Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority News

Atmospheric River Storm: Open Spaces At Work

The first few weeks of 2023 brought a parade of Atmospheric River Storm events that ravaged California. Several feet of rain and powerful wind events caused widespread power outages, and many areas experienced intense flooding, fallen trees, and mudslides. Though the storms caused a fair amount of disruption across the region, Santa Clara Valley’s open spaces (our critical natural infrastructure) likely helped mitigate even further damage.

Celebrating Open Space Volunteers

In 2022, volunteers completed over 230 trail patrols on bike, foot, and horseback, as they welcomed visitors to preserves, reported trail conditions and wildlife sightings, and supported critical field operations. They also contributed over 600 hours towards facilitating public enjoyment of our preserves, including helping during busy spring hours, and supporting large-scale events such as Open Access Days at Máyyan 'Ooyákma – Coyote Ridge Open Space Preserve and Diablo Foothills, and Earth Week celebrations in Coyote Valley. By the end of 2022, the hard work of volunteers are expected to total over 3,900 hours towards our mission informed projects!

Fifth Graders Become Oak Tree Heroes

In October 2022, the Open Space Authority partnered with Point Blue Conservation Science (Point Blue) to host an educational field trip in Coyote Valley through the Students and Teachers Restoring a Watershed (STRAW) program. Over the course of a few hours, around 90 fifth graders from San Martin/Gwinn Environmental Science Academy built direct-seed cages for acorn plantings and learned how oak trees contribute to a healthy watershed.

Animal Crossing: Improved Fencing for Local Wildlife

In 2022, the Open Space Authority installed new, wildlife-friendly fencing at Coyote Ridge Open Space Preserve. While it may not seem like the most dramatic restoration initiative, it is important for helping wildlife move throughout landscapes where conservation grazing is a critical strategy for grassland ecology and rare species management.

Early Detection, Rapid Response

When it comes to invasive species, the best time to address the problem is as soon as you realize you have one. Invasive plants can quickly start outcompeting native species and spread to unmanageable levels, which has harmful effects on native wildlife populations. By addressing invasive plants when populations remain small, the Open Space Authority can improve the likelihood of successfully eradicating unwanted plants and using cost-effective treatments. To address these undesirable plant species at their initial stages of invasion, the Open Space Authority launched a pilot program for Early Detection and Rapid Response (EDRR) in 2022, starting a process that will occur in yearly cycle.

Volunteer Restoration - A Year at Furtado

"Above all, restoration is a process."

Local Second Graders Restore Riparian Habitat

They dug holes, they hammered stakes into coconut fiber mats, and they planted a whole lot of native plants - 159, to be exact - all to help restore essential creekside habitat the Fisher’s Bend riparian area. Pretty impressive work for three groups of second graders!

Spreckels Hill and Fisher Creek Restoration Projects

Across the state, safeguarding water resources is an essential and ongoing priority as California’s drought conditions continue. And as the Open Space Authority’s restoration work around Coyote Valley gets underway, there are two exciting new riparian and wetland restoration projects in the pipeline. In partnership with the Bonneville Environmental Foundation, the Spreckels Wetland Cleanup and Enhancement Project, which began last year and the Fisher Creek Riparian Restoration, beginning in 2022.

Furtado Barn: From Ruin to Restoration

Tucked away behind a walnut orchard in the Sierra Vista Open Space Preserve is a small structure known as the Furtado Barn. For years, this barn and the riparian vegetation around it was overwhelmed by invasive weeds. But in 2018, Andres Campusano, Supervising Open Space Technician, and Daniel Turner, Open Space Technician I decided it was time to turn it around.

A New Year for Open Space

Happy 2022!

News!