At last week’s RealSmart Realtor Roundtable meeting, we met with Mark Medeiros, Senior Manager of Community Engagement with the Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST), to chat about the history of POST and the incredible work they do.
POST is a nonprofit whose mission is to create a network of protected lands across the Peninsula and South Bay. Since their inception in 1977, they have protected more than 80,000 acres of permanent open space, farms and parkland in San Mateo, Santa Clara and Santa Cruz counties. These lands are now part of the National Park system, National Wildlife Refuge system, California State Parks, county and city parks, regional preserves and private farmland. They have five program areas that define the type of land they seek to protect: Public Access, Redwoods, Wildlife Linkages, Farmlands and Coyote Valley.
Their first project was the Windy Hill Open Space Preserve in Portola Valley, which offers some beloved hiking trails and great views. Other flagship projects POST has worked on which you may recognize include Cowell Ranch, the Phleger Estate, Bair Island and the Cloverdale Coastal Ranches – all of which offer beautiful protected open spaces with public access. The graphics below will give you a sense of just how much land POST has protected over the past 45+ years.
Aside from simply acquiring land, POST will also offer conservation easements to owners of farm/agricultural lands in certain situations. These easements allow the property owner to generate some revenue by agreeing to limit the use of their land, or at least a portion of it. This usually involves preventing all or certain types of development on the land. It’s a great option for property owners who value the conservation of their land, and want to see these values upheld as ownership of the property changes hands.
POST has some great hiking guides and other resources you may find useful on their website at www.openspacetrust.org. And if you’re interested in supporting the incredible work that the Peninsula Open Space Trust does in our community, head to www.openspacetrust.org/support-post.
Of course, we’d like to extend our sincerest gratitude to Mark Medeiros for taking the time to chat with out group and share a bit about POST – keep up the great work!
