Inside this issue: How you can help an endangered seabird that nests in Santa Cruz Mountain forests, Midpen's continued efforts to prepare for and prevent wildland fire and how we partner with our communities to grow and helping the next generation care for the land.
Click to watch a video of the first flight of a rare marbled murrelet chick in Big Basin State Park.
Nature in August: Midpen, Mossy Branches and Marbled Murrelets
For years, the nesting site of a seabird called the marbled murrelet was a mystery to scientists. It wasn’t until 1974, when a tree trimmer doing work after an unusual winter snowstorm found an odd-looking bird with webbed feet high up in a Douglas fir tree at Big Basin State Park.
That’s how scientists discovered that the now-endangered marbled murrelet flies inland from the ocean, lays a single egg high up in an old-growth tree and raises its chick when it hatches. But because of logging and other habitat destruction, marbled murrelets have lost many of their natural nesting sites.
Midpen staff have detected these secretive birds in the preserves, albeit in small numbers. The one anomaly was in 2022, when Midpen biologist Karine Tokatlian detected large numbers of marbled murrelets in Purisima Creek Redwoods Open Space Preserve.
In the heat of summer, fire safety becomes top-of-mind for communities across the state, but Midpen’s work to prevent and prepare for wildland fire continues year-round. Midpen generally has multiple active vegetation management projects going at any given time as part of our Wildland Fire Resiliency Program.
One of several projects Midpen field crews have been working on this summer is a new vegetation management project in Russian Ridge Open Space Preserve near Rapley Ranch Road and Highway 35. Our rigorous science-based prioritization process identified this 7.5-acre site for treatment in order to boost ecosystem resiliency, prevent vegetation encroachment, help maintain a critical emergency evacuation route for Skyline-area residents and build upon and enhance other nearby vegetation management projects that Midpen and other local agencies have recently completed.
Crews will thin vegetation to slow potential fires and keep them low to the ground while providing nearby communities a safe escape route. This work is expected to be completed by the end of September.
Midpen staff work hard to create opportunities for the public to observe nature and feel the awe and wonder that it can provoke. However, for public safety Midpen preserves close one half-hour after sunset, and access to Midpen preserves and parking areas after hours is strictly prohibited.
In cooperation with other local agencies, Midpen rangers are patrolling the preserves and roadways after dark. Thank you for helping us to keep our community safe by not entering Midpen parking areas and preserves after hours, keeping narrow mountain roadways safe after dark and preventing fires by not driving or parking on dry grass.
Midpen encourages safely stargazing from your backyard or by reserving a campsite in a public campground.
Candidate Nomination Period for Three Seats on Midpen’s Board of Directors Open Through August 9
Midpen is a public agency created by local voters and governed by a publicly elected board of directors. Each of Midpen’s seven directors serve 4-year terms on the board representing the residents of a geographic area or “ward” within Midpen’s boundaries.
Three Midpen board seats are scheduled for election on November 5, 2024. These include Ward 3 which encompasses Sunnyvale, Ward 4 which encompasses Los Altos and Mountain View and Ward 7 which encompasses El Granada, Half Moon Bay, Montara, Moss Beach, Redwood City, San Carlos and Woodside.
The nomination period for candidates who wish to run for a seat on Midpen’s board of directors on the November 5 general election ballot opens July 15 and runs through August 9, 2024. Nominees must be 18 years old, a resident and registered voter in the ward they wish to represent, and gather 50 signatures from registered voters within the ward.
Newly repaired Alpine Road Trail was funded in part by Measure AA (Frances Freyberg)
Applications are Being Accepted for Midpen’s Measure AA Bond Oversight Committee
Midpen is currently accepting applications from qualified individuals interested in serving a four-year term on the Measure AA Bond Oversight Committee.
This committee convenes several times a year to review annual Measure AA expenditures and Midpen’s annual audit and accountability report.
