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Año Nuevo Vista

Protecting and Connecting Forests to the Sea

From glittering white ridges to the glittering Pacific Ocean, Año Nuevo Vista’s breathtaking views boast much of what makes the Santa Cruz mountains special. Its shady redwood forest and sunny chaparral interspersed with rare white sands known as “the chalks” support endangered plants and animals. Together, we protected Año Nuevo Vista’s forest and watershed from development, and we're helping connect the largest protected lands and wildlife habitat.

photo by Orenda Randuch

Habitats

Just three miles from the coast, Año Nuevo Vista’s 41 acres include a mosaic of habitat types from redwood forest to quickly disappearing maritime chaparral. Atop its ridges are the chalks: a white sandy soil more specifically categorized as “Maymen rock outcrop complex” or “rough broken land.” Here, resilient fire-adapted chaparral species like knobcone pines, chinquapin, scrub oaks, and bush poppies thrive. Despite its unstable, low nutrient soil, the chalks support several rare plants that can’t be found anywhere else. The chalks are the only known habitat for the extremely rare and critically-imperiled Ohlone manzanita and Schreiber's manzanita and home to one of only five stands of Monterey pine trees in the world. Below the chalks’ quick-draining soils, healthy second-growth redwood forest and coast live oaks sprout new growth recovering from the 2020 CZU Fire. Año Nuevo Vista’s diversity of habitat types supports many plants and wildlife within its borders and throughout the watershed.

A chaparral ridge at Año Nuevo Vista overlooks a forested hill above green grasslands along the coast and the blue Pacific Ocean beneath a clear blue sky, by Orenda Randuch

photo by Orenda Randuch

Ano Nuevo Vista Bare Ridge By Orenda Randuch
Ano Nuevo Vista Connections By Orenda Randuch
Berries ripening from lighter shades of pink to deeper red on manzanita branches in the chalks at Año Nuevo Vista, by Orenda Randuch
Ano Nuevo Vista Knobcone Pine Cones By Ian Bornarth
Redwood trees recovering from the 2020 CZU Fire don the beginnings of new fuzzy, green canopies slope down hillsides of the Gazos Creek watershed and out to the blue Pacific Ocean under a clear blue sky, by Orenda Randuch

photo by Orenda Randuch

Water

The headwaters of Old Woman’s Creek spring from Año Nuevo Vista. Running through the property, Old Woman’s Creek supplies water for thirsty forests and wildlife at Año Nuevo Vista and beyond. Old Woman’s Creek feeds into Gazos Creek, a critical habitat and watershed, as well as the Pacific Ocean.

Wildlife

Endangered marbled murrelets, coho salmon, and steelhead trout rely on the Gazos Creek watershed’s route from the ocean to reproduce in the redwood forest. Marbled murrelets nest among old-growth trees while coho and steelhead spawn in creeks amongst their roots. From the redwoods to the ridges, pumas are known to traverse their large ranges along the less populated chalks, leaving their scratches in the warm sand where western fence lizards and rattlesnakes can thrive.

A nearly bare white, sandy ridge dotted with resilient chaparral plants regrowing after the CZU Fire starkly contrast the dark green forested ridges between Año Nuevo Vista and the blue Pacific Ocean beyond, by Orenda Randuch

photo by Orenda Randuch

A finger points to the unprotected area on a map between Año Nuevo State Park, Big Basin Redwoods State Park, and Butano State Park, by Ian Bornarth

photo by Ian Bornarth

Connections

Año Nuevo Vista is located within the largest remaining intact habitat patch in the Santa Cruz mountains. Nestled between Año Nuevo State Park, Big Basin Redwoods State Park, and Butano State Park, it’s just one parcel away from Big Basin to the east and shares a border with protected Skylark Ranch to the south. Año Nuevo Vista is key to connecting protected habitats for wildlife and protected park lands for people. Landscapes fragmented by human development impact the health of forests, watersheds, and wildlife. By protecting Año Nuevo Vista’s 41 acres, we can improve connectivity between 62,000 acres of protected land.

Stewardship

Now protected thanks to your support, we can steward Año Nuevo Vista to help restore it from human impacts and make it more resilient for increased wildfires and climate change threats. After the 2020 CZU Fire killed many trees and plants, Año Nuevo Vista’s fragile soils are eroding more quickly and washing into the crucial Gazos Creek watershed. By repairing roads, improving drainage and planting native plants, endangered plants and wildlife will benefit. Cameras will be installed to monitor wildlife’s use and habitat needs. Some areas burned severely in the fire and by removing standing dead trees, fast growing invasive plants, and creating a fire break in a key location, the speed and severity of fires can be decreased—better protecting the forest’s resilience and opportunities for firefighters to manage blazes. Together, we protected Año Nuevo Vista, and with your support, we can care for its woods, water, and wildlife.

A fairy circle of redwood trees with scorched trunks resprouting with fuzzy green growth encompass a sunny, clear blue sky at Año Nuevo Vista, by Ian Bornarth

photo by Ian Bornarth

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