Midpen’s largest preserves are often protected piece by piece over many years. Recently, Midpen added 60 acres to its La Honda Creek Open Space Preserve with the help of Measure AA funding, a bond approved by local voters in 2014 to support Midpen’s Vision Plan projects.
La Honda Creek Preserve now totals nearly 6,500 acres, making it Midpen’s second-largest preserve. The newly purchased property is forested with redwood and Douglas fir trees, including an impressive old-growth redwood.
The property was sustainably logged before Midpen acquired it. The timber harvest completed by the previous owner removed some dense second-growth redwood trees while retaining larger, mature trees that are important habitat for wildlife such as the endangered marbled murrelet, a seabird that nests in coastal forests.
“The trees on the property are well-distributed in age and size, which are signs of a healthy forest,” Midpen Forest Ecologist Arianna Camponuri said.
Approximately 1,000 feet of San Gregorio Creek forms the southern boundary of the property, and this was also a crucial aspect of Midpen’s decision to purchase the property. With this new addition, Midpen has now protected nearly 40% of the San Gregorio Creek Watershed.
“Creeks depend on the health of the surrounding watershed. By protecting San Gregorio Creek and the nearby open space lands, Midpen has more ability to implement projects that benefit fish, other wildlife and people,” said Midpen Water Resource Specialist David Liefert.
Near the newly acquired property, Midpen and the San Mateo Resource Conservation District are already partnering on a multiyear project to improve San Gregorio Creek’s habitat for federally threatened steelhead trout and endangered coho salmon.
This project strategically places logs in the creek channel, once common in coastal streams before human development, to recreate pools where fish can forage and rest and enhance riverbed habitat where fish lay their eggs.
The newly purchased property is intersected by Highway 84, and nearly connects Midpen’s vast La Honda Creek Preserve with nearby Sam McDonald County Park, piecing together the preserved regional greenbelt central to Midpen’s mission.