7 Miles Of Spectacular Coast Land Donated To The Public

Almost 6,000 acres of the Coast Dairies land near Santa Cruz has been donated to the public, meaning more than seven miles of spectacular coast will be forever protected, The Trust for Public Land announced today.

The donation of 5,843 acres to the U.S. Bureau of Land Management ends an effort which began in 1998 when the land was purchased for $44.5 million to block it from being turned into luxury homes, said Will Rogers, President of The Trust for Public Land.

"Today's donation completes the effort to protect one of the most stunning parts of the California coast," said Rogers. "This is exactly the kind of close-to-home natural land we need to save for future generations. We want to thank the wonderful group of generous donors who supported us over the years. We would not have been successful without them."

Carol Larson, President and CEO of the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, said, "The Packard Foundation is thrilled to see the permanent protection of such a spectacular place. It has been a long road to get to this point, but it has been worth it. In the decades ahead, generations of visitors will have the opportunity to experience these stunning vistas. We are grateful to our partners, including the Bureau of Land Management and The Trust for Public Land, for this successful effort."

"We are honored to be entrusted with managing this stunning coastal landscape," said Jim Kenna, California State Director of the Bureau of Land Management. "We applaud this conservation endeavor and pledge our continuing support and partnership with local communities who serve as gateways for visitors to these public lands."

Rogers noted that besides the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, a number of other partners helped the conservation effort, including the Land Trust of Santa Cruz County, the California Coastal Conservancy, and the Save The Redwoods League.

Today's announcement was the second major land donation at Coast Diaries. In 2006, The Trust for Public Land and its supporting organization, the Coast Dairies & Land Co. (CDLC), donated 407 acres to the California state parks system. That earlier donation included land west of U.S. Highway 1, between the highway and the coast.

The property given to the BLM is located east of Highway 1, stretching up into large stands of redwoods and oak trees in the Santa Cruz Mountains. That donation also came from CDLC. The Trust for Public Land protected the property by buying all the stock of the closely-held CDLC and will retain 740 acres, which CDLC will continue to operate for agriculture.

The Trust for Public Land creates parks and protects land for people, ensuring healthy, livable communities for generations to come. Nearly ten million people live within a ten-minute walk of a Trust for Public Land park, garden, or natural area, and millions more visit these sites every year.