MROSD buys 450 acres of Elkus Ranch

The Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District’s board of directors approved purchase of a 450-acre portion of Elkus Ranch in Half Moon Bay from the University of California at a public meeting last night.

The University of California will retain the 150-acre lower portion of the property including a retreat center, environmental education and 4-H programs.  The District’s purchase of the uplands portion of the property helps sustain these programs, which provide hands-on environmental science, California history, animal care and agricultural education to over 6,000 youth and adults from the greater San Francisco Bay Area each year.

The property is adjacent to the District’s existing Purisima Creek Redwoods Open Space Preserve and is an important link in the District’s goal to connect "Purisima to the Sea" by preserving a corridor of public open space from Skyline Ridge to the coast. The District purchased the nearby 260-acre Bluebrush Canyon property from POST in June, and anticipates obtaining two additional properties adjacent to Elkus Ranch within the next two years.

Under District ownership, the Elkus Ranch uplands will continue to be grazed, and remain closed until a public planning process looks at opportunities for public access balanced with agriculture, grazing, cultural and environmental preservation