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Active Stream and Wetland Restoration at Diablo Foothills Open Space Preserve

If you’ve traveled east to Los Banos, then chances are you’ve driven the narrow Highway 152. In 2014, Caltrans completed a big task to widen the highway to include an additional 2 lanes in certain sections. In order to complete the project, Caltrans committed to mitigating for the loss of riparian habitat during construction and the Open Space Authority’s Diablo Foothills Open Space Preserve was the perfect location. 

Open Space Authority Kicks Off Second Annual Measure Q Urban Open Space Grant Program

Open Space Authority Kicks Off Second Annual Measure Q Urban Open Space Grant Program
Grant application deadline is January 12, 2018

San Jose, CA - November 1, 2017: The Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority is kicking off its Second Annual Measure Q Urban Open Space Grant Program, designed to connect more people throughout its jurisdiction with the many benefits of nature. This competitive grant program is funded by Measure Q and provides funding for projects in one or more of these categories:

- Environmental Stewardship and Restoration
- Parks, Trails, and Public Access
- Environmental Education
- Urban Agriculture/Food Systems

Silicon Valley farms? They're there, and they're worth millions

Written by Eric Kurhi. Published in the Mercury News September 24, 2017. Photo by Josie Lepe/Bay Area News Group

SAN MARTIN — As fourth-generation men of the earth, the Bonino brothers know their picked profession isn’t for everyone.

Their century-old LJB Farms has been around since long before the term “Silicon Valley” was coined, but it’s now an outlier in Santa Clara County, a throwback to days when it was known as the Valley of Heart’s Delight.

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.”

Valuing Open Space—Preserving Land is No Frivolous Luxury

by Andrea Mackenzie, General Manager
Published in the San Jose Mercury News on June 13, 2014