LAKE COUNTY – As it moves toward completing the purchase of property on Mt. Konocti, the county is planning a series of community meetings to create a master plan for the mountain. {sidebar id=127}

County Public Services Director Kim Clymire and volunteers on the Mt. Konocti project will host the meetings, which will lead to the creation of policies, procedures and resource/fire management plans.

The Fowler family, which has owned property on the mountaintop for several decades, offered the county first chance at purchasing two large parcels totaling approximately 1,689 acres in late 2007, as Lake County News has reported.

Since then, the county has purchased from the Fowlers the smaller, 176-acre property on Buckingham Peak for $1.2 million. Clymire said that land includes the site of communications towers. Lake County Community Radio/KFPZ has broadcast equipment there, as do cell phone companies, such as Edge Wireless.

The county is generating about $80,000 a year off the site, and is finalizing a new$28,000 a year contract with T-Mobile, Clymire added.

“Those funds will be used to go back into the mountain for maintenance and capital improvements,” said Clymire.

That leaves the remaining 1,513 acres, which the county is purchasing for $2.6 million, he said.

The county is working to open escrow in about three months, said Clymire, with the goal to close escrow 60 days afterward, which puts the purchase completion in the fall.

The original sale offer required the county close the purchases by the end of December 2009.

The land is meant to be conserved, Clymire said.

He explained that the Fowlers placed restrictions on the property in the sale, including stipulations against motorized vehicles – except by special authorized use of the county – and the requirement that it be day-use only unless special arrangements are made.

There are plans to allow special events on the property, said Clymire, along with making arrangements for occasional vehicle transport to make the property accessible to a wide variety of people.

“We want people who can't hike three miles to the top to be able to enjoy it,” he said.

The property will be open to the public for hiking and horseback riding on a multi-use trail. Mountain biking also is being considered, but may need a separate trail, Clymire said.

Before the land purchase is final and the property is open to the public, Clymire said the county wants to get the rules for the property's use set.

While the master plan will be dictated by the conservation requirements, the public also will be able to have a say in how it wants the mountain used, he said.

The initial meetings will be held from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday, March 11, and Wednesday, March 25, in the Board of Supervisors chambers at the Lake County Courthouse, 255 N. Forbes Ave., Lakeport.

“We want to makes sure we get plenty of public input and this is a totally transparent process,” Clymire said.

He's also looking at scheduling other meetings around the county to bring in more input from all of the communities around the lake.

A Web site set up and dedicated to the mountain's purchase, www.preservekonocti.org, reports that of the total $3.8 million needed to purchase both parcels, $1,238,686 has been raised.

But Clymire said the land already is fully funded thanks to a serendipitous financial windfall.

About a month after the county decided it planned to buy the land, they received a $3.5 million check for a geothermal lease, he said.

Clymire credited the Board of Supervisors with deciding to take the money and set it aside for the property purchase on the mountain.

The county is still raising money, though, partly through the Web site and also through an outreach effort that Clymire is leading with local groups.

He said he's talked to many people about the land and has heard from only one or two naysayers who are against buying the property.

The additional money raised will go entirely to additional property purchases on the mountain, said Clymire. Some of the property that's been named previously as a possible addition to the county's Mt. Konocti portfolio includes privately owned lands that would connect the county property to Clear Lake State Park.

All money raised, he added, goes for land acquisition, not administrative costs or other overhead.

He's also applying for federal grants through the offices of Congressman Mike Thompson, and US Sens. Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein. “I think this it the fourth time we've submitted for the full amount of the balance,” he said, explaining that the grant applications keep changing.

The 1,513-acre parcel includes a walnut orchard that many people recognize as the “horse” shape on the side of the mountain – although Clymire thinks it looks like a whale – plus a small vineyard that produces some very good wine.

Clymire said the county is leasing the vineyard back to Mike Fowler who will continue operating it and paying the county 8 percent of the vineyard's revenue.

The Bureau of Land Management owns a significant portion of the mountain, said Clymire, including the area where the “K” for Kelseyville is located.

The mountain is the focus of numerous legends about hidden caves and passages. He said the History Channel television show “Digging for the Truth” has expressed interest in exploring the mountain, as has National Geographic.

Clymire called the property purchase, “the most exciting thing that's happened in Lake County for a long time.”

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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