SOMETIMES THE GREENIES DO SOMETHING GOOD

By Bob Walsh

The Chesbro Reservoir is seen from Lakeside Ranch in Morgan Hill on Friday. The approximately 2,000-acre ranch between San Jose and Morgan Hill was purchased for conservation by the Peninsula Open Space Trust.

 

The Peninsula Open Space Trust just purchased the 1,986 acre Lakeside Ranch south of San Jose in order to preserve it as open space.  The cost was a tad over $22 million.  The ranch, in the Coyote Valley area, is a mixture of hills, creeks and valley oaks and has cattle grazing there.  It is largely undeveloped though there are some buildings and roads related to the operation of the property as a working ranch.  

The trust intends to build some hiking trails on the property, which is adjacent to other open space owned by other land preservation organizations.  These purchases should help to prevent greater San Jose from turning into a massive mess of suburban sprawl.  

POST is supported by private funds.  Typically after tweaking things a bit they turn property over to a public agency to manage as a public park or open space preserve.

 

EDITOR'S NOTE:

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The Nature Conservancy is another outstanding preservation organization well worth your donation.