Juristac (Sargent Ranch)

We are thrilled to announce that after years of determined advocacy, the heartland of the Juristac landscape (specifically, the area known as Sargent Ranch) is now permanently protected. This critical landscape, located just south of Gilroy, is a nearly pristine expanse of grassy hillsides, ancient oak groves, sycamore woodlands, freshwater wetlands, and rare natural tar springs found nowhere else nearby. It is a critical wildlife corridor connecting the Santa Cruz Mountains with the Diablo Range and the Gabilan Range. Along with Coyote Valley to the north, Juristac provides the only viable path for wildlife to migrate into and out of the Santa Cruz Mountains.

Juristac is also the most sacred site of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band. For thousands of years, the Amah Mutsun held ceremonies there, and the area remains a living Tribal Cultural Landscape of profound spiritual significance.

Beginning in 2018, Green Foothills partnered with the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band to oppose a proposed open-pit sand and gravel mine at Juristac. The mine would have destroyed more than 400 acres of habitat, carved three massive quarry pits hundreds of feet deep into the hillsides, generated hundreds of truck trips each day, and pumped approximately 76,000 gallons of groundwater daily for mining operations.

Through sustained advocacy and broad community engagement, this destructive proposal has now been stopped. In several purchase agreements finalized in 2025 and early 2026, the landowner agreed to sell more than 6,000 acres of Juristac to Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST) for permanent conservation, thus eliminating the threat of a mining operation at Juristac.

Juristac is rich in biodiversity and critical habitat for a wide variety of species, including threatened and endangered species. Threatened California red-legged frogs live and breed in Sargent Creek, which flows between two hills that would have been excavated by the open-pit mine. The streams and ponds of Juristac are habitats for threatened California tiger salamanders and western pond turtles, and steelhead trout have been observed in Tar Creek. Golden Eagles forage on the hillsides, and Burrowing Owls have been sighted in the grasslands.

Perhaps the greatest threat from the mining operation would have been its impact on wildlife movement. A 14-acre processing plant for rock-crushing operations would have been located directly adjacent to the most important wildlife undercrossing beneath Highway 101 in the entire region, and heavy trucks loaded with sand and gravel would have driven constantly through that undercrossing, blocking the pathway for wildlife. With the defeat of the mine, animals like mountain lions, tule elk, and gray foxes can safely travel underneath the highway.

Juristac has faced development threats for decades. Green Foothills worked alongside partners to successfully oppose a 1993 proposal for four “villages” of nearly 12,000 residents, early-2000s plans for golf courses and luxury housing, and, most recently, the mining proposal.

In response to the mine, Green Foothills and the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band formed the Protect Juristac coalition – a diverse alliance of conservation groups, faith communities, civil rights organizations, and grassroots advocates. Together, the coalition organized rallies and marches, gathered more than 20,000 petition signatures, and secured resolutions from seven local city councils supporting Juristac’s protection.

Public opposition to the proposed mining project was overwhelming. Of more than 10,000 public comments submitted on the mine’s environmental review, 99.99% opposed the mine. The Draft Environmental Impact Report identified 14 significant impacts of the proposed mining project, including permanent and irreversible damage to tribal cultural resources and severe disruption of wildlife movement.

POST’s purchases put an end to the mining proposal and ensured that the heartland of Juristac will be protected in perpetuity. Nevertheless, development threats remain elsewhere in the greater Juristac landscape, especially the portion that lies within San Benito County. Green Foothills will continue to work to protect Juristac’s wildlife habitat and cultural significance from all that threatens it.