Coast Dairies State Park

Coast Dairies is a state park and BLM public land in Santa Cruz County, California, near the city of Davenport.[1] Wilder Ranch State Park is south of the park.

Coast Dairies State Park
Panther Beach
Location of the Coast Dairies State Park in California
LocationDavenport, CA
Nearest citySanta Cruz, California
Coordinates37.01°N 122.19°W / 37.01; -122.19
Area5,843 acres (23.65 km2)
Established2014
Governing bodyprivate

The new public lands protect a seven-mile (11 km) stretch of coastline and about 7,000 acres (2,800 ha) of prime coastal lands.[2] The beaches, which can be challenging to access, are tied together by the California Coastal Trail, which runs along the top of the bluff. The beaches are Sharktooth, Bonny Doon, Yellow Bank, Laguna Creek, and Panther, although many of these beaches also go by other local and historic names.[3]

It was purchased by the Trust for Public Land in 1998, with $44 million from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, and is preserved from development. Conservation groups have proposed that it be included in a proposed new National Monument. The proposal has received Congressional support,[4][5] but some local opposition.[6] A current (2016) proposal by Senator Barbara Boxer would add the BLM-owned lands to the California Coastal National Monument.[7]

The coastal lands on the ocean side of Highway 1 were donated to California State Parks in 2006, but remain undeveloped. The state park land spans a five-mile (8.0 km) segment of Highway 1 north and south of Davenport. In 2014, the Bureau of Land Management bought a 5,800 acres (2,300 ha) tract of land on the inland side of the highway adjacent to the coastal parcels. Some of the land east of the highway will continue to be used for farming, but most will become public land.[3][8]

References
  1. Rogers, Paul (12 January 2015). "New national monument proposed for Santa Cruz coast". San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved 27 April 2015.
  2. Coast Dairies project at Trust for Public Land
  3. Coast Dairies State Park at Friends of Santa Cruz State Parks
  4. "Details about proposed national monuments in California". ABC News. AP. 28 February 2015.
  5. Clark, Samantha (18 September 2015). "Bill would include Coast Dairies in California Coastal National Monument". Santa Cruz Sentinel.
  6. "North Coast residents concerned about Coast Dairies national monument plan" Santa Cruz Sentinel, 07/19/2016
  7. "Cotoni-Coast Dairies National Monument Campaign". Archived from the original on 2016-08-06. Retrieved 2016-08-28.
  8. Barboza, Tony (April 14, 2012). "Stretch of Northern California coast to be permanently protected". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
View of Coast Dairies near Santa Cruz. This is the farmland bought by the BLM in 2014.
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