A 43-year-old man was arrested in Novato after a pantless perambulation through a placid preserve.

Kit Kirill Kipnis was contacted at about 2 p.m. by a sheriff’s deputy and an open space ranger on patrol in the Rush Creek Open Space Preserve off Atherton Avenue.

Kipnis, who was walking on the fire road off Saddle Wood Drive, was wearing a cycling jersey, flip-flops and nothing else, said sheriff’s Lt. Scott Anderson.

“He was refusing to cover up and refusing to leave the preserve,” Anderson said.

Kipnis was booked on suspicion of public nudity, refusing to leave the district property and possession of a switchblade. The knife was found in the pocket of his jersey.

The deputy and ranger found his pants about 75 feet away in a tree.

Kipnis, who has been known to camp in the preserve, is listed as a San Francisco resident in the booking log at Marin County Jail.

The district attorney’s office filed misdemeanor charges Friday, said Deputy District Attorney Kevin O’Hara.

Contact Gary Klien via email at gklien@marinij.com or https://twitter.com/GaryKlien