Upper Pajaro Watershed

San Benito County is a relatively new area of focus for Green Foothills that is a natural outgrowth of our work to protect wildlife corridors and stop sprawl in southern Santa Clara County. As land for development in Santa Clara County becomes scarce, developers are turning their attention to lands further south, in many cases putting local nature and wildlife in jeopardy.

Our Upper Pajaro Watershed program, focusing on San Benito County and southern Santa Clara County (stretching from Morgan Hill southward), is intended to address threats to open space in this beautiful region.

San Benito County needs revenue for basic services and infrastructure, and developers have proposed a slew of projects that they promise will bring in needed funds. However, many of these, such as truck stops, warehouses, and quarries, would destroy critical landscapes and the natural beauty that makes the area exceptional. Development in key wildlife corridors and sensitive habitats would harm wildlife already struggling to survive. Proposed projects would pave over valuable farmland and rangeland, making it increasingly difficult for the few young farmers entering the profession to access land on which to grow food. Increased traffic would congest already deteriorating roads, pollute the air, and drastically degrade the region’s uniquely peaceful feeling of leaving city bustle behind.

The Upper Pajaro Watershed provides critical movement corridors for mountain lions, badgers, and other wildlife. This is the area – primarily agricultural fields and rangeland bisected by roads and freeways – that wildlife must traverse to move between the Santa Cruz Mountains and the Diablo Range to the east and the Gabilan Range to the south. If these fields are converted to development, not only will the increased traffic turn the roadways into death traps for wildlife, but the rich farmland that produces locally grown food for the Bay Area and that creates many of the jobs held by the most marginalized residents here will be lost. The resulting sprawl development will increase greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution, put further strain on an already limited aquifer, and harm the quality of life for the entire community.

It is possible to achieve growth and prosperity for the population centers in this area without sacrificing farmland and wildlife habitat or encouraging the type of sprawl development that ends up being more costly to residents than compact infill growth. (Infill growth means developing more densely in areas that are within existing city limits.) The Upper Pajaro Watershed region can have thriving cities, healthy ecosystems, and abundant agriculture and open space for recreation as well.

Please join us in our work to protect the Upper Pajaro Watershed. Sign up to be notified of opportunities to voice your opinion on issues affecting open space, natural resources, and farmland in our region.