Grant from Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation is Major Step Toward Saving Harvey Ranch

Contact: Linus Eukel, Executive Director
(925) 228-1130 direct, (925) 788-7525 mobile
linus@nulljmlt.org

Foundation Makes $550,000 Grant To John Muir Land Trust

MARTINEZ, CA – John Muir Land Trust (jmlt.org) has a bold vision for Lamorinda, and a $550,000 grant from Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation to the Campaign to Save Harvey Ranch brings that vision much closer to reality. Harvey Ranch is the 143-acre natural backdrop to Saint Mary’s College of California in Moraga. If JMLT raises $4 million from the public by the end of 2022, Harvey Ranch will become a new gateway into 15,000 acres of pristine East Bay wilderness.

The milestone grant brings the total raised to $3 million with three months to go. Thousands of generous area residents have made gifts—large and small—expressing wide community support. “When you climb a steep trail and then turn a corner to see the summit almost within reach, you feel so energized. That’s how I feel today,” says Linus Eukel, Executive Director of JMLT.

Harvey Ranch is well-matched to Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation’s commitment to protecting and enhancing wildlife habitat and ecosystem services in the San Francisco Bay Area. Saving Harvey Ranch will provide a critical buffer for one of the East Bay’s most important wildlife refuges, and it will open the gate for countless outdoor recreation opportunities enjoyed by nature enthusiasts of all ages.

“We are very pleased to be able to support the protection of Harvey Ranch,” said Dan Winterson, who manages the Bay Area Conservation Program at the Moore Foundation. “It’s a strategically-located and threatened property, important for both wildlife habitat and water supply.”

Adds Eukel, “Imagine walking the many public trails in surrounding neighborhoods then south to Harvey Ranch, and then along its spectacular ridgeline into the huge wilderness of Las Trampas Regional Wilderness and the San Leandro Watershed beyond. This is huge. We are immensely grateful to the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation for getting us so much closer to our goal.”

About Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation
Gordon and Betty Moore established their foundation to create positive outcomes for future generations. In pursuit of that vision, the foundation fosters path-breaking scientific discovery, environmental conservation, patient care improvements and preservation of the special character of the San Francisco Bay Area. Cumulative grants for environmental conservation total $1,800,183,236. moore.org

About John Muir Land Trust
John Muir Land Trust (JMLT) protects and cares for open space, ranches, farms, parkland and shoreline in Contra Costa and Alameda Counties. In a generation, John Muir Land Trust has become one of the leading forces for conservation in northern California. With 3,500 acres protected, many beautiful places in the East Bay are permanently preserved for recreation, wildlife habitat, and spectacular scenic views. JMLT believes that the vitality of our open spaces is essential to the health of our earth, air, water, native plants, and animals — and all of us. jmlt.org