Environmentalists Secure Key Santa Clara Ranch to Halt Quarry Development

The Peninsula Open Space Trust has purchased 1,340 acres of Pescadero Ranch, preserving it as open space amid ongoing mining controversy.

The Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST) acquired Pescadero Ranch for $15.6 million to protect it from development and preserve its ecological and cultural significance.
The 1,340-acre property is part of the larger Sargent Ranch, where a proposed sand and gravel quarry faces strong opposition from environmental groups and the Amah Mutsun tribal band.
The acquisition preserves a critical wildlife corridor for species like mountain lions, ensuring safe passage between the Santa Cruz Mountains and surrounding areas.
Pescadero Ranch holds cultural importance for the Amah Mutsun tribe, being part of their ancestral land known as Juristac, a sacred site for ceremonies and prayer.
POST plans to maintain cattle grazing on the land and eventually transfer it to a conservation steward, ensuring its protection from future development.