2024 District UpdateYoriko Kishimoto, Board Member, Ward 2Karen Holman, Board Member, Ward 5Monte Bello Open Space Preserve (Strether Smith)April 1, 2024 Midpen’s Mission(s)Midpen’s mission: to acquire and preserve a regional greenbelt of open space land in perpetuity, protect and restore the natural environment, and provide opportunities for ecologically sensitive public enjoyment and education. On the Coast, Midpen has an expanded mission to acquire and preserve agricultural land of regional significance, preserve rural character and encourage viable agricultural uses of land resources.
Midpen’s Lands
•Public agency, created in 1972 by a grassroots voter initiative •763,000 constituents (2020) •Elected board: seven directors •Funded primarily through property tax •27 Preserves in Santa Clara, San Mateo and Santa Cruz counties •Preserved over 70,000 acres, 250+ miles of trails •Preserves are free and open to the public •Main office in Los Altos + field offices •200+ employees, ~1000 volunteers •$300 million voter-approved general obligation bond passed in 2014 to support public priorities Some Midpen Facts
Rancho San Antonio Open Space Preserve
Photo: Hongyun Liu
Ravenswood Open Space Preserve
Photo: Jose Maldonado
Russian Ridge Open Space Preserve
Photo: Chris Toomey
Windy Hill Open Space Preserve
Photo: Vaibhav Tripathi
Project Updates
Wildland Fire Resiliency Program Implementation
CZU Lightning Complex Fire, 2020Photo: Brad Pennington
Wildland Fire Resiliency Program
For more information visit openspace.org/what-we-do/projects/wildland-fire-resiliency
Wildland Fire Resiliency Program: Project Areas
Hawthorns Area Plan
13 Purpose of Hawthorns Area Plan:•Comprehensive use and management plan for the Hawthorns Area of Windy Hill Open Space Preserve •Prescribe future uses and management •Identify resourceandland management activities•Establish public access opportunities Public Access Working Group (PAWG):The purpose of the PAWG is to establish an interactive forum of local and regional perspectives to collaborate with Midpen on a plan for introducing ecologically sensitive public access at the Hawthorns Area in a manner consistent with the Board-adopted vision and goals.
For more information, please visit: https://www.openspace.org/hawthorns 14 Phase I (July 2022-November 2022): Rehabilitate Regional Trail connection from Page Mill Road to Bypass Trail. Replaced significant failed culverts and corrected degraded road bed.Phase II (Summer 2023): Construct new, sustainable Bypass Trail Reroute to replace existing informal bypass trail. Lower Alpine Retaining Wall (Summer 2023): Construct two new retaining walls to address erosion and stability concerns and Alpine Road and Ciervos Road.
Alpine Road Regional Trail Improvement Project
Purisima-to-the-Sea TrailProject Description New parking area and trails connecting the Coastal Trail on Highway 1 to the Bay Area Ridge Trail on Highway 35.
To N
Highway 17 Crossings
Measure AA 10thAnniversary - 2024
Progress since 2014Preserved over 9,600 acres of open space4,200 acres opened to the public at five preserves/preserve areasOpened 31.4 miles of trails to public access, with 10+ miles in construction, and 19+ miles of new trails in the planning stagesOpened 3 new parking areas, creating a total of 126 new parking spaces (Karl Gohl)
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