POST - "Landscapes" Newsletter

"Landscapes" Newsletter

POST staff love puzzles. On any given day, you can see at least one jigsaw puzzle
going in the office. Solving puzzles can be a slow process, daunting even, but once the larger image begins to emerge, people work together to find solutions. Once the last pieces are in place, the final picture stands as a testament to the collective effort it took to get there.

Protecting land is a lot like solving puzzles. It takes many hands to put together the pieces, and it takes tremendous resources of time, patience and funding to save land for future generations to enjoy. In March, POST helped complete a magnificent picture of connected open space with its transfer of the 340-acre Lobitos Ridge property south of Half Moon Bay to the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District (MROSD) for $3 million.

“Lobitos Ridge is a key link in a chain of protected lands that runs from the entrance of Purisima Creek Redwoods Open Space Preserve on Skyline Boulevard, down to the sea,” says POST President Audrey Rust. “Preserving this stretch of park and open space will provide superb hiking for Bay Area residents and visitors. More immediately, it protects critical watershed and agricultural lands, and keeps wildlife migration pathways intact as a hedge against shifts in habitat resulting from climate change.”

This transfer represents nearly 30 years of persistence on the part of POST, its donors and partner organizations (see timeline on pages 4-5). It also brings the dream of another Skyline-to-the-Sea hiking trail one step closer to reality. Other POST-protected properties along the route include the historic Cowell Ranch to the west and Bluebrush Canyon and Lower Purisima Creek to the east.

Protecting Pathways

POST first acquired Lobitos Ridge from the Beffa family in 2004. Dominated by a wide, grassy ridgeline with spectacular views of the San Mateo County coastline, the property is ideally situated near other open space lands. Since the 1800s, Lobitos Ridge has been used primarily for dairy and cattle grazing. The Beffa family bought the property in 1952, using it for more than half a century to raise dairy and beef cattle and to farm hay and artichokes. Charlie Beffa passed his portion of the ranch onto his son, Clyde, Sr., who in turn passed it to his children, Clyde, Jr. and Chris Glynn. Sharing their father’s interest in preserving the character of the land, the siblings chose to permanently protect Lobitos Ridge by selling it to POST.

“We knew POST was interested in creating a walking trail, and our ranch was one of the missing pieces of the puzzle,” says Clyde Beffa, Jr. Since acquiring the property, POST has made a point of continuing grazing operations there, as will MROSD. The land is part of the Purisima and Lobitos Creek watersheds and provides important habitat and spawning areas for a variety of fish and the federally threatened California red-legged frog.

Critical Connections

Thanks to forward-thinking landowners like the Beffas, POST was able to add a crucial link in a chain of open space, but the story of this nearly 30-year effort has its beginning high along the Santa Cruz crest. In 1982, MROSD and Savethe- Redwoods League combined forces to preserve Purisima Creek Redwoods Open Space Preserve (OSP), a hushed world of redwoods, Douglas-fir, tanoak and madrone. The 3,360-acre preserve is home to the threatened marbled murrelet, a seagoing bird that makes its nest in old-growth trees.

Purisima is Spanish for “most pure” and dates back to the original 1838 Mexican land grant in the area, called Rancho Cañada de Verde y Arroyo de la Purisima, which stretches from Purisima to Tunitas creeks. Lumber mills sprang up in Purisima Canyon in the mid-19th and early 20th centuries as demand for the massive coast redwoods grew. Small teams of oxen hauled the giant trees down the hill along “skid roads” to the mills below until the animals were replaced with steam-powered engines. The highest point in the preserve, 2,102-foot Bald Knob, was acquired by POST through a donation in 1993. Four years later, POST transferred the 480-acre property, which was once heavily logged, to MROSD.

In 2006, Purisima Creek Redwoods OSP was expanded by another 183 acres, when POST sold its Lower Purisima Creek parcel acquired in 2005 to MROSD. Rising between Lobitos and Tunitas creeks, the property extends across scrubcovered knolls, verdant meadows, redwood groves and eucalyptus stands. The land is hunting grounds for birds of prey including red-tailed hawks and golden eagles.

The canopy of trees and scrubland of the higher elevations gives way to stunning views of the Pacific and the rounded, grassy slopes of Lobitos Ridge. It’s easy to envision a hiking trail some years in the future winding its way down the ridge with 180-degree views of the coastline. On one side is Purisima Creek and prime agricultural land, which is used today for vegetable and flower farming. The area’s pastoral history dates back to the mid-1800s, when returning forty-niners began to bring in cattle for small home dairies and farms.

Southwest of Lobitos Ridge towards the sea is Elkus Ranch. In 2009, MROSD purchased the upland portion of the ranch from the University of California, which retained ownership of the lower portion, where it operates a center for environmental education. On sunny days, along the ridgeline, one can hear the laughter of children wafting up from the center below. The gentle slopes of Elkus finally level out to meet the rich agricultural lands of another POST-protected property, Purisima Farms, which POST sold to longtime Coastside farmer John Giusti in 2006. To keep crops in the field protected, the future trail route will skirt along the edge of this property and conclude at a small staging area near the coast.

Collaborating for Sustainability

“POST has been an essential and tireless partner in making our shared vision of Purisima-to-the-Sea a reality,” says MROSD General Manager Steve Abbors. “We celebrate their accomplishments on this project and look forward to managing the land into the future for agriculture, grazing, environmental protection, and the greater public good.” MROSD is now working to add one final property along the route in 2011 before beginning long-term plans for the use and management of the land, including eventual public access and recreation.

When finished, this cascade of open space will offer plentiful opportunities for outdoor recreation. Meanwhile, it provides critical connections for wildlife habitat as well as uninterrupted expanses of breathtaking scenery that preserve the natural features and rural character of the Coastside.

Says Rust, “Lobitos Ridge is an excellent example of how POST, with the support of our donors, works with local partners to create a sustainable system that is much greater than the sum of its parts.”