Measure AA is a 30-year, $300 million general obligation bond that voters approved in June 2014. The bond measure funds several priority projects highlighted in Midpen's community-supported Vision Plan that aims to balance preservation, restoration and ecologically-sensitive public access to open space lands.
Midpen seeks individuals to serve on the oversight committee who are committed to transparency and accountability and can provide oversight for all Measure AA funds collected and expended. Members of the oversight committee must be residents living within Midpen’s jurisdiction.
A Midpen Grant Supports Canopy's Teen Urban Foresters in Greening Their Communities
Canopy, a nonprofit organization based in East Palo Alto that aims to grow the urban tree canopy within the community, is training the next generation of environmentalists with a little help from Midpen’s grantmaking program.
The organization received a $50,000 grant from Midpen last year to support their Teen Urban Forester (TUF) program, a paid internship program for high school students. The TUFs, as they are referred to, learn to care for trees and take part in advocacy efforts to bolster the tree population in neighboring areas. The program prioritizes BIPOC students and students from high schools in East Palo Alto and eastern Menlo Park.
Rendering of the preferred trail overcrossing alternative (Midpen)
Highway 17 Crossings Project
Environmental Certification
At a public meeting on Wednesday, August 28 at 5:30 p.m., Midpen's board of directors will consider certifying the environmental review documents for Midpen's Highway 17 Wildlife and Trail Crossings Project. After the documents are certified, the project will move into the final design phase led by our project partner, Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority.
This Measure AA-funded project will help connect over 30,000 acres of protected open space for both wildlife and trail users near Los Gatos. The environmental review document determined that the proposed project would not have a significant effect on the environment.
Meetings may be viewed online. There is also a dial-in number to listen by phone. Links are included in the meeting agendas posted online 72 hours before the meeting.
Public comments are welcome at all Midpen board meetings. You can speak for up to three minutes in-person, via Zoom or provide written comments for the board to read. Either way, get started by submitting a public comment form.
EVENTS & ACTIVITIES
Ride Along with Silicon Valley Bike Coalition's
August Events
Experience the joy of cycling surrounded by your family and friends with two family-friendly rides to Rancho San Antonio Open Space Preserve on August 10 and 24 in partnership with Silicon Valley Bike Coalition (SVBC). These rides will include a visit to the exciting Deer Hollow Farm with ample bathroom breaks and opportunities to rest. Reservations are required. Please RSVP on Eventbrite.
As always, SVBC guides will demonstrate a safe and efficient route to these popular Midpen preserves, pedaling along trails, bike lanes and surface streets. SVBC will also perform bike safety checks, fit helmets and offer free refreshments before rolling out at each event.
Longtime Midpen volunteer Hal Tennant celebrated his 91st birthday the "Midpen way.” Staff and Tennant’s family worked together to hold a volunteer event removing invasive French broom and thistle species from an ongoing restoration site at Bear Creek Redwoods Open Space Preserve.
Over his nine years and 1,000 hours of service, Tennant has removed invasive plants, planted native plants, repaired fences, demolished fences and even painted a goat shed.
Join us at an upcoming volunteer project to help care for your open space lands and enjoy a day outside in nature. No previous experience is necessary.
Join a free docent naturalist-guided activity below with Measure AA in the title, and see first-hand some of the landscapes that have been protected in perpetuity, explore new trails that have been created and appreciate how nature has been cared for to benefit plants, animals and people thanks to the support of voters approving Midpen’s Measure AA in 2014.
Join our talented and dynamic team as we work collaboratively toward our vision and put your passion for open space to work! Here are our current job openings:
You can also refer to our website openspace.org/careers for more information about working at Midpen.
Other photo credits: Header: Karl Gohl; Marbled murrelet: Martin Raphael/U.S. Forest Service; Wildland fire prevention: Midpen; Close at Sunset: Mike Asao; Board of Directors: Larry Klein; Canopy Teen Urban Forestry: Juanita Ibarra; Bike Ride: Silicon Valley Bike Coalition; Hal Tennant: Hal Tennant; Guided Activities: Karl Gohl.
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