On Tuesday, May 15, 2007, the East Bay Regional Park District's Board of Directors unanimously agreed to purchase 228 acres located adjacent to the southern portion of Las Trampas Regional Wilderness near San Ramon. The District will pay owner Robert Chen and family $2.5 million, the appraised fair market value, for the parcel. The District expects additional acquisition expenses to be about $55,000 for a total of $2,555,000.

Nancy Wenninger, the Park District's land acquisition manager, presented an overview of the Chen property at the May 15 board meeting stating that this acquisition is another important step in a 35-year project to protect the ridgeline overlooking San Ramon, Danville, Alamo, Walnut Creek, Lafayette, Orinda, and Moraga. With this purchase, Las Trampas includes about 5,300 acres of open space.

The Chen property rises from an elevation of 700 feet at Bollinger Canyon Road up to more than 1,300 feet on Las Trampas Ridge at the southern portion of the park. It includes rolling grasslands along with outstanding chaparral and oak/bay woodland habitat. The property contains several seasonal drainages as well as numerous springs. Together these make ideal habitat for the threatened Alameda whipsnake and California red-legged frog. It also serves as a wildlife corridor for animals such as mountain lion, mule deer, gray fox, and other migratory mammals.

Wenninger pointed out that one of the best features of this property is that it has frontage directly on Bollinger Canyon Road with a flat area that may make an ideal future staging area so that hikers, mountain bikers, and equestrians won't have to drive all the way into the valley to enjoy the wilderness.

"This is a significant addition to Las Trampas Regional Wilderness, especially for those of us who live in the San Ramon Valley," states Park District Board Member Beverly Lane, whose ward includes the majority of Las Trampas. "Hikers will be able to walk along the Calaveras Ridge Trail at the top of the property, where there are unbelievable views of Mount Diablo and the surrounding valleys." A fire road traverses the property, providing access to the ridge and a future segment for the Calaveras Ridge Trail.

Funding this acquisition was quite challenging as all Measure AA funding allocated for Las Trampas had been spent. Measure AA is a $225 million, 20-year bond measure passed by voters in 1988 to acquire open space and was instrumental in expanding the District by almost 30,000 acres over the last 20 years. "We had to cobble funding together for this important acquisition, but we did it," states Wenninger. Funds came from a Measure AA transfer, Prop 12, and Prop 40 per capita funds, along with other grants.

The property will remain in land banked status until made safe and accessible for public use. Back to top