Radhika Thekkath, an executive board member of the California Native Plant Society (CNPS) Santa Clara Valley Chapter, cares deeply about native plants, the health of pollinators, and local ecosystems. She has a mostly native home garden, gives talks on native plants and related subjects for CNPS, and is passionate about preserving California’s remaining native flora and fauna for future generations to enjoy. To help CNPS achieve its mission to save California’s native plants and places, Radhika wanted to supplement her deep volunteer experience and scientific knowledge with an understanding of how to influence government policy. To learn how, in 2021...
Development Interests Seek to Circumvent Measure A
Measure A, passed in November, requires voter approval for development proposals that change agricultural, rural, or rangeland to commercial, industrial, or residential in San Benito County. This added protection for open space and farmland is great for nature and the county but was opposed by developers. In the weeks surrounding the election, a few developers and landowners sought to circumvent Measure A. Fortunately Green Foothills, our partners, and community members came together to stop them. Ag Center Development Agreement: Vested Development Rights In Exchange For Practically Nothing? One of the attempts to circumvent Measure A involved a proposed truck stop...
Palo Alto Approves Resolution in Support of Juristac
Earlier this month, Palo Alto became the seventh city in our region to pass a resolution opposing the Sargent Ranch Quarry and calling for the permanent protection of Juristac, a critical wildlife linkage and sacred Indigenous landscape. We are urging Santa Clara County to heed the growing movement to defend Juristac and deny the permit for the proposed open-pit sand and gravel mine. Juristac: A Critical Wildlife Linkage and Sacred Indigenous Landscape Juristac lies at the heart of the ancestral lands of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band. The portion of Juristac known today as “Sargent Ranch” encompasses 5,200 acres located...
Ask Palo Alto City Council to Support Protecting Juristac
Update: The Palo Alto City Council voted unanimously in favor of the resolution to protect Juristac. Thank you to everyone who sent emails or attended the City Council meeting. On Monday, December 2, the Palo Alto City Council will consider a resolution in support of protecting Juristac and opposing the Sargent Ranch mining operation. Please use the form below to ask the City Council to approve the resolution to protect Juristac. What’s Happening An open-pit sand and gravel mine has been proposed on the sacred Indigenous landscape and critical wildlife linkage known as Juristac, located just south of Gilroy at...
Monica Nanez: Growing a Career in Environmental Conservation
People sign up for the Green Foothills Leadership Program for a variety of reasons–to learn how to advocate for the environment, to develop leadership skills that will advance a career or make a community group more effective, to understand more about environmental justice, and to make connections with others who care passionately about the environment. Another common reason for participating is to learn about careers in environmental work and get ideas about what paths are possible, in order to help navigate a career in the environmental space. That was the reason Monica Nanez enrolled in the Leadership Program’s very first...
Victory for San Benito’s Measure A
We are thrilled to announce that the voters of San Benito County have passed Measure A! A strong majority of voters supported this citizen-led initiative, which protects open space, wildlife and farmland and empowers the people of San Benito to decide how the county will grow. Green Foothills supported the Measure A campaign throughout the process, together with a broad coalition of environmental groups and community members. Measure A’s victory is a huge win for farmland and wildlife. It changes how land use decisions are made in San Benito County, requiring a vote of the people to redesignate land from...
Development Continues to Threaten Coyote Valley – Please Sign Petition
Despite our 2021 victory in gaining protections for Coyote Valley, parts of this critical landscape continue to be threatened with development. Green Foothills is working to protect the valley from a proposed cemetery and crematorium, an energy facility, and the potential for increased development along the Coyote Creek/Monterey Road corridor. We have launched a petition opposing the cemetery and crematorium, and we’re working to ensure that this uniquely important landscape is not further threatened. You can sign the petition at the bottom of this blog. Heritage Oaks Cemetery Would Impact Wildlife, Water, and Fire Protection In 2014, the city of...
North Coyote Valley Wetland Is Now Preserved as Public Land
Today Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST) announced it has transferred the historic wetland of Laguna Seca in North Coyote Valley to the Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority. This transfer is an important step towards the goal of protecting and restoring all of Coyote Valley, and it was advocacy by Green Foothills and the Protect Coyote Valley coalition that laid the groundwork to make this possible. Laguna Seca – A Historic Wetland Laguna Seca (meaning “dry lagoon”) is located at the northern edge of Coyote Valley, between Tulare Hill and Santa Teresa County Park. Historically, it was a biodiverse and...
Election Results to be Happy About
With the national election results weighing heavily on many people’s minds, I wanted to let you know about some good news for the environment in our local and state elections. First, thank you to California voters for passing Proposition 4 – the climate bond! Second, San Benito’s Measure A, the “Empower the Voters to Make Land Use Decisions” initiative, has a significant lead as of election night, and news organizations are saying it’s on track to win. Measure A: Protecting the Environment Far Beyond San Benito County Measure A is a citizen-led initiative that protects open space, wildlife and farmland...
Green Foothills 2024 Voter Guide
There’s less than a week left to cast your vote! Here are the ballot initiatives that Green Foothills has endorsed for November 2024. Yes on Proposition 4 Proposition 4 (also known as the “climate bond”) will create $10 billion in funding for climate resilience – including $25 million specifically for ecological restoration and protection of open space in Coyote Valley. This would be a historic investment in efforts to address the climate crisis. And it’s not a moment too soon. Experts agree that if we don’t act now, we will pay more in the long run to recover from climate...