A Landmark Step for Conservation: Becker Bill to Protect the Santa Cruz Mountains Advances

SACRAMENTO, CA — Today the Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Water advanced SB 949 by Senator Josh Becker (D-Menlo Park) to formally designate the Santa Cruz Mountains as a Landscape of Statewide Significance, a landmark step to protect one of California’s most ecologically vital landscapes and strengthen coordinated conservation, climate resilience, and watershed protection efforts statewide.

SB 949 is sponsored by Sempervirens Fund and Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District, with strong support from regional conservation partners including the Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority, Peninsula Open Space Trust, and the Amah Mutsun Land Trust.

“The Santa Cruz Mountains are a vital ecological artery for California’s environmental health, and we must act to safeguard this natural system that millions of Californians depend on,” said Senator Becker. “They protect our drinking water, store carbon, provide wildlife corridors found nowhere else in the world, and offer irreplaceable recreational access. This is not just a regional priority but a state responsibility. This bill ensures we protect this landscape for future generations with the coordination and urgency it deserves.”

“The Santa Cruz Mountains have always been a place of ecological convergence, fostering exceptional biodiversity and habitats at the edge of their natural limits,” said Sara Barth, Executive Director of Sempervirens Fund. “Recognizing the Santa Cruz Mountains as a Landscape of Statewide Significance sets the stage for the coordination and restoration at scale that its forests and watersheds need to remain resilient for the decades ahead.”

“These open space lands are full of native wildlife and plant species found nowhere else in the world,” said Ana Ruiz, General Manager for the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District. “As a global biodiversity hotspot, the Santa Cruz Mountains are a vital reservoir of life and land that we have the incredible opportunity to care for, and which in turn care for us.”

"The Mutsun people are from the southern region of the Santa Cruz Mountains, and it is a significant place for us and for other Native tribes of the region, reflecting thousands of years of intertribal Indigenous presence. Many culturally sensitive areas exist in the coastal range of what we call ‘Calendrac’ or ‘Houses by the Water,’ emphasizing the importance of protecting these sites, which are vital to honoring our history and ensuring Indigenous stewardship of the landscape moving forward."  – Amah Mutsun Tribal Chairman, Ed Ketchum.

 

The Santa Cruz Mountains are a biodiversity hotspot along California’s central coast, supporting more than 350 locally rare native plant species and endangered wildlife such as the California red-legged frog, marbled murrelet, San Francisco garter snake, Zayante band-winged grasshopper, and Santa Cruz black salamander. The region’s redwood forests and watersheds regulate climate through carbon capture, stabilize soils, and filter water that supplies hundreds of thousands of residents across Santa Clara, San Mateo, and Santa Cruz counties.

For decades, multiple agencies actively worked to protect land and conserve resources throughout this landscape. Despite their ecological and recreational importance, the Santa Cruz Mountains currently lack formal statewide recognition. Protecting wildlife corridors, restoring degraded habitats, supporting native tribes, promoting the sustainability and conservation of working lands, and maintaining public access to trails and open space are all critical to preserving the integrity of the region. This legislation will unify land management efforts, increasing the effectiveness of long-term protection and restoration strategies.

Specifically, this bill would:

  • Designate the Santa Cruz Mountains as a Landscape of Statewide Significance in statute;
  • Direct the California Natural Resources Agency and its departments, boards, and conservancies to prioritize coordinated protection, restoration, and management of the region;
  • Support healthy forest management, wildfire resilience, watershed protection, and biodiversity conservation; and
  • Strengthen public access and recreational opportunities while preserving sensitive habitats.

The legislation builds on California’s tradition of recognizing landscapes of exceptional importance, including the Coyote Valley Conservation Program and the East Bay Hills Conservation Program. By formally recognizing the Santa Cruz Mountains as a site of statewide significance, the legislation ensures California can better align conservation investments, improve interagency coordination, and protect a landscape that plays a critical role in climate adaptation, wildfire resilience, and water security.