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Midpen officials outline wildfire resilience, species protection and a Highway 17 wildlife undercrossing in update to Cupertino council
Summary
Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District board leaders briefed the Cupertino City Council on the district's preserves, wildfire-resiliency projects carried out with CAL FIRE and other partners, habitat protections including for the San Francisco garter snake, and a planned wildlife undercrossing near Lexington Reservoir.
Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District board leaders presented an informational update to the Cupertino City Council on July 1 describing the district's mission, preserves and upcoming projects that affect Cupertino residents.
Jed Seer, president of Midpen's board (who indicated his name pronunciation during the presentation), and Craig Gleeson, a director representing Ward 1 which includes portions of Cupertino, described the district's scope: 27 preserves totaling roughly 72,000 acres, publicly accessible trails and a volunteer force of more than 1,000 people a year. The district is funded primarily by a portion of property tax and received voter approval of Measure Double A (2014), a bond package that funds habitat protection, restoration and access.
Seer and Gleeson highlighted the district's wildland fire resiliency program, which the district manages in partnership with CAL FIRE, county and local fire agencies and other organizations. Work includes mapping and monitoring, vegetation management, creation of shaded fuel breaks and prescribed burns. Gleeson showed a photo of a prescribed burn at Cherry Springs in Sierra Azul and said a larger prescribed burn was planned for the area.
Midpen staff also described the Los Gatos Creek Watershed Collaborative, a cross-agency effort that includes San Jose Water, Santa Clara County Fire Safe Council and Santa Clara County Parks and is funded in part by CAL FIRE's forest health grants. Techniques described included understory thinning and shaded fuel break creation to reduce fire intensity.
The district briefed the council on habitat-protection work, noting protection efforts for species such as the endangered San Francisco garter snake, which has strong populations on district land. Midpen also described a planned wildlife undercrossing near the north end of Lexington Reservoir and Highway 17 to reduce wildlife mortality and improve genetic connectivity for mountain lions and other species; the undercrossing work is coordinated with the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) and has a target construction window around 2027, subject to funding and partnership arrangements.
Seer described Midpen's increasing formal partnerships with local nonprofits and a tiered support model for community programs (pilot, tier 2 and tier 3 grants/agreements) that provide educational and access opportunities for diverse constituencies. The district stressed volunteer opportunities and docent-led activities and directed residents to openspace.org/events for registration.
Ending: Midpen's presentation was informational; council thanked the directors and noted opportunities for continued coordination on fire resiliency and trail connectivity affecting Cupertino.
