Author: Brian Schmidt

Over the years, Green Foothills has worked on a number of issues in counties adjacent to San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties that have cross-border effects. Our recent work in San Benito County has garnered us an invitation and funding to continue partnering with local organizations and the Amah Mutsun Tribe in fighting to protect...

Great news! On August 17, the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the agreement to share with Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District the enforcement of the environmentally protective easement on Lehigh Quarry. Thank you for taking action – you helped make this happen! We look forward to better protection of the easement and...

Cover Image from Santa Clara County Recreational Vehicle Parks Study, March 2018 Recreational Vehicle (RV) parks can be an enjoyable experience providing greater comforts than tent camping especially for those who want a more extended stay. However, turning these remote RV parks into permanent housing is a misuse of rural areas. They become high-density housing...

This month, the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors took the first long-needed step to protect a hillside that is part of Lehigh Quarry, the giant quarry scarring the hills above Cupertino and Los Altos Hills. County staff will now begin researching better ways to enforce protection of the hillside Lehigh has been damaging. Thank...

On Tuesday, the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors unanimously directed staff to investigate sharing enforcement authority with Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District over a ridgeline easement on Lehigh Quarry property. Thank you to all of you who asked the Supervisors to support the referral to staff. Why It’s Important For decades, Lehigh has been...

On Tuesday, June 22, the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors will decide if staff should investigate sharing enforcement authority with Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District over a ridgeline easement on Lehigh Quarry property. Lehigh has violated the County-owned easement agreement for many years, degrading the habitat and threatening Rancho San Antonio Park. Please ask...

There are multiple reasons why the wildfire problem in California is growing worse: climate change is increasing the number of fires that burn more intensely and widely than in the past, past patterns of fire suppression have resulted in a backlog of fuel, and many people live in forests in harm’s way. There is no...

Streams, Riparian Zones Running Through San Jose are Crucial Habitats San Jose is extraordinarily fortunate to have important and environmentally viable stream corridors running through the city, from the hills to the Bay. In the hills, elk and deer delight urban residents. In the Bay, sea life like leopard sharks and small rays swim within...