On the summit of Mount Umunhum close to Los Gatos. (Gary Reyes/ Bay Space Information Group)
By Kathleen Kirkwood, Bay Metropolis Information Basis
The most important protect within the Midpeninsula Regional Open Area District simply received a bit larger, with the acquisition of 42 acres within the Mount Umunhum space of the Sierra Azul Open Area Protect, district officers stated.
The property, bought for $168,000, is situated on slopes above Soda Spring Canyon and is surrounded by the Sierra Azul Protect on three sides with non-public property to the south, in line with the district.
The newly acquired acreage expands the protect to almost 19,344 acres and protects a greenbelt of related habitat and wildlife corridors.
The massive protect, south of Los Gatos and San Jose, encompasses a lot of the Sierra Azul vary and its foothills within the Santa Cruz Mountains.
Since 1972, the district has protected greater than 65,000 acres of open area, Basic Supervisor Ana Maria Ruiz stated.
“And Sierra Azul is in some ways a crown jewel — our largest protect at greater than 19,300 acres, our highest level at Mount Umunhum and, actually, one among our most rugged and exquisite,” she stated.
The brand new space is dominated by California bay laurel forest, and gives habitat for a number of animal species, together with deer, coyotes, foxes, bobcats and mountain lions, together with all kinds of birds, small mammals, together with dusky-footed woodrats and lots of different resident and migratory species.
The property isn't accessible by present roads, has no enhancements or utilities, and is at present closed to public entry.
It falls inside the Guadalupe Creek and Higher Los Gatos Creek watersheds and contains an intermittent tributary of Soda Springs Creek, which flows immediately into the Lexington Reservoir.