The California coast is one of our nation’s most valuable ecological, recreational, and scientific resources. Thankfully, President Clinton permanently protected the offshore reefs and islands along California’s 1,100-mile coast as the California Coastal National Monument, and President Obama added the Point Arena-Stornetta Unit to the Monument last year.

The California Coastal National Monument Santa Cruz Redwoods Expansion Act would designate the federally-owned land known locally as the ‘Coast Dairies’ property as a new unit of the California Coastal National Monument. Coast Dairies is a 5,800-acre ranch near Davenport, eight miles north of the City of Santa Cruz. The picturesque land stretches from Highway 1 into the Santa Cruz Mountains, and is home to six watersheds, several endangered species, rolling coastal terraces, and 500 acres of redwood forest. After the dairy folded in the 1950s, private development of luxury homes was proposed, as well as a nuclear power plant. The Ranch was acquired by the Save the Redwoods League with funding from the Packard Foundation in 1998, and donated to the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) last year.

H.R. 908 would protect this majestic land in perpetuity and would require the BLM to work with the local community to develop a management plan that will allow safe public access to the property. This proposal has strong support in the local community and will allow future generations to enjoy the beauty of this land and learn from its history.

Supporters of the monument include Governor Jerry Brown, The Trust for Public Land, The Nature Conservancy, Conservation Lands Foundation, California Wildlife Foundation, Sempervirens Fund, Save the Redwoods League, Land Trust of Santa Cruz County, The Amah Mutsun Tribal Band, and Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST).