Midpen Open Space awarded nearly $2 million to advance wildfire resilience, wildlife habitat improvements and regional trails

The Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District (Midpen) has secured nearly $2 million in three newly awarded grants. These funds will support projects in Midpen preserves focused on wildland fire resilience, habitat restoration for rare wildlife and the construction of the Highway 17 Wildlife and Trail Crossing Project.

Creating Wildland Fire Resilience ($741,450)

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has awarded $741,450 to Midpen’s Wildland Fire Resiliency Program, which  reduces wildland fire severity  in  the region  in part  by managing vegetation in the preserves with a focus on ecological health and resilience.
Midpen will use the funds towards on-the-ground vegetation management projects in strategic locations across 167 acres within Windy Hill, Skyline Ridge, Russian Ridge and El Corte de Madera Creek open space preserves. All work will occur within two miles of the Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI), the area where communities and open space meet.

Restoring Critical Chaparral Habitat for the Santa Cruz Kangaroo Rat ($500,000)

The Santa Clara Valley Water District awarded Midpen a $500,000 grant to improve areas of chaparral plant communities within Sierra Azul Open Space Preserve. This grant will support Midpen’s Santa Cruz Kangaroo Rat Habitat and Population Management Plan which includes expanding and reconnecting vital habitat for this critically imperiled, endemic species.

Crews will perform selective vegetation management across 40 acres. Fire suppression and natural succession have resulted in dense knobcone pines and thick understory brush encroaching into the preserve’s chaparral plant communities, shrinking the sandy, open areas Santa Cruz kangaroo rats require. As a vital keystone species, they bury native seeds like manzanita in shallow caches that protect them from the extreme heat of wildland fires, promoting plant regeneration and maintaining montane chaparral communities.

Advancing the Highway 17 Wildlife and Ridge Trail Crossings Project ($750,000)

The Metropolitan Transportation Commission awarded Midpen $750,000 to support the Highway 17 Wildlife and Trail Crossings Project. The grant was awarded through MTC’s Priority Conservation Area Grant Program, a regional pool distributing $8 million across 16 Bay Area projects to advance the environmental, equity and climate resilience goals of Plan Bay Area.

The project, in partnership with Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority and Caltrans, will connect 30,000 acres of protected public lands on either side of Highway 17.

The project includes the construction of a dedicated highway undercrossing designed for large mammals, accompanied by more than two miles of directional wildlife fencing to prevent animals from entering the roadway. Highway 17 is a major wildlife-vehicle collision hotspot, making this roadway the “top priority barrier” to wildlife connectivity in the Bay Area.

For outdoor enthusiasts, the highway blocks trail connectivity and leaves a major gap in the 550-mile Bay Area Ridge Trail. The trail overcrossing, which is envisioned to be accessible to hikers, bicyclists, equestrians and dog-walkers, will link El Sereno Open Space Preserve to the popular Los Gatos Creek Trail and Lexington Reservoir County Park.

Photo of kangaroo rat by Vishal Subramanyan; all other photos courtesy of MidPen