ConnectingCalifornia.org: For more places to hike, climb and explore, and Trails within 15 minutes of every California home and workplace. OUR GOAL: Connecting California with 1000 Miles of Parks, not 500 miles of Continuous Concrete Sprawl, with permanently preserved farmland greenbelts around every major city, with connected open space rings that link the entire state together. Think it'll never happen? It already is. Read the success stories on our website!
--the California "Mega-Park" Project
READ OUR EDITOR ON FACEBOOK: facebook.com/rex.frankel
Monday, April 24, 2023
SCC 4/2023
https://scc.ca.gov/2023/03/23/coastal-conservancy-public-meeting-in-san-rafael-april-06/
Consideration and possible authorization to disburse up to $41,200 to the Mattole Restoration Council to complete preacquisition activities for 52 acres of wetland, riparian, grassland, and forested habitat on the North Fork Mattole River in Humboldt County. SCC 4/6/2023
http://scc.ca.gov/webmaster/ftp/pdf/sccbb/2023/2304/20230406Board03A_Lower_North_Fork_Mattole.pdf
Consideration and possible authorization to disburse up to $7,000,000 to the Land Trust of Napa County to acquire 465 acres of the 2,300-acre Walt Ranch Property for habitat preservation, biodiversity protection, climate resilience, improving wildlife corridors, and public access and tribal cultural uses compatible with natural resource protection in the Capell Valley of Napa County, California. SCC 4/6/2023
http://scc.ca.gov/webmaster/ftp/pdf/sccbb/2023/2304/20230406Board05_Walt_Ranch_Acquisition.pdf
WCB 5/2023
WILDLIFE CONSERVATION BOARD May 25, 2023, 10:00 a.m.
Natural Resources Building, First Floor Auditorium 715 P Street Sacramento, CA 95814
Bates Ranch $2 million Santa Clara County
cooperative project with the Peninsula Open Space Trust and the Moore Foundation to acquire 735± acres to provide a critical wildlife corridor from Mount Madonna County Park to Uvas Reservoir, near the city of Gilroy
Devil's Canyon $1,600,000 Los Angeles County
grant to Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority to acquire in fee 120± acres
White Tate $642,200 San Diego County
grant federal funds to the Escondido Creek Conservancy, to acquire in fee 48± acres near the city of San Marcos
Klamath Hydroelectric Settlement $0 Siskiyou County
To consider WCB entering into a Property Transfer Agreement on behalf of CDFW for future acceptance of 7,027± acres of land from Klamath River Renewal Corporation after dam removal and restoration as a no-cost acquisition located near the town of Hornbrook
Bently Junction Ranch $4,220,000 Mono County
grant to The Wildlands Conservancy to acquire 2,333± acres located near Bridgeport
-------------------------------
Rana Creek Ranch $24 million Monterey County
grant to The Wildlands Conservancy for a cooperative project with the State Coastal Conservancy to acquire 11,691± acres located in Carmel Valley
Fay Creek Ranch $3,336,929 Kern County
Monday, January 30, 2023
Karuk Tribe Gets Land Back on Hwy 96
Biden and Congress Return 1000 Acres to North Coast Tribe
On January 6, in a rare act of unity for a very divided federal government, President Joe Biden signed into law an act returning the center of the world to the Karuk Tribe. Eight years in the making, the Katimiîn and Ameekyáaraam Sacred Lands Act took roughly 1000 acres of land hugging the shores along the confluence of the Klamath and Salmon Rivers near the border between Humboldt and Siskiyou Counties and placed it in trust for the Tribe.
The land has previously been managed by the US Forest Service. In 1850, the California legislature passed the Act for the Government and Protection of Indians which, among other things (including establishing indentured servitude and laying the groundwork for genocide), facilitated the removal and displacement of Indigenous Californians from their ancestral lands. By the time that the first seeds of what would become the US Forest Service were planted in the late 1800s due to exploitation of the forests by miners and loggers, the original stewards of the lands that would come to be managed by the federal government had already been forcibly removed. For perspective, the Tribe’s ancestral territory encompasses over one million acres, 95 percent of which is currently occupied by the US Forest Service, so although this act of land return is cause for celebration, it is a mere fraction of the territory historically inhabited by the tribe...
MAP: https://huffman.house.gov/download/huffman_legislativemap-katimiinarea_08-09-2021
https://www.yournec.org/feds-return-center-of-the-world-to-karuk-tribe/
SEE FULL STORY ON PAGE 6
https://www.yournec.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Web_February-2023-EcoNews.pdf
SCC 2/2023
Coastal Conservancy to Fund $7 million purchase in East SF Bay
https://scc.ca.gov/2023/01/20/coastal-conservancy-public-meeting-in-imperial-beach-february-02/
disburse up to $7,000,000 to East Bay Regional Park District to acquire the 768-acre Finley Road Ranch Property in Contra Costa County for purposes of protecting, restoring, and enhancing natural and scenic resources, including wildlife corridors and habitat; improving landscape resilience related to climate change; preserving open space; providing public access and recreational use compatible with the protection, restoration, and enhancement of natural and scenic resources; and providing a public entry staging area for parks on the southern side of Mount Diablo
Total price is $11.3 million, including $4.3 million in non-State funds
for uncropped map:
WCB 2/2023
February 16, 2023, 10:00 a.m.
