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Celebrating 25 Years of Conserving the Santa Clara Valley

A message from General Manager, Andrea Mackenzie.

In 1868, famed naturalist John Muir visited the Santa Clara Valley on his way to Yosemite Valley, the place that would become his spiritual home and inspire a life-long devotion to protect America’s wildest places for the benefit of future generations.

Where to View Wildflowers

Springtime brings green hills and spectacular displays of wildflowers to our open spaces. One of the most common questions we get this time of year is where visitors can go to see the best wildflowers in our preserves.

Santa Clara Valley Agricultural Plan Adopted

Many may not be aware that Santa Clara County still has 24,000 acres of farmland that generates 8,100 jobs and $830 million in economic output. However, in the past 30 years alone, the County lost 21,171 acres of farmland and rangeland to development and an additional 28,391 acres are currently at risk of being developed. If we lose more of our farmland, it would not only diminish our local food source, but also result in a loss of the iconic rural character of Santa Clara Valley, the loss of important jobs and farms central to our agricultural economy, and would generate significant greenhouse gas emissions.

The Critical Pathway for Wildlife

The Open Space Authority is excited to share updates in the quest to protect the Coyote Valley wildlife linkage between the Santa Cruz Mountains and the Diablo Range. The Authority and its partners at the Wilmers Lab at UC Santa Cruz, Peninsula Open Space Trust, and Pathways for Wildlife, started the Bobcat and Gray Fox Connectivity Study last spring and are wrapping up the final field season now with a total of 22 bobcats collared so far! Fitting the bobcats with advanced GPS-collars is generating fine-scale movement data and information that will be vital to informing planners on how these animals are moving in Coyote Valley.

Google’s San Jose village plan seeks success where Coyote Valley project fizzled

Authored by George Avalos and published in The Mercury News November 11, 2017. Photo by LiPo Ching.

SAN JOSE — Thirty-five years ago, San Jose agreed to move forward with an ambitious plan to build a massive technology campus, aiming to ease traffic jams by offering reverse commutes for employees living in burgeoning nearby communities.

The project promised to bring thousands of jobs. It would have built a transit link as well, with access to rail for the workers who opted out of commuting by car.

 It may sound eerily similar to Google’s proposed transit village, but San Jose’s past effort to build a huge tech campus in Coyote Valley — far from the downtown core — never got off the ground, despite many attempts to resurrect it from the ash heap of history.

A Stepping Stone for Conservation in Coyote Valley

With the Open Space Authority’s recent Coyote Valley Landscape Linkage report, the valley has been top of mind for many conservation organizations. Bringing us a step closer to realizing the report's vision, Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST) has purchased the Ramke property near Coyote Valley Open Space Preserve. Each open space acquisition serves as a stepping stone for conservation in implementing the Linkage vision. The property will be transferred to the Authority to become part of the Coyote Valley Open Space Preserve.

National At-Risk Landscapes: Coyote Valley makes the list

According to a new report, Coyote Valley is one of the nation’s most at-risk landscapes, due to the continuing threat of development. The 2017 Landslide Report: Open Season on Open Space was compiled by The Cultural Landscape Foundation, a national nonprofit dedicated to connecting people to places and encouraging stewardship of public lands and culturally significant spaces. Coyote Valley was one of thirteen different threatened places featured from coast to coast.

Youth Stewards Volunteer at Coyote Valley Open Space Preserve

On October 11, the Open Space Authority hosted students from San Jose's Harker Academy at Coyote Valley Open Space Preserve. More than 200 high school freshman students and staff came out, making it the biggest volunteer Land Steward service day in Authority history. The Harker volunteers gathered to hear San Jose City Councilmember Chappie Jones speak about the importance of protecting the environment, and then worked on trail maintenance, removing non-native mustard plants along the Arrowhead Trail.

POST Purchases Key Property in mid-Coyote Valley

POST Purchases Key Property in mid-Coyote Valley
Advancing Regional Vision for Wildlife Corridor

(Palo Alto, Calif.)—Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST) announced today the purchase of a 63-acre property at the intersection of Santa Teresa Boulevard and Richmond Avenue in the mid-Coyote Valley, near the Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority’s Coyote Valley Open Space Preserve. This acquisition marks the second project that POST has completed in the Valley over the past 6 months.

POST purchased the property from the Ramke family for $2,852,100. The property had been owned by the family for over six decades where they grew tomatoes, beans, bell peppers, and most recently alfalfa, wheat and oats.