San Jose Water Company's plans to harvest timber on part of some 6,500 acres it owns around Los Gatos Creek may end with the sale of the land to a public-private consortium that would protect the watershed from development or excessive logging. The Water Company is not involved in the discussion as yet, but the idea sounds attractive to those opposed to granting open-ended logging approval to the utility.
The logging plan is currently under review by the California Dept. of Forestry (CAL FIRE), but if the Water Company's plan is approved, the issue may be tied up in court for years. The current plan is the company's second for this property; if it is denied, they can draft a new plan. Neighbors Against Irresponsible Logging (NAIL) have been fighting San Jose Water for almost two years. It remains to be seen how long the controversy will continue, leading some to speculate on a third alternative.
"We've talked about possibilities," says Los Gatan Pete Siemens, Director of the Mid-Peninsula Regional Open Space District. "Public ownership [of the watershed] makes more sense in the long run." The purchase would require a willing seller, of course. And if San Jose Water is willing to sell, how much do they think the property is worth?
"We have properties we're looking at," explains Siemens, "where the owner is asking three or four times what it's worth. So, we wait and see what happens." Mid-Pen can be very patient. The special district, created by the voters in 1972, has permanently preserved 50,000 acres so far, mostly in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Siemens, a former mayor of Los Gatos, is the elected director of Ward 1, which includes our corner of Santa Clara County as far north as Highway 85 in Cupertino.
"We'll have to wait and see, but we are interested in protecting the area's beautiful natural environment for future generations," Siemens concludes. "To accomplish this, the District will have to work in partnership with other organizations."
A consortium consisting of a private preservation group, a State grant, and Mid-Pen is one possibility. It was this sort of pooling of interests that enabled Mid-Pen to add the Bear Creek Redwoods Open Space Preserve, not far from the Water Company project, to its Sierra Azul holdings in 1999. In this case, the partner was the Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST).
"Voters approved Prop. 84 last year," Siemens mentions, in passing. Proposition 84 authorizes $5.4 billion in bonds for water quality, natural resource protection and park improvements.
"We have had discussions with Mid-Peninsula," says San Jose Water Company spokesman John Tang, "and we will continue to have discussions. We want to ensure water rights and water quality--that's our main focus, and it's why we are proposing the NTMP."
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