Natural Resources Building, First Floor Auditorium 715 P Street Sacramento, CA 95814
agenda and maps: https://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=210594&inline
IN L.A. COUNTY:
Escondido Falls $1,500,000 in Los Angeles County
grant to Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority to acquire 88± acres. Total price: $4.8 million
https://files.ceqanet.opr.ca.gov/274756-1/attachment/azqLUAQd3fq1RSnITTxvOKKctYydTQJUIsjQF2t8kGDBQZ6J6-BczTwfJDifhm63KBIbLf3ruh03Ni070
Topanga Lagoon Restoration Planning $4,946,000 in Los Angeles County
a grant to the Resource Conservation District of the Santa Monica Mountains for a cooperative planning project with CDFW, State Coastal Conservancy, California Department of Parks and Recreation, and Caltrans to develop the technical studies, environmental review and outreach necessary to restore the Topanga Lagoon

Fay Creek Ranch $3,360,000 in Kern County
grant to Western Rivers Conservancy (WRC) for a cooperative project with the Sierra Nevada Conservancy to acquire 2,285± acres near the community of Weldon. WITHDRAWN FROM AGENDA
grant to California Rangeland Trust for a cooperative project with the Sierra Nevada Conservancy and the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service to acquire a conservation easement over 4,922± acres near the community of Bieber
Total price: $2.96 million
Yanci Ranch $0 in Yolo County
to subgrant federal funds to the Yolo Habitat Conservancy to acquire a conservation easement over 795 ± acres. Total price: $1.3 million
Barber Creek $240,000 in Alpine County
acquisition of 66± acres of land by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW)
Bufford Ranch Conservation Easement, Expansion 2, $95,000 in Kern County
grant to California Rangeland Trust to acquire a conservation easement over 64.99± acres of land located in Caliente. Total price $100,000
IN THE SF BAY AREA:
Monitor Island Transfer $0 in Lake County
no cost transfer of 4± acres of land by CDFW to Lake County Land Trust
San Felipe Valley Wildlife Area, Expansion 6 (Geis) $413,000 in San Diego County
acquisition in fee of 50± acres of land as an expansion to CDFW’s San Felipe Valley Wildlife Area
IN THE CENTRAL COAST:
Silacci Ranch Conservation Easement $2,010,000 in Monterey and San Benito Counties
grant to California Rangeland Trust for a cooperative project with the Department of Conservation and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to acquire an agricultural conservation easement over 9,418± acres near the city of Salinas. Total price: $8.5 million
https://www.montereyherald.com/2020/12/17/grant-awarded-to-conserve-rangeland-in-the-gabilans-near-salinas/
Saturday, December 10, 2022
SCC 12/2022
Sonoma Mountain Purchase Funded by CA Coastal Conservancy Board
ful meeting agenda:
https://scc.ca.gov/2022/11/16/coastal-conservancy-public-meeting-in-pacific-grove-december-01/
SONOMA: disburse up to $787,500 to Sonoma Land Trust to acquire the 174-acre Sonoma Mountain Vernal Pools Property in Sonoma County 12/1/2022 SCC
https://scc.ca.gov/webmaster/ftp/pdf/sccbb/2022/2212/20221201Board12_Sonoma_Mountain.pdf
Several maps: https://scc.ca.gov/webmaster/ftp/pdf/sccbb/2022/2212/20221201Board12_Sonoma_Mountain_Ex1.pdf
Wednesday, November 2, 2022
WCB 11/2022
ABOUT 10,000 ACRES TO BE SAVED BY WILDLIFE BOARD
Notice of Meeting of WILDLIFE CONSERVATION BOARD, November 15, 2022, 10:00 a.m.
MAPS: https://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=206070&inline
CENTRAL VALLEY/SIERRA NEVADAS:
21 ACRES China Hill, Expansion 4, $40,750 Siskiyou County
grant to Siskiyou Land Trust (SLT) for the protection of Yreka phlox, a wildflower endemic to China Hill and other surrounding foothill areas, located in the city of Yreka. USFWS is granting $59,000, for a total price of $100,000
http://bondaccountability.resources.ca.gov/Project.aspx?ProjectPK=22897&PropositionPK=4
655 ACRES Yreka Phlox Soap Creek Ridge purchase (Anderson) $105,075. Siskiyou County
grant to Siskiyou LT. USFWS granting $295,000, for a total price of $400,000
66 ACRES Barber Creek $240,000, Alpine County, acquisition by CDFW. WITHDRAWN
4101 ACRES Sierra Valley Conservation easement purchase, Expansion 7 (Bates Ranch) $2,382,268 in Plumas County, grant to the Feather River Land Trust. National Fish and Wildlife Foundation is granting $317k, for a total price of $2.7million
---------------------------------
NORTH COAST:
CAL FIRE Mattole Headwaters, $0 Humboldt County POSTPONED
acceptance of a conservation easement over 95+ acres by CAL FIRE located near Whitehorn in Humboldt County.
