POST Transfers 340-acre Lobitos Ridge to Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District
April 1, 2010
More than 30 years ago, the founders of Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST) and the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District (MROSD) envisioned a pathway of open space that would connect San Francisco Bay to the Pacific Ocean. Yesterday, POST brought that dream closer to reality with its transfer of the 340-acre Lobitos Ridge property south of Half Moon Bay to MROSD for $3 million.
While a public recreation trail passing through Lobitos Ridge is still years in the making, this property transfer is a major step towards the vision of connecting a magnificent section of that pathway for people and wildlife, from Skyline Ridge to the sea. Other POST-protected properties along the route will include Cowell Ranch to the west, as well as Bluebrush Canyon and Lower Purisima Creek to the east, both of which POST transferred to MROSD in recent years.
“Lobitos Ridge is a key link in a chain of protected lands that runs from Purisima Creek Redwoods Open Space Preserve down to the coast,” said 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 land and keeps wildlife migration pathways intact as a hedge against future shifts in habitat zones resulting from climate change.”
A wide, grassy crest dominates Lobitos Ridge. Along its south side, the property slopes down to Lobitos Creek and opens onto a lush valley. “It’s easy to envision a recreation trail winding its way down the ridge with breathtaking 180-degree views of the San Mateo Coast,” Rust said.
Since the 1800s, Lobitos Ridge has been used primarily for cattle grazing. In 1926, an oil well was drilled on the land and later removed by POST, in 2008. 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. In 2004, the Beffas sold Lobitos Ridge for $3 million to POST, which made a point of continuing grazing operations there, as will MROSD. The land is part of the Lobitos Creek watershed and provides important habitat and spawning area for a variety of fish and the federally listed threatened California red-legged frog.
As part of the sale, MROSD will reimburse POST up to an additional $600,000 for necessary maintenance and improvements the nonprofit land trust is completing at Lobitos Ridge. “POST has been an essential and tireless partner in making our shared vision of Purisima-to-the-sea a reality,” said 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.