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Open Space Authority Awards Inaugural Measure Q Funds to Connect Children to Nature

The Open Space Authority Board of Directors has authorized the first Measure Q investment, which was awarded to Children’s Discovery Museum of San Jose, through the Authority’s Urban Open Space program. The investment will help support the Museum’s project:Bridge to Nature: Bill’s Backyard, which is designed to provide urban children with a safe and welcoming introduction to the natural world. Bridge to Nature will be located on the Museum’s campus, adjacent to the Guadalupe River and bordered by low-income, inner city neighborhoods.

The Future Coyote Ridge Open Space Preserve

October 2015 marks a historic event in the making for the Open Space Authority with the largest land purchase to date, Coyote Ridge, an 1,831 acre property located in South San Jose. This land is so important because it houses rare serpentine habitat for many species including the threatened Bay checkerspot butterfly.

Open Space Authority Protects Open Space on Santa Teresa Ridge with Strategic Acquisition

The Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority Board of Directors has approved the acquisition of two pivotal land parcels totaling 8.79 acres located on Santa Teresa Ridge in San Jose’s Santa Teresa neighborhood. The property had been slated for a single family residence of up to 7,800 square feet. The parcels are a gateway to some 1,500 acres of open space land that provide a scenic backdrop to south San Jose with sweeping views across the Almaden Valley to downtown San Jose and the Mt. Hamilton Range.

How Green is My Valley? by Lisa Krieger

Coyote Valley Open Space Preserve Grand Opening

Hundreds gathered on June 27 to celebrate the opening of this stunning preserve and enjoy its 348-acres of heritage valley oaks, rolling hills, oak woodland, serpentine rock outcroppings and native grasslands. Mayor Liccardo and others spoke at the event followed by Valentin Lopez, President of the Amah Mutsun Land Trust, who offered a blessing of the land, after which the crowd gathered while dignitaries cut the ribbon for official opening of the Arrowhead Loop Trail.

County of Santa Clara Awarded Grant to Preserve At-risk Farmland for Climate Benefit

Preserving farmland has many benefits, including decreasing the carbon emissions associated with urban development. A recent $100,000 grant was awarded to the County of Santa Clara, in partnership with the Open Space Authority, that will identify and protect at-risk agricultural lands in order to help reduce greenhouse gas emission. “If agriculture is to survive in South County,” says Andrea Mackenzie, Open Space Authority General Manager, “we need an innovative action plan. The time is now to align plans, programs, policies and investment affecting undeveloped agricultural lands and demonstrate that conserving farmland from development is a critically important climate change strategy.”

San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo: New era of conservation gaining momentum in Coyote Valley

Written by Paul Rogers. Published in the Mercury News June 27, 2015. Photo by Jim Gensheimer.

SAN JOSE — After decades of conflict over whether to build technology campuses and housing in Coyote Valley, the scenic expanse of ranches and farms on San Jose’s southern edges along Highway 101, a new momentum has begun to keep the area free of urban development, San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo said Saturday.

Liccardo said that although the city’s general plan, approved in 2011, still allows for tech campus development in the northern part of the 7,400-acre Coyote Valley, no tech companies have approached him hoping to build there. And, Liccardo added, his strong preference is for the firms to locate downtown, in North San Jose or in other urbanized parts of the city.

“I have no desire to invest in infrastructure development on the southern edges of San Jose,” Liccardo said in an interview, adding that if no new construction ever came to the rural valley “I wouldn’t lose any sleep.”

Pajaro River Agricultural Preserve, Near Gilroy

The Authority recently purchased 183 acres of farmland in South Santa Clara County where the Pajaro River and Llagas Creek intersect. The land provides tomatoes, peppers, and leaf lettuces and the farm is part of a large complex of protected, productive farms that also provide flood prevention benefits to downstream communities. The property, which is south of the City of Gilroy, has been designated the Pajaro River Agricultural Preserve. The Authority's intent is to keep it in productive agriculture, while also managing it for the other benefits that our working landscapes provide.

Private/Public Partnership Succeeds in Securing Pivotal Property

October 17, 2014 - An innovative partnership between the Open Space Authority, Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST) and the Santa Clara County Parks Department came to fruition with the purchase of 285-acres of open space land in the ruggedly beautiful and water rich Southern Santa Cruz Mountains region. Permanent protection of this property will serve the public’s interest by expanding outdoor recreation and education opportunities, while closing gaps in regional trail connections.

Marc Landgraf Joins Open Space Authority

The Open Space Authority is excited to welcome Marc Landgraf as the new External Affairs Manager. In this role he will develop new public, nonprofit and private funding opportunities and conservation partnerships to support the Authority’s mission of preserving open space lands in Santa Clara County.