Midpen set to improve access to Bear Creek Redwoods in Los Gatos ...Middle East

The Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District approved its budget for the next fiscal year, setting aside funding for some projects in and around Los Gatos.

The district presented a budget on June 11 that estimated $95.1 million in revenue and $94.1 million in expenditures. According to the budget document, revenues were expected to increase by 2%, or $1.8 million, while expenditures were projected to increase by 5%, or $4.6 million. Property tax makes up 86% of the district’s revenue, with grants, interest and rental and other forms of income making up the rest.

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For the next fiscal year, almost $8.8 million was set aside for Measure AA capital projects, while $12 million was allocated from the general fund for other projects. Voters in the district approved Measure AA, a 30-year, $300 million general obligation bond, in June 2014.

Among the projects highlighted by Midpen spokesman Ryan McCauley was improved access to Bear Creek Redwoods. A new northeast trailhead and four more miles of trail will open to allow people in Lexington Reservoir County Park to walk directly to the redwoods.

McCauley said the district also has plans for a multiuse trail, which will extend from the northeast trailhead to allow bikers to ride through the preserve. Currently, only hikers and horseback riders are allowed to use the trails. Both the trailhead and the multiuse trail are partially funded through Measure AA.

The district is also designing a new parking lot near the redwoods that will contain about 40 spots. McCauley said construction is expected to take six months between spring and fall to avoid working during the rainy weather and polluting nearby waterways. It is not funded through Measure AA.

“Because it’s so well-loved and well-visited, on weekends the parking lot can fill up,” McCauley said. “It does pretty regularly in the morning on weekends regularly, so being able to expand the parking area to allow for more people to access the preserve is something we’re really excited for Bear Creek Redwoods.”

The ideas for these projects came from community input after voters passed Measure AA to expand Midpen’s capacity and take on some larger-scale projects. The trailhead and parking area were among the first suggestions, McCauley said.

McCauley also mentioned a wildlife undercrossing and pedestrian overcrossing along Highway 17 near the northern point of Lexington reservoir.

The wildlife undercrossing is meant for deer and mountain lions but can also be used by bobcats, coyotes, squirrels and foxes. The overcrossing would create a larger regional trail connecting El Sereno Open Space Preserve with the Los Gatos Creek Trail. The project is in its final design phase and partially funded by Measure AA, but the district is looking for grants to complete funding it.

“We think of roads as connecting communities, but roads can also act like walls and barriers for wildlife that are trying to move to new places, find shelter, find mates,” McCauley said.

Lastly, since the discovery of critically imperiled Santa Cruz kangaroo rats in the Sierra Azul Open Space Preserve a few years ago, Midpen is trying to enhance their chaparral habitat with sandy soil. McCauley said they are a keystone species, which means their presence impacts many other species. For example, kangaroo rats keep manzanita seeds in their cheeks and buries them, allowing the plants to germinate and grow. This effort is not funded by Measure AA.

“It’s always good when we can see these very rare species pop back up again,” McCauley said.

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