by Rufus Jeffris
It's not every day that large parcels of land fall out of the sky. But that's essentially what happened this week when a Menlo Park land conservancy group announced that an anonymous donor had made it the beneficiary of 1,200 acres of Peninsula open space.
According to Audrey Rust, executive director of Peninsula Open Space Trust, the two separate parcels between Skyline Boulevard and Half Moon Bay are valued at $4.5 million.
That makes the donation possibly the largest gift of land ever made in San Mateo County, Rust said.
"We're delighted to receive this gift and ensure that this beautiful land will be permanently protected as open space," Rust said in a statement issued Wednesday.
The land consists of the 480-acre Bald Knob property adjacent to the Purisima Creek Redwoods Open Space Preserve west of Skyline above San Carlos and the 704-acre Tunitas Creek Ranch above of Woodside.
"These properties offer fantastic views of the coast and hillsides, wonderful hiking trails and prime wildlife habitats," Rust said.
The Open Space Trust is expected to ask the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District to manage the Bald Knob property and open it to the public.
"Bald Knob would make a great addition to the Purisima Creek Preserve," Rust said.
The property got its name after timber companies clear-cut the land in the 1870s to produce the lumber that helped construct San Francisco. The forest has since regenerated with large stands of Douglas fir and redwoods.
However, Tunitas Creek Ranch, which was used for cattle grazing until the early 1980s, will require extensive restoration work before it can be opened to the public, Rust said. Hunting which had been allowed on the property will be discontinued.
The gift represents another success for POST in preserving Peninsula open space. The organization celebrated last fall after winning $5.25 million in federal money to help complete the purchase of the 1,232-acre Phleger Estate near Huddart Park above Woodside.
Since its formation in 1977, the non-profit land trust has acquired and set aside as permanent open space and parkland an estimated 24,000 acres of Peninsula land.
"These properties offer fantastic views of the coast and hillsides, wonderful hiking trails and prime wildlife habitats."
--Audrey Rust
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