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Pressroom

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Welcome to the Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority pressroom. 

If you are seeking information and imagery for educational purposes or media use, please reach out to the Public Information Manager.

Press Contact

Charlotte Graham

Public Information Manager

408-439-6541

News@openspaceauthority.org

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The Open Space Authority monthly e-newsletter shares important, timely events, information and fun facts about your open space preserves. Click here to read the latest newsletter!

In The News

External links to recent articles about the Open Space Authority
A hill overlooks a city lit up with lights at sunset

March 25, 2026 - The Morgan Hill Times

Electricity project aims to improve reliability, protect wildlife in South County

A state commission has voted to allow a major transmission project to share space at a substation near Morgan Hill rather than build on undeveloped land in Coyote Valley—a change officials say protects a critical wildlife corridor while adding enough power capacity to supply more than 600,000 homes across the South Bay.

Read the full article here.

An aerial view of a patchwork of farmlands between two mountain ranges, with a tree-lined road splitting down the middle of the photo.

March 25, 2026 - San José Spotlight

New South Bay power substation to be built at existing site

Environmental advocates are claiming victory in a two-year fight to keep an energy substation away from wildlife corridors in the stretches of open space south of San Jose known as Coyote Valley.

Read the full article here.

Looking across Coyote Valley, covered in golden fields and farmlands, towards rolling golden hills in the distance all under a blue sky

March 24, 2026 - Hoodline

San Jose Power Play Saves Coyote Valley As Grid Fix Moves Ahead

State regulators have blessed a major overhaul of San José’s electric backbone without tearing into one of South San José’s last big stretches of open land.

Read the full article here.

Speakers stand together during the Power Santa Clara press conference on March 20, 2026

March 23, 2026 - ABC7 News

San Jose open space to remain intact as power reliability plan gets approved

The Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority, LS Power Grid California and Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) announced the approval of a power plan that will unlock one gigawatt of electric capacity for the South Bay while protecting wildlife corridors in the state-sanctioned Coyote Valley Conservation Program Area.

Watch the segment here.

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Looking across Coyote Valley, covered in golden fields and farmlands, towards rolling golden hills in the distance all under a blue sky

Understanding Coyote Valley

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Understanding Coyote Valley documents history and existing conditions across 10 topic areas that correspond to the goals of Coyote Valley Conservation Areas Master Plan (CVCAMP). CVCAMP will address needs for protected “last chance” valley floor that is critical to climate resilience of the region. Public process continues with community open houses starting in August.

With Newly Approved Work Plan and Annual Budget for 2024-25 Fiscal Year, Public Land Agency Invites Applications for Volunteers to Advise Board and Provide Public Fiscal Oversight

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June 17, 2024 – The Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority (Authority), a 30-yearold regional public land conservation agency that protects open space and connects people to nature, today announced openings for new members of the Authority’s Citizens’ Advisory Committee (CAC) and Expenditure Plan Oversight Committee (EPOC). The open call for applicants follows the ratification on June 13 by the Authority’s elected Board of the agency’s 2024-25 fiscal year work plan and annual budget.

Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority Opens New Preserve to the Public: Máyyan 'Ooyákma – Coyote Ridge Open Space Preserve

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The Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority (Authority) will open the 1,859-acre Máyyan ‘Ooyákma – Coyote Ridge Open Space Preserve to the public on Thursday, August 31. Five miles of new trails – including a new 3-mile segment of the Bay Area Ridge Trail, and a wide range of accessible experiences – will be open for free to hikers on a schedule that balances recreation and nature experiences with the sensitive habitat for the many species that make their home in the preserve’s rare serpentine grasslands.

Open Space Celebrates 30 Year Anniversary

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2023 marks the 30th Anniversary of the Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority. The agency was founded in 1993 as a public, independent special district – envisioned by dedicated local citizens and enacted by the California State Legislature – with the mission of forever protecting natural and agricultural lands and connecting people to nature. The Open Space Authority is funded by a voter-approved benefit assessment and parcel tax (Measures Q and T) and grants. The agency’s jurisdiction is 1,000 square miles and includes the cities of Campbell, Milpitas, San José, Santa Clara, Morgan Hill, and the unincorporated areas of Santa Clara County.

Open Space Renames Coyote Ridge

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San José, Calif. (October 28, 2022) – On Thursday, October 27, the Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority (Open Space Authority) Board of Directors voted unanimously to include a Chochenyo translation of “Coyote Ridge” alongside the current preserve name, making it Máyyan 'Ooyákma – Coyote Ridge Open Space Preserve. Chochenyo is considered a dialect of what linguists now call the San Francisco Bay Costanoan language that also includes Ramaytush and Thámien.

Open Space Authority Awarded $247K for Critical Habitat Restoration Work

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San José, Calif. (June 30, 2022) – July is Wild about Wildlife Month, and the Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority is highlighting its important work to conserve and restore critical wildlife habitat in Coyote Valley. A particular area of focus is Fisher Creek on the west side of the valley. At this location, wildlife travels between over one million acres of habitat in the Santa Cruz Mountains and the Diablo Range, seeking the cover of plants and trees in the riparian corridors as they move across Coyote Valley.