Manila Dunes Habitat Protected
Friends of the Dunes will buy two properties totaling 53 acres on the North Spit of Humboldt Bay, next to the Humboldt Coastal Center, in the town of Manila, thereby filling the last gap in a network of about 1,000 acres of continuous protected dune habitat. Proposition 12 funds made the $700,000 purchase possible. The Wildlife Conservation Board is contributing $475,000, and the Conservancy approved the remainder needed, $225,000.

Statewide Trail Improvements
Conservancy funds will help add more miles to the Coastal Trail, Bay Area Ridge Trail, and San Francisco Bay Trail, and will also improve them through projects approved by the Conservancy in June. All construction activities are funded by bond moneys approved by the voters.

Coastal Trail
In San Mateo County, the Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST) will use $2.98 million to build and manage three miles of trail along bluffs near Half Moon Bay, from the existing Cowell Ranch Coastal Accessway south to a new parking area next to Highway 1. The trail will run alongside farm fields on land owned by the Conservancy, then over privately owned land on trail easements held by POST.

Del Norte County will use $641,000 to construct almost two miles of oceanfront trail just north of Crescent City. The project will improve safe public access along the beach and bluffs of Pebble Beach Drive by installing bike lanes and Coastal Trail signs and improving road crossings and parking areas for this highly popular coastal route.

Ridge Trail
Almost nine miles of trail will be built, reconstructed, or designed in six counties.

In Marin County, the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy will reconstruct and extend a segment of the Dias Ridge Trail, just south of Muir Woods, using $385,000 from the Conservancy. The Parks Conservancy will improve the trail alignment and drainage to reduce erosion into Redwood Creek and improve safety for hikers and bicyclists. The rebuilt trail will be 2.4 miles long and extend from Panoramic Highway to the Golden Gate Dairy.

In Contra Costa County, the Muir Heritage Land Trust will build 1.4 miles of Ridge Trail, two miles of additional trails, and a parking lot on the Fernandez Ranch, north of the Briones Hills Agricultural Preserve. Some of the $515,000 approved by the Conservancy for this project will be used to stabilize failing creek banks and restore vegetation along creeks that run through the ranch. The Land Trust bought the 700-acre ranch in 2005 for $3.2 million, $1.125 million of which was from the Conservancy.

In Santa Clara County, the City of San Jose will replace a third of a mile of dirt path along the southwest bank of Penitencia Creek with an eight-foot-wide, all-weather trail that can accommodate bicycles and wheelchairs. The path is routinely used by residents traveling to transit stops, a local high school, the San Jose Flea Market, and nearby homes and businesses. The Conservancy provided $150,000.

In San Mateo County, the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (PUC) will develop plans, engineering designs, and environmental documents for a new 4.7-mile segment of Ridge Trail in the upper watershed of Crystal Springs Reservoir, using $185,000 from the Conservancy. This trail will connect the 10-mile FifieldÐCahill Road Ridge Trail to the Phleger Estate in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Upper Crystal Springs watershed lands were closed to the public from the 1930s until 2003, when the PUC opened the Fifield-Cahill Trail to guided, small-group excursions by hikers, bicyclists, and horseback riders. The new trail will not require reservations or guides, and part of it may be accessible to wheelchair riders.

In Solano and Napa Counties, the Solano Transportation Authority (STA) will prepare a plan for regional trails, including the Ridge Trail, along and across Highway 12 between Interstate 80 and Highway 29 in the Jameson Canyon area. STA will develop an agreement among the local park and transportation agencies, Caltrans, and landowners about feasible routes, and will determine costs, the relationships of trails to State and local transportation projects, and a funding strategy. The Conservancy provided $55,000.

Bay Trail
The City of Oakland will construct two 450-foot trail segments along the Oakland estuary with $400,000 from the Conservancy. One will connect the Coast Guard Island Bridge to Union Point Park and will be wheelchair-accessible, as will the parking area that will be built to serve it. The other will run from Derby Street to Lancaster Street, behind the Oakland Museum Women’s Board warehouse.