More than 900 acres of redwood forests in the Santa Cruz mountains will be protected under a deal that will allow some logging on the land.
The unique $11.7 million deal involved a tract of 320 acres near Butano State Park and another 617 acres in the Aptos hills. The Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST) of Palo Alto and family-owned Big Creek Lumber teamed up on the deal.
"Is there some way we can work together around a shared goal of making sure this land stays undeveloped and stays as forest land," said Justin Garland, POST's redwoods program manager.
POST will pay $3.5 million to the lumber company for the mature redwood groves along the San Mateo-Santa Cruz County line at Gazos Creek. This piece may eventually be added to Butano State Park.
The other piece is being bought from California Polytechnic State University. Big Creek Lumber will continue to cut down trees here, but in a way that the trust approves, according to the Mercury News.
“It took the better part of two years to pull it all together,” said Garland. “Big picture, you’re really seeing in the conservation community a recognition of the importance of working lands and working forests, in particular."