POST sells scenic Coastside property to open space district POST sells scenic Coastside property to open space district (August 03, 2005)

In its second acquisition on the San Mateo County Coastside, the Mispeninsula Regional Open Space District has purchaes 676 acres of the scenic Miramontes Ridge, above Half Moon Bay, from the Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST) at a bargain price of $2.05 million.

The district will manage the property as an addition to the Mills Creek Open Space Preserve, where it will help efforts to protect the endangered steeelhead trout found in upper Mills Creek.

The road and trail system on Miramontes Ridge may provide future opportunities to establish a regional trail connecting the Bay Area Ridge Trail with the Coastal Trail, said district General Manager Craig Britton. Burleigh Murray State park lies just to the south.

The district board voted to acquire the property at a meeting June 30 in Half Moon Bay.

Just last year, it annexed the Coastside, from the southern boundary of Pacifica to the Santa Cruz County line, in order to buy and manage lands in the still-rural area.

Since 1972, it has preserved more than 50,000 acres of open space in the hills and Baylands of San Mateo and Santa Clara counties.

The district will use a $2.05 million grant from the California Coastal Conservancy to finance the purchase.

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