Tiburon resident’s decades-long conservation efforts include push to preserve the Martha property

Jerry Riessen has long envisioned the swath of undeveloped land on the Tiburon ridge as a regional conservation zone, stretching continuously from the Martha property to the adjacent Old St. Hilary’s Open Space Preserve and northeast to the Tiburon Uplands.

the spirit of generosity

“It will be a region that has very rare plants, rare animals and gorgeous views that will be really biologically viable because it will be at scale,” he says.

As president of Tiburon Open Space, Riessen, 78, has dedicated his time over the past 35-plus years to turning that idea into a reality, first helping to organize the successful acquisition of the 122-acre Old St. Hilary’s property in the 1990s and, more recently, playing a key role in the ongoing effort to help Marin County purchase and preserve the 110-acre Martha property, land long targeted for development that would serve to fulfill Riessen’s conservation vision for the ridge land.

His commitment to Tiburon Open Space is just one of Riessen’s volunteer efforts to span decades. He also spent more than 35 years on the Belvedere-Tiburon Joint Recreation Committee board, which oversees The Ranch, before stepping down earlier this year, and is a longtime volunteer with the Tiburon Peninsula GreenTeam, a group of locals who work to beautify the town’s medians.

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