Keywords: Hills; Lakeside; Pond / Lake / Koi Pond; Rural; Trees / Tree Canopy / Tree Tunnel; Valleys
Site Condition: A SLICE OF OLD CALIFORNIA
There was a time when California was known for its open ranges and rolling oak woodlands, not its high-cost housing market and sprawling suburbs interlaced with five-lane freeways.
Today, most signs of the "Old West" have disappeared. Farms and ranches have been replaced with subdivisions and housing developments. And unique habitats like oak woodlands — considered to have the richest species abundance of any habitat in the state — have been reduced to a fraction of their original range.
But not at San Felipe Ranch. An active cattle ranch maintained by its owners, the Hewlett and Packard families, San Felipe looks much like it did when it was first founded in the 1800s following the Los Huecos land grant. Badgers, burrowing owls and western pond turtles find residence in the ranch's open meadows, forests and streams. And rare native grasses, wildflower fields and oak woodlands flourish here.
“Going out to the ranch is like stepping back in time," says Mary Jaffe, a member of the Hewlett family. “Our two extended families were highly motivated to protect this special California landscape from development."
General Notes: updated 4.8.2000 lm / 7.14.2008 tm / 9/08/08 ao / 8.8.2016 lm / Called the Nature Conservancy 6/25/24 J.Jackson
Jurisdictions: San Jose,
SAN JOSE FILM OFFICEWithin 30-Mile Studio Zone: N
State Property: N
Closed/Vacant: N