Santa Clara Open Space Authority Acquires Coyote Ridge for Conservation

An organization tasked with conserving undeveloped land has completed the acquisition of 1,831 acres of open space in Santa Clara County.

In its largest land acquisition to date, The Open Space Authority announced today it will oversee the stewardship of Coyote Ridge, which is located in the county’s Diablo Range, authority officials said.

“By acquiring the Coyote Ridge property and planning for its long term stewardship, we are helping ensure that its significant natural resources are protected in perpetuity,” the authority’s assistant general manager Matt Freeman said in a statement.

The Coyote Ridge property is located southeast of San Jose, immediately east of U.S. Highway 101. The property is just northwest of Anderson Lake County Park near Morgan Hill, southwest of Joseph D. Grant Community Park near East San Jose, and just to the west of The Nature Conservancy’s 28,000 San Felipe Ranch conservation easement near the unincorporated town of Coyote, authority officials said.

Conservationists have had their eye on Coyote Ridge for years, as it encompasses one of the most significant wildlife habitats in the Bay Area.

The property provides a critical habitat for plants and animals such as the threatened Bay checkerspot butterfly and the federally endangered Metcalf Canyon jewelflower.

It is also home to the California tiger salamander, the California red-legged frog, Tule elk, burrowing owls, golden eagles and many other raptors, according to authority officials.

Additionally, Coyote Ridge is the source for three streams that feed into Coyote Creek. The system supports critical habitat for steelhead trout and provides important recharge to the groundwater basin, which sustains local drinking and agricultural water supplies, authority officials said.

The property previously belonged to United Technologies Corporation, a developer and manufacturer of rocket engines and aerospace technology.

For 45 years, UTC built and tested engines that powered military and NASA equipment on a 3,282-acre parcel of land adjacent to the Coyote Ridge property. A two-mile long section along the Coyote Ridge was used as a buffer zone to separate the manufacturing and testing activity from the public, authority officials said.

The Open Space Authority has conducted extensive environmental investigations, confirming there are no hazardous materials or contaminated sites on the property, according to authority officials.

For the acquisition, the organization contributed a total of $7,500 of its own funds after securing funding from a number of public and private sources towards the property, which is worth over $15 million, authority officials said.

Future plans for the property include opening existing trails to the public and connecting the trail to existing trails at Anderson Lake County Park and Coyote Creek County Park, authority officials said.

--Bay City News Service, photo courtesy of the Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority