View from St. Joseph's Hill Preserve of highway and dam infrastructure that limits human and wildlife movement / photo by Aaron Peth

Highway 17 Wildlife and Trail Crossings

View from St. Joseph's Hill Preserve of highway and dam infrastructure that limits human and wildlife movement (Aaron Peth)
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Highways connect us, but also divide the land and create barriers to safe passage for both wildlife and people. In the Santa Cruz Mountains, California state highway 17 (Highway 17) fragments thousands of acres of open space, limiting the ability of wildlife to find food, mates and habitat, as well as preventing the completion of several regional trail systems. Together with private and public partners, neighbors and District constituents, Midpen is exploring the feasibility of developing two independent road crossings - a wildlife undercrossing and recreational trail overcrossing - to link over 30,000 acres of protected public lands.

The project also includes directional fencing that will help animals safely find their way to the wildlife crossing and a number of regional trail connections that will link the following Santa Clara County parks and Midpen open space preserves together across Highway 17: Sanborn County Park, El Sereno Preserve, Lexington Reservoir County Park, St. Joseph's Hill Preserve, Sierra Azul Preserve and Almaden Quicksilver County Park.

 

Natural Resources Protection and Restoration
Natural Resources
Public Access, Education, and Outreach
Public Access
Grant Funded
Grant Funded
illustration of a bird in flight next to the letters MAA
Measure AA
View of project site from El Sereno Preserve looking towards St. Joseph's Hill and Sierra Azul preserves / photo by Aaron Peth

Goals

  • Link over 30,000 acres of habitat and protected public lands on both sides of Highway 17, including Midpen preserves (El Sereno, St Joseph's Hill and Sierra Azul) and Santa Clara County Parks (Lexington, Sanborn and Almaden Quicksilver)
  • Improve motorist safety by reducing the potential for collisions with wildlife
  • Maintain healthy wildlife populations
  • Provide two structures - one for wildlife and one for recreational trail users - that support safe movement across Highway 17
  • Connect over 50 miles of existing regional trails, including Bay Area Ridge Trail, Juan Bautista De Anza National Historic Trail and Los Gatos Creek Trail
  • Develop a Mitigation Credit Agreement (MCA) to offset potential ecological impacts from construction with project benefits like habitat connectivity

 

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View of Highway 17 in project area, looking north

While wildlife and trail crossings share similar goals, animals and people have unique needs and use crossings in different ways. To meet the requirements of both, two distinct and separate structures have been recommended to cross Highway 17: a wildlife undercrossing and a trail overcrossing. Two locations for each crossing structure are currently under environmental review:

  • a wildlife undercrossing either at Ravine Culvert (1) or Trout Creek (2)
  • a trail overcrossing either south of Trout Creek Canyon (3a) or north of Trout Creek Canyon (5a)
Overview map of highway 17 project

Funded by Measure AA 2014 Open Space Bond

Mosaic of support

The Highway 17 crossings project, including regional trail connections and wildlife directional fencing, was identified as a Top 25 priority in Midpen's 2014 Vision Plan. As a result, $16 million of voter-approved Measure AA funds are allocated to partially fund the project. As the project is currently estimated to cost $40 million, Midpen collaborating with many partners and stakeholders to fund this work, including Senator Jim Beall, who facilitated a $5 million grant from the California Wildlife Conservation Board, Senator Dave Cortese, who secured $2 million in the Budget Act of 2021, and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, which awarded a $1 million grant to the project in November 2021.
2016 - 2018Feasibility study and revised alternatives report
2018 - 2019Caltrans Project Study Report
Regional Trails Connection Study
2020 - 2023Environmental review and Caltrans Project Report
Current status: Midpen preparation of Project Approval and Environmental Document (PA&ED) underway
2021 - 2004Mitigation Credit Agreement development phase
2022 - 2025Design phase (plans and specifications)
2025 and beyondBidding and construction (funding dependent)

 

Key Partners and Regional Stakeholders

This project requires a high level of coordination and partnership. Partners in this project may include:

California Wildlife Conservation Board
Bay Area Ridge Trail
California Department of Fish and Wildlife
California State Coastal Conservancy
Caltrans District 4
Juan Bautista de Anza Trail (National Park Service)
Metropolitan Transportation Commission
National Wildlife Federation
Pathways for Wildlife
Peninsula Open Space Trust
Santa Clara County Parks
Santa Clara County Roads and Airports
Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority
San Jose Water Company
Town of Los Gatos
UC Santa Cruz Puma Project
Valley Water

Midpen is continually developing additional partnerships and working with stakeholders to grow this list as the project develops.

Related Documents

Award of Contract for Highway 17 Wildlife Passage Structures and Bay Area Ridge Trail Crossing: Conceptual Design and Feasibility Study (February 2016)

Caltrans Cooperative Agreement for Highway 17 Wildlife Passage and Bay Area Ridge Trail Crossing Project (Auguist 2016)

Contract Amendment for Highway 17 Wildlife Passage Structures and Bay Area Ridge Trail Crossing to Prepare a Project Initiation Document (October 2016)

Resolution and Approval of Caltrans Cooperative Agreement for Highway 17 Wildlife Passage and Bay Area Ridge Trail Crossing Project (November 2016)

Highway 17 Wildlife and Regional Trail Crossings Project Alternatives and Caltrans Project Study Report (June 2018)

Highway 17 Crossings Alternatives, Caltrans Project Study Report, Environmental Review, Public Outreach and Funding (September 2019)

Highway 17 Crossings Alternatives, Caltrans Project Study Report, Environmental Review, Public Outreach and Funding (October 2019)

Award of Contract to AECOM for the Project Approval and Environmental Document Phase of the Highway 17 Wildlife and Regional Trail Crossings and Trail Connections Project (May 2020)

Application for Grant Funding from the Wildlife Conservation Board (December 2020)

Contract Amendment with AECOM for additional work associated with the Project Approval and Environmental Document Phase and Mitigated Credit Agreement for the Highway 17 Wildlife and Regional Trail Crossings and Trail Connections Project (August 2021)