Máyyan ‘Ooyákma – Coyote Ridge Open Space Preserve connects over 1 million acres of important habitat in the Santa Cruz Mountains and the Diablo Range. Comprised of rare, sensitive serpentine grasslands, this unique landscape is a biodiversity hotspot for endangered plants and animals. Scientific research on the plant and animal communities found here continues today.
Visitors will need a free "Butterfly Pass" for hiking, biking, or horseback riding on the trails located inside the Habitat Protection Area. Total, there are 3 miles of trail designated as a portion of Bay Area Ridge Trail, a regional trail system that will someday stretch more than 550 miles along the ridge lines that encircle San Francisco Bay.
Máyyan ‘Ooyákma (pronounced My-yahn Oiy-yahkmah) directly translates to Coyote Ridge in the Chochenyo language. Chochenyo is the language stewarded by the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe of the San Francisco Bay Area, whose members trace their ancestry to the Indigenous Peoples, or aboriginal inhabitants, of this region. The Open Space Authority is partnering with the Muwekma Ohlone to raise awareness about the importance of the protection of irreplaceable landscapes
In 2015, the Open Space Authority permanently protected the property after successfully securing a total of $8.6 million in funding to protect the rare serpentine grasslands, the Bay checkerspot butterfly population found on the preserve and the wildlife connectivity this location provides between the Santa Cruz Mountains and Diablo Range. The acquisition was made possible through the generous support of various public and private partnerships, including the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, the State Coastal Conservancy, the Wildlife Conservation Board, California State Parks, the Santa Clara Valley Habitat Agency, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and the Resources Legacy Fund.
Funding for this public access project totaled $4 million, provided by the Open Space Authority's Measure Q, a $400,000 grant from the Gordon & Betty Moore Foundation, $400,000 in funding from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission’s Priority Conservation Area Grant Program and over $2.5 million from California State Parks.
