(Palo Alto, CA)– Sempervirens Fund and the Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST) are pleased to announce they have acquired the historic Little Basin property in the heart of the Santa Cruz Mountains near Boulder Creek. In a joint purchase, the two nonprofit land trusts purchased the redwood-studded, 535-acre property for $4 million from the Hewlett-Packard Company (HP), which had previously used the land for private employee recreation and company picnics.

Rising 2,000 feet above sea level, Little Basin is bordered to the north, east and west by Big Basin Redwoods State Park. The property features scenic woodlands, an old-growth redwood forest, diverse wildlife, hiking trails that connect to Big Basin, a reservoir and two creeks of the Santa Cruz County watershed, Scott Creek and Blooms Creek. Thanks to HP, a portion of the property is also equipped with an impressive array of recreational facilities, including 14 rustic cabins, 36 tent sites, a picnic area, playgrounds, a recreation hall, restrooms and an amphitheater.

Sempervirens Fund and POST hope eventually to transfer Little Basin to California State Parks for inclusion in adjacent Big Basin Redwoods State Park. With its picturesque setting, established infrastructure and wealth of natural resources, Little Basin is destined to become a remarkable addition to the state parks system, at which time it could be explored and enjoyed by the public.

“POST and Sempervirens are working together to save Little Basin to ensure that this extraordinary property receives the permanent protection it deserves,” said Brian Steen, Executive Director of Sempervirens Fund. “The land is located at the geographic nexus where both POST and Sempervirens are actively protecting open space lands. This fruitful partnership allows both groups to bring all our strengths and resources to bear on behalf of Little Basin, and sets an exciting precedent for strategic collaboration in local land conservation in the San Francisco Bay Area.”

Developed in 1885 as a logging operation, Little Basin served as a cattle ranch in the 1930s and as a World War II military surplus depot before HP purchased it in 1963 under the direction of company founders David Packard and William Hewlett. Over the years, HP utilized the site—less than an hour’s drive from Silicon Valley—both for individual recreational use by HP employees as well as for corporate gatherings, where management staff flipped hamburgers and hot dogs for employees and their families at company picnics. Bill Hewlett himself designed the tables in the picnic area, and a corps of dedicated HP employees and retirees have previously volunteered time to maintain the land.

Honoring this rich legacy of outdoor enjoyment by its own employees, HP has now chosen to enable Little Basin to be opened to the public by selling it to Sempervirens Fund and POST for permanent protection.

“When deciding the future of the Little Basin property, our foremost goal was to ensure the continued preservation of this beautiful site,” said Steve Brashear, vice president, real estate and workplace services at HP. “We’re pleased to partner with these organizations to ensure the vibrant future of this property and look forward to the time when the site is open to the public for everyone’s enjoyment.”

$2.25 Million Stewardship Campaign for Little Basin is launched

$ 2,000,000: Replenish our Opportunity Fund for new forest purchases
$ 250,000: Little Basin Management Costs until transfer to State Parks

The Evelyn T. Mohrhardt Fund at The San Francisco Foundation has awarded a generous $150,000 grant, payable over three years, to support the purchase of Little Basin and encourage other land gifts.

We are delighted to be able to match your gift of any amount for land preservation, and you can earmark your gift for Little Basin or for a future land acquisition. Either way, your gift will be worth twice as much.

The protection of Little Basin is being made possible by a partnership between Sempervirens Fund and POST. As the two groups coordinate and negotiate the acquisition and transfer of Little Basin, a consultant management team will oversee maintenance of the land temporarily until such time as it is ready to pass on to public agency ownership.

“Little Basin presents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to save a gloriously scenic and historic property that would otherwise be built up with luxury mansions and closed off from the public for good,” said POST President Audrey Rust. “The land features hundreds of acres of lush forested mountain terrain as well as exceptionally well-maintained recreational facilities that are sure to make Little Basin a popular destination for campers, hikers, families and outdoor enthusiasts visiting the Big Basin area just 30 miles south of San Jose.”

• A 535-acre recreation area of coast redwoods and scenic woodlands located at the heart of the Santa Cruz Mountains and adjacent to Big Basin Redwoods State Park.

• Approximately 75 miles south of San Francisco and 30 miles southwest of San Jose. State Highway 236 and Little Basin Road provide year around paved access.

• Historic settlement of local Native American tribes with archeological evidence of ancestral Ohlone.

• HP, led by David Packard and Bill Hewlett, purchased Little Basin in 1963, and started using the site for recreation.

• Features an established recreation area including campgrounds, picnic center, game terraces, a recreation hall and restroom facilities.

• Campgrounds comprise 36 tent sites in excellent condition, 14 rustic cabins, bathhouse and restrooms. An operations center/caretaker’s two-story building of 4100 square feet and nearby five-stall maintenance garage and shop were built in 1990.

• Little Basin rises from 1300 feet above sea level at the meadows to 2000 feet at the ridges.

• Trails that connect to the trail system in Big Basin Redwoods State Park and an existing series of roads and pedestrian paths span the property.

• Little Basin is surrounded by Big Basin State Park on its western, northern and eastern boundaries.

• Little Basin Reservoir, previously providing a water source for cattle operations, now contains a fenced-off “boardwalk” along the top of the dam and is used for catch-and-release bass fishing.

to www.littlebasin.org

• There is a small percentage of old-growth redwood forest on the property, the remainder being second-growth.

• Dense flora, including meadow, riparian, forest edge, mixed evergreen and ridgetop vegetation zones supporting native plant species including: California poppy, sky lupine, coastal redwood, California bay, madrone, Douglas-fir, arroyo willow, coffeeberry, bluebrush, sticky monkeyflower, alder and live oak.

• Diverse fauna, including: mountain lion, fox, deer, bobcat, mourning doves, quail and owl, black-tailed deer, gray squirrel, chipmunk and raccoons. Also present are skunk, opossum, coyote and mountain lion.

• Two creeks of the Santa Cruz County watershed are on the property, Scott Creek in the center and Blooms Creek to the east.

• Climate in the basin is moderate with summer fog in the early morning with rising temperatures up to the mid 90s in the afternoon; there are occasional winter snowstorms.