---------------------------------
CENTRAL COAST:
Santa Cruz Long-toed Salamander (Hasan) $900,000 Santa Cruz County
acquisition of 3.5± acres of land by CDFW, located in Aptos. Total price is $900k
4503 ACRES Sans Topo Ranch Conservation Easement, $650,000. San Benito County, grant to California Rangeland Trust (CRT) to acquire a conservation easement located near Hollister. The US Fish and Wildlife Service is providing $1.85 million, for a total price of $2.5 million.
321 ACRES Pereira Ranch Conservation Easement, $415,000 , in San Luis Obispo County,
grant to the Land Conservancy of SLO County near San Luis Obispo. CA Dept of Conservation is contributing $735,000, for a total price of $1.15million
---------------------------------------
LOS ANGELES:
Agoura Hills - Santa Monica Mountains Gateway, $2,230,000, grant to MRCA to acquire 8± acres, SE of Cornell and Agoura roads. MRCA to provide $330k, Total price is $2.6 million
https://smmc.civicweb.net/document/11584/Consideration%20of%20resolution%20authorizing%20a%20grant.pdf?handle=4F14D34DD86F45C082668846035801E2
Newhall Pass I-5 Wildlife Crossing Design, $4,724,000, Los Angeles County. grant to the Resource Conservation District of the Santa Monica Mountains for a wildlife overpass across Interstate 5
https://mrca.civicweb.net/document/64073/Consideration%20of%20resolution%20authorizing%20a%20suppo.pdf?handle=A82B7D676B474C3295B22EEAD2884D61
Saturday, September 24, 2022
North Coast New Parks...
From 2018-2022:
DEL NORTE COUNTY:
Aug 23, 2019
state $ help North coast Yurok tribe buy 50,000 acres from timber giant Green Diamond
@FORESTSFOREVER
"The Tribe is restoring approximately 15,000 acres in Blue Creek into an old-growth forest and a Salmon Sanctuary. Blue Creek is one of the most important Klamath River tributaries..." #salmon #forests https://buff.ly/2zdPKMR
https://lostcoastoutpost.com/2019/aug/14/yurok-tribe-acquires-50000-acres-green-diamond-lan/
MAP: https://www.westernrivers.org/assets/projects/bluecreek_website-map-updated-1594857350.pdf
Jun 30, 2020 @FORESTSFOREVER
How the Yurok Tribe is reclaiming the Klamath River https://youtu.be/D2mBw-oLw0I
New San Francisco Bay Parks...
From 2018-2022:
ALAMEDA AND CONTRA COSTA COUNTIES:
10/17/2020
By an act of Congress, John Muir Land Trust is donating the 44-acre West Hills Farm property to the John Muir National Historic Site to help preserve trails and lands surrounding the longtime home of the man known as the Father of Our National Parks.
In 2019 JMLT purchased Almond Ranch, a 281-acre property connecting the John Muir National Historic Site to an expansive trail system and 18,000 acres of permanently protected open space.
https://jmlt.org/calendar-events/national-park-expansion-and-almond-ranch-dedication/
New Central Valley and Sierra Nevadas parks...
From 2018-2022:
SISKIYOU COUNTY:
Jul 5, 2019
Michigan-California Timber co sells 10,000 acres along the Pacific Crest Trail for preservation, now owned by public
MAP: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D-vRRx_U4AATpdc?format=jpg&name=medium
includes 17 miles of PCT
https://www.pcta.org/2019/the-trinity-divide-land-acquisition-is-a-big-leap-toward-protecting-the-entire-pacific-crest-trail-66288/
https://www.sfchronicle.com/travel/article/Land-deal-protects-spectacular-17-mile-stretch-of-14059845.php
LA meetuphikes.org
VISIONS, HISTORY AND RESEARCH:
- VISIONS OF CONNECTED OPEN SPACES
- 9/2007 NEW PARKS SINCE 2000
- 12/2015 UPDATE: Websites of All California Land-Saving Groups
- NORTH COAST-NEW PARKS 2000-2011
- SF BAY--NEW PARKS 2000-2011
- CENTRAL COAST--NEW PARKS 2000-2011
- SIERRA NEVADA/CENTRAL VALLEY--NEW PARKS 2000-2011
- LOS ANGELES COUNTY & SANTA MONICA MOUNTAINS--NEW PARKS 2000-2011
- SO-CAL--NEW PARKS 2000-2011
- STATEWIDE LAND PRESERVATION ISSUES AND GROUPS
- CA LAND TRUSTS SUMMARY 10-10-2017
- CA Wildlife Board Purchases 2000 to 2017
- All State Agency Land Purchase from 2000-01 to 2017-11
- 2012-12-02 CA Park purchases summary
L.A.-So. Cal-Desert Blogs
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Rex's Photo Albums8 years ago
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New Anza Borrego Desert Tribute Site9 years ago
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Rally to Celebrate Elephant Hills10 years ago
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SF Bay blogs:
Central Coast blogs:
Central Valley-Sierra Nevada blogs:
Northern Calif. blogs:
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The Marina Center is Dead11 years ago
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Assorted California Enviro blogs:
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