POST - "Landscapes" Newsletter

"Landscapes" Newsletter

Historic Property to Link Recreation and Wildlife More Than 31,000 Acres for Habitat

When Rancho San Vicente in south San Jose became available for protection, POST acted quickly to save it. This historic 966-acre ranch overlooking the Santa Cruz Mountain range just minutes from suburban Almaden Valley was slated for extensive development. Now its blankets of wildflowers, sprawling oak trees and panoramic valley views— along with its rare and fragile wildlife habitat, valuable watershed and rich potential for world-class outdoor recreation—will be preserved for everyone to enjoy, forever.

Thanks to steadfast support from donors, POST was able to purchase Rancho San Vicente in June from private developers for $16 million. The ranch was once part of a far larger land grant of the same name dating back to 1842. At that time, the Mexican governor of the region granted the land to José Reyes Berryessa, a retired sergeant of the San Francisco Presidio and early settler of the Santa Clara Valley.

In 1868, a patent confirming Berryessa’s ownership of Rancho San Vicente was granted to him for 4,438 acres. Since then, boundaries have shrunk and owners have changed, but the land is still as pristine as it was 150 years ago, with cattle grazing on the property since at least the 1950s.

“It’s amazing we can even consider protecting this place, and that a property of this size is still green and open within a major metropolitan area like the Bay Area,” says POST President Audrey Rust. “Rancho San Vicente offers a wonderful opportunity to establish key links between miles of trails and to open up previously closed-off vistas for the public. With its prime location and excellent access, it will be easier than ever to enjoy nature close to home, especially for residents of San Jose and the South Bay.”

The World at Your Feet
Rancho San Vicente sits between Almaden Quicksilver and Calero county parks and is bounded on one side by more than a mile of McKean Road, an officially designated County Scenic Road. Prominent at the southern tip of Almaden Valley, the property’s 1,058-ft. summit rises above quiet neighborhoods with a breathtaking 360-degree view of Calero Reservoir, Mt. Umunhum, Mt. Hamilton, downtown San Jose and, on a clear day, San Francisco. “If you have any question why this land needs to be protected, just walk up to the top,” says Rust. “The view from the knoll shows the breadth of the lands that will be connected, right there in front of you.”

Part of the property lies within the city limits of San Jose, while another portion lies on unincorporated county land. Previous owners envisioned up to 900 residential units and an 18-hole golf course on the land. Rancho San Vicente Associates—a subsidiary of New Cities Development Group, based in Monterey—purchased the property in 1998 for $16 million; they scaled back those plans, proposing up to 300 densely packed housing units on the flat, unincorporated county land and, more recently, up to 16 large residences on individual 40-acre lots on the hillier portion within San Jose. When those plans failed to come to fruition, the developers approached POST. Knowing that Santa Clara County Parks had for years listed the property as a priority, POST hopes to transfer the land to the county or to another public parks agency for permanent protection and public enjoyment.

Linking Protected Lands
Rancho San Vicente expands the web of lands within the Santa Cruz Mountains preserved by POST and its public agency partners, including Santa Clara County Parks, Santa Clara County Open Space Authority, Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District and California State Parks. The property is a key link for recreation trails and wildlife corridors, with the potential to connect 31,867 surrounding acres of already protected parkland. That total includes nearly 7,500 acres to the east within Calero County Park and Rancho Cañada del Oro Open Space Preserve, and nearly 24,000 acres to the west, including Almaden Quicksilver County Park, Sierra Azul Open Space Preserve and Bear Creek Redwoods Open Space Preserve. A proposed trail route through the property has long been part of the Santa Clara County Parks Trails Master Plan.

The property contains 506 acres of rare serpentine soils, which are critical habitat for the Bay checkerspot butterfly, a federally threatened species. Among the hundreds of species of plants found, the endangered Metcalf canyon jewel flower and Santa Clara Valley dudleya also grow on the land. Ponds and streams provide habitat for endangered California red-legged frogs and tiger salamanders. Deer, coyotes, San Joaquin kit fox, bobcats and mountain lions roam the hillsides, and eagles nesting at Calero soar overhead. A canal owned by Santa Clara Valley Water District and carrying storm water from Almaden Reservoir crosses the property. The canal flows into neighboring Calero Reservoir, a vital source of local drinking water for Santa Clara County’s 1.7 million residents.

Says Rust, “The variety of natural lands we have in Santa Clara County is rarely found anywhere else, and the network of open space and parkland being created here now will serve as our legacy for generations to come.”