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This is the project that has everyone in an uproar. Financing is coming from CALPERS the California Public Employees Retirement Fund. It has been scaled back even further and is already exempted as a pipeline project.

From the Wine Business Monthly 2/15/05
http://www.winebusiness.com/html/MonthlyArticle.cfm?dataid=36548

The Preservation Ranch, located in the Sonoma Coast appellation near Annapolis, is one of the exciting new projects that Piper and PPV are currently working on. Overall, this massive piece of isolated hillside property is 19,000 acres in total but limited in the amount of land on which grapes can be planted. The separate parcels that have been selected for vineyard developmental 2,000 acres in all (steelie notes... notice that is the total of the parcels, not the proposed planting acreage)--are primarily located on ridge tops between 1,400 to 1,800 feet, and feature coarse, gravelly, well-drained soils. Pinot Noir will be the primary grape planted on this property. Piper says these special vineyards will require ecological methods to control erosion, and innovative ways to develop the appropriate types of compost that can naturally build up the fertility of the soil and attract helpful predators to such an isolated area. Another important factor with the development of this land is simply the ecological rehabilitation of the timberland elsewhere on the property. Piper was forthright in saying that there is a lot of work to be done to reinvigorate the large amount of land that was previously damaged by loggers. "The land has a history of poor environmental stewardship," said Piper. "That's what makes it so exciting. We want to change that." In return for planting the vineyards, a deal has been worked out with the loggers that will feature easements of an equal amount of timberland on the ranch to be converted to old-growth status. Breeding programs for Coho and Steelhead salmon are also being developed on the property.