he explained.

In addition to that ongoing revenue source, Clymire said the county also was recently awarded an $80,000 park bond grant to purchase and install signage, restrooms, benches and tables on the mountain.

Clymire said the county is currently working with a volunteer committee to develop a master management plan for the site that includes representatives from the public, the Bureau of Land Management, Cal Fire, Kelseyville Fire, local tribes, the Countywide Parks and Recreation Board, environmental and equine groups, mountain bikers and dog enthusiasts.

Initially the park will be open in the spring of 2011for day use hiking only until the master management plan is complete and uses other than hiking will be determined or ruled out, Clymire said. Special use permits, in compliance with preservation and conservation, may be granted, that may fall outside of the regular day use hiking only, as part of the master management plan, but that too, has yet to be determined.

Clymire expressed his sincere appreciation to the Fowler family for giving the county first right of refusal to acquire the property. He said that may have kept it from eventually becoming privately owned with ranchettes up and down the mountain.

He also thanked the Lake County Board of Supervisors for their forward thinking and authorizing the acquisition, and the thousands of citizens who support what he called an “exciting, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

For more information about the acquisition contact the Lake County Public Services Department at 707-262-1618 or e-mail Clymire at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf .