The beautiful landscape of Juristac (also known as Sargent Ranch) is under threat from a sand and gravel quarry. To gather strength to stop this destructive mining operation, hundreds of local residents, members of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band, and other supporters gathered at Mission San Juan Bautista last Sunday, September 8, for the Walk For Juristac, a journey of healing and restoration.

I had the honor of speaking at this event on behalf of Committee for Green Foothills. My message to the hundreds who were gathered to support Juristac and oppose the quarry was simple: let your voice be heard! The County of Santa Clara is planning to release the draft Environmental Impact Report on the proposed Sargent Ranch Quarry this fall. This is the opportunity for members of the public to contact County staff, Planning Commissioners and Supervisors to tell them: we don’t want a quarry at Juristac.

In a few weeks, Green Foothills will be launching a webpage where everyone can take action to send emails to the County expressing opposition to the quarry. Sign up to receive our emails to receive an alert when the webpage goes live.

Why This Is Important

The proposed Sargent Ranch Quarry would create significant barriers to wildlife movement in a location that is a critical landscape linkage between the Santa Cruz Mountains and both the Diablo Range to the east and the Gabilan Range to the south. The quarry would scoop out giant cavities in these pristine hillsides that will permanently alter the landscape, as well as pumping about 76,000 gallons of our local groundwater per day and generating hundreds of truck trips per day to transport the sand and gravel mined at the site.

Juristac is not only a critical wildlife corridor – it’s the heart of the ancestral lands of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band. For thousands of years, Mutsun sacred ceremonies were held here. A quarry in this location would destroy the most sacred area of the Amah Mutsun.

Stand with us to protect this important ecological and spiritual landscape!