Pacific Region

Land Trust Success Stories:

Coastside Landowner Donates Conservation Easement to POST
Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST) announced that it has received a donation of a conservation easement on a 952-acre ranch along Highway 1 south of Half Moon Bay. Landowner Kathleen Scutchfield donated the easement, valued at $7.9 million, to preserve the scenic vistas and rich natural resources on the property, known as Toto Ranch. More (posted 4/2/08)

California’s Usal Redwood Forest Under Protection
San Francisco , CA – Bank of America and the Redwood Forest Foundation (RFFI) today announced the country’s first forest acquisition by a nonprofit using 100 percent private capital to close the deal. The transaction preserves more than 50,000 acres of critical working timberland in the Usal Redwood Forest, just north of Fort Bragg in Northern California’s Mendocino County. Read full story.

Kaua’i Public Land Trust Receives Donation of Land from The Canela Group
Kilauea, HI – On February 11th the Canela Group officially handed over the deed to a 17,000 square foot parcel of land in Wainiha, HI.  The generous donation was made in honor of Mary McGregor Ballard to the Kaua’i Public Land Trust. Read full story. (posted 2/28/08)

President Approves $1.96 Million for Federal Protection of POST’s Rancho Corral de Tierra
Palo Alto, CA — Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST) will receive $1,960,000 from the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund for the protection of Rancho Corral de Tierra near Montara, 10 miles south of San Francisco. This funding will help fund the transfer of the 4,262-acre property to the National Park Service as part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA). Read full press release. (posted 2/25/08)

Usal Redwood Forest on North Coast of California Preserved
The Redwood Forest Foundation, Inc. (RFFI), with financial support from the Bank of America, now owns over 50,000 acres of the treasured forestland. (posted 2/15/08)

• Read letter from Art Harwood, President, Redwood Forest Foundation, Inc. (PDF)
• Read press release announcing transaction (PDF)

Alliance Board Member Permanently Protects Land and a Piece of California History
In December of 2007, Land Trust Alliance board member David Anderson and his family took their commitment to protecting open land to another level, by donating a conservation easement on their 23-acre Rancho Aldea Antigua. David Anderson has been a leader in voluntary land conservation locally and nationally for over two decades and he is a founder, long-time board member and current general counsel of the Land Trust for Santa Barbara County. Read full press release. (posted 2/1/2008)

POST Acquires Wavecrest Property in Half Moon Bay
Palo Alto, CA — Today the Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST) announced that it has acquired Wavecrest, a 206-acre property located on Cabrillo Highway on the southern tip of Half Moon Bay. POST purchased the land on January 29 from private owners for $13.5 million, to be paid over the next three years. Read full story. (posted 2/1/2008)

POST Adds Coastal Parcel to Pillar Point Bluff
Palo Alto, CA. — The Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST) announced today the purchase of 3.67 acres of oceanfront property on the bluff north of Pillar Point in Half Moon Bay. The $495,000 acquisition will be added to POST’s Pillar Point Bluff property, 119 acres that surround the new purchase on two sides.  Read full story. (posted 1/8/2008)                 

Kaua’i Public Land Trust Hires First Executive Director to Grow Organization and Increase Efforts to Conserve Land
Kilauea, HI – On November 15th the Kaua’i Public Land Trust’s (KPLT) new Executive Director began her first day on the job.  Hiring an executive director was an essential step for the organization.  KPLT hopes that with a full-time staff they will have the resources necessary to ensure that the scenic, recreational, ecological, agricultural, cultural and historic lands of Kaua’i will be preserved for generations to come. Read full press release. (posted 12/18/07)

Bald Eagle Tours
California - Bald Eagles fly in from Canada to winter in our own backyard. This winter you will have the opportunity to see these majestic creatures on one of our Bald Eagle tours. On January 19 and 26 you can walk where the eagles soar in Millerton State Park. In February we'll offer bald eagle canoe trips. For dates and more information about Bald Eagle tours please visit our website at www.riverparkway.org. (posted 12/18/07)

Mindego Hill - stunning 1,047-acre property located on the San Francisco Peninsula. It’s elevation is 2,143 feet, has two lakes Mindego & Knuedler, and two creeks Mindego & Alpine. POST to Protect Historic 868-acre Ranch in Morgan Hill Palo Alto, CA — In a major push for land protection in the western hillsides of south Santa Clara County, the Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST) announced today that it has reached an agreement with a longtime ranching family to protect a scenic 868-acre property in Morgan Hill. The proposed purchase, to be completed in March 2008, signals a significant expansion of POST’s conservation work in South County and introduces an effective land trust partner with whom local landowners can save agricultural and open space properties from rapidly encroaching development. Read full story. (posted 12/13/07) Post Acquires Mindego Hill Along Skyline Ridge Palo Alto, CA — Today the Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST) announced that it has acquired Mindego Hill, a stunning 1,047-acre property near the town of La Honda on the San Francisco Peninsula. This distinct natural landmark and historic ranch visually dominates the western flank of Skyline Ridge just off Alpine Road. With its top-of-the-world views, rich wildlife habitat and excellent trail connections to adjacent Russian Ridge Open Space Preserve, the land is perfectly situated to become a major addition to the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District (MROSD) and a spectacular public recreation resource for Silicon Valley and beyond. Read full story. (posted 10/12/07) National Park(ing) Day 2007 September 21, 2007 See information and photos from park(ing) day events in your area (posted 9/24/07) Cities across America will gain temporary new downtown parks for a few hours in September, thanks to a public project sponsored by The Trust for Public Land (TPL). On National Park(ing) Day metered public parking spots nationwide will become public parks. The goals are to celebrate parks and promote the need for more parks in America's cities. Participating cities include New York City, Boston, Minneapolis, Washington DC, Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and others. Organizers are also inviting local groups to participate, expanding the opportunity from one park to a system of park(ing) parks. "By turning parking spaces into instant parks, National Park(ing) Day is a creative and playful way to shine a spotlight on the real need for more parks in our cities," said Will Rogers, president of TPL. TPL is sponsoring National Park(ing) Day 2007, a concept created by San Francisco art collective Rebar. In 2005, Rebar created its first "PARK(ing)" project by transforming a metered parking spot into a temporary public park, briefly expanding the public realm and improving the quality of urban human habitat (at least until the meter ran out). More (posted 8/17/07) View from Glen Deven Ranch. Photo by Francesca Dalleo. A Big Sur State of Mind CALIFORNIA: Glen Deven Ranch, an 860-acre mixed use property above Highway 1 in the hills of Big Sur, is a striking example of the beauty, simplicity and raw power of the area. More (posted 9/5/07) For more information on this and other success stories, visit our Pacific Success Stories page.