A nearly 2,000-acre private retreat long held by the family of the late industrialist Stephen D. Bechtel Jr. is trading luxury getaways for permanent protection. Mead Ranch, a roughly 1,921-acre sweep of oak-studded grasslands, ponds and ridgeline views along Uvas Road between San Jose and Morgan Hill, has been sold to a regional land trust that plans to lock it in as open space.
Peninsula Open Space Trust, better known as POST, paid about $24.3 million for Mead Ranch and says it will preserve the property as open space, with help from a grant from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. POST has also said it may transfer stewardship of the site to the Santa Clara Valley Habitat Agency. Gordon Clark, president of POST, called the ranch “a key linchpin that connects the Santa Cruz Mountains to Coyote Valley,” as reported by The Mercury News.
How the purchase fits into regional conservation
The Mead Ranch deal drops neatly into a growing string of big-ticket conservation buys across the South Bay aimed at halting future development and stitching together fragmented habitat. Earlier this year, POST picked up more than 2,200 acres at Sargent Ranch in a $23 million purchase, as reported by SFGATE. Conservation advocates say linking properties like these helps wildlife such as mountain lions and other wide-ranging species move between ridgelines and valley floor habitat, which in turn supports biodiversity and watershed health.
POST says acquiring Mead Ranch brings the total to about 49,000 acres of contiguous protected land between Mount Umunhum and Highway 101. The property could eventually add roughly 1.5 miles to the Bay Area Ridge Trail, opening new options for both public recreation and wildlife connectivity in the corridor, per The Mercury News. The trust has not set a timeline for public access or mapped out specific trail routes, and it typically works with partner agencies and funders on detailed stewardship plans before opening any new preserve…