Committee for Green Foothills - Our mission is to protect the open space, farmlands, and natural resources of San Mateo and Santa Clara counties through advocacy, education, and grassroots action.Committee for Green Foothills | Our mission is to protect the open space, farmlands, and natural resources of San Mateo and Santa Clara counties through advocacy, education, and grassroots action.

Action Alert: Protect Birds in Santa Clara

Next Tuesday, November 13, the Santa Clara City Council will consider the Tasman East Specific Plan, a proposal for a high-density residential area adjacent to the Guadalupe River and across the street from Ulistac Natural Area. Currently, the Specific Plan suggests, but does not require, an open space park along the Guadalupe River corridor. Please […]

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An Electoral Win for Coyote Valley

Great news for Coyote Valley! Measure T in San Jose, which provides $50 million for land conservation in Coyote Valley, has been approved by the voters. We are closer than we’ve ever been before to permanently protecting a large part of Coyote Valley! Another ballot measure concerning Coyote Valley that was approved by voters last night is Measure […]

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People Who Give Us Hope: Smita Patel

Smita Patel is a member of the Committee for Green Foothills Advisory Board and a tireless advocate for change. She is a co-founder of the Mountain Children’s Foundation, which provides support and empowerment for children in mountainous areas of Uttarakhand, India, and now works in education journalism. Recently she shared a remarkable episode of the NPR […]

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Save Dunes Beach

We often take coastal views for granted until it’s too late. Now, a proposed 200-unit luxury hotel/conference center and a high-end 170-space RV Park are threatening one of the remaining coastal views in Half Moon Bay. In Half Moon Bay, drivers already experience significant delays on Highway 1, especially on weekends. Traffic would be exacerbated […]

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Environmentalists Need to Vote

Did you know that, apparently, environmentalists don’t vote? According to the Environmental Voter Project, although tens of millions of Americans list strong environmental policies as a priority in polls, when it comes to actual voters, environmental issues get ranked near the bottom. The problem? The people who say the environment matters to them aren’t actually […]

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IPCC Report: Time’s Up

by Megan Medeiros, Executive Director Time is up. We have twelve years for every level of society to make “rapid, far-reaching and unprecedented changes” to avoid disastrous levels of climate change. This instruction was made by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPPC) in a new report released this week. It’s impossible to not […]

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Action Alert: Tell Supervisors to Keep Stanford Negotiations Transparent

Note: This alert is now closed. The Board of Supervisors has met and we will be publishing an updated post on this issue shortly. Thanks for all the many, many people who sent comments calling for transparency and a fair public process! On Tuesday, October 16, the Santa Clara County Supervisors will be deciding whether […]

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We Asked, You Answered: Why Does Open Space Matter?

Our conservation community agrees that open space and natural lands are important, but we have all arrived here from different paths. In late summer we sent out our annual survey asking for feedback from our members, and many of you responded with your reasons for prioritizing conservation in San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties. We’ve […]

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Signatures Needed to Save Dunes Beach!

Dunes Beach is at risk of development! This 50-acre open space parcel along the Half Moon Bay Coastal Trail allows for ocean views from Highway 1, prime agriculture land, equestrian uses, and animal habitat. The proposed 200-room hotel and 170-site luxury RV park at Dunes Beach will: Exacerbate traffic problems on Highway 1 Cause the […]

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A Victory for Martin’s Beach

We’ve written many times before about the saga of Martin’s Beach and billionaire Vinod Khosla’s attempt to close off access to this iconic beach. We’ve asked you to write letters to the governor and the State Lands Commission, we’ve held informational sessions (and picnics!) at the beach itself, and it’s consistently been one of the […]

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Nature’s Inspiration: Rue Mapp Speech

Well, this is wonderful. Thank you so much. I’m not accustomed to doing talks in the round. I apologize if I have my back to anybody. And just thank you. This is a wonderful honor, a wonderful view I’m looking over at right now, and thank you Megan for just being such a bridge builder. […]

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Nature’s Inspiration: Steve Abbors Speech

Thank you, Ana, for that very warm introduction and thank you Megan and the Committee for Green Foothills for this unexpected recognition. I’ve been retired from MidPen for almost nine months now so it’s nice to have the opportunity to see you all again. I know each of you has a story about how you […]

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Help us pass Measure T!