147. Milagra Ridge - Golden Gate National Park Service and Edgewood Park & Natural Preserve

https://youtu.be/pndhtzydZW0

Milagra Ridge is a 275-acre (111 ha) open space park that is an isolated island ecosystem, located about 7 miles (11 km) south of San Francisco, between the cities of Pacifica and Daly City. It was first inhabited by the Ohlone indigenous people, and was later claimed by Spanish settlers and Mexican ranchers. The United States Army acquired the land in the late 1930s as part of a larger defense network that protected San Francisco Bay, including similar fortifications in San Francisco, Angel Island and the Marin Headlands. In 1943 the Army started construction of Battery Construction No. 244 on top of #Milagra-Ridge, which was called Milagra Ridge Military Reservation at the time. Two 6-inch (152 mm) T2/M1 guns mounted on shielded long-range barbette M4 carriages were moved from Fort Columbia to Battery 244 in 1948. The battery was decommissioned in 1950. Plans were drawn up to build a second gun emplacement armed with larger 16-inch guns, Battery Construction No. 130, but World War II ended before construction started on Battery 130. In 1956 Nike missile site SF-51 was built here and converted to the Nike-Hercules system in 1958. Typical of Nike sites, SF-51 was divided into an administrative area (SF-51A), an integrated fire control area (SF-51C), and a launcher area (SF-51L); SF-51A and -51L lie within the area of Milagra Ridge, while SF-51C is in the neighboring Sweeney Ridge open space preserve. In 1961, Pacifica considered utilizing the empty Battery 244 casemate as their police station combined with an emergency civil defense headquarters for the County of San Mateo, but in 1969, a different location was chosen, partially due to limited access to the site. However, the City of #Pacifica leased some of the underground area to the County for records storage in 1970. In January 1971, some students from Oceana High School broke into the bunker and set the records on fire, followed by another group of arsonists setting fires with highway flares in March 1972. Shortly afterward, officials stopped using the bunker. In 1987 the National Park Service acquired the remaining 240 acres (97 ha) of Milagra Ridge and made it a part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Community based volunteer efforts have successfully improved the habitat of the Mission Blue and San Bruno elfin butterflies, the San Francisco garter snake and the California red-legged frog, all of which are endangered or threatened species. Residents of Pacifica's Manor district formed the Concerned Manor Residents, which brought a referendum in 1995 to successfully block a large proposed development on the lower slopes of Milagra Ridge; a smaller group of 23 homes was built as a compromise.

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#Edgewood-County-Park and Natural Preserve is a 467-acre protected area located in San Mateo County, California, United States, and is best known for its spring wildflower displays. The park receives about 50,000 visitors each year. Edgewood has 160 acres of serpentine soil which are known for having high proportions of native plant species including rare and locally endemic species. Edgewood has grasslands, chaparral, coastal scrub, foothill woodlands, and wetlands supporting over 500 distinct species, three of which are federally listed as endangered or threatened. Edgewood is also home to the Bay checkerspot butterfly, also a threatened species. Its northwestern slopes have small tributaries to Cordilleras Creek, while its southwestern slopes host the source of Laguna Creek. Various development projects were proposed on what is now Edgewood beginning in 1967 including a college, recreational complex, solar energy facility, and a golf course. County supervisors moved forward with plans for an 18-hole public golf course, approving a master plan and certifying an Environmental Impact Report by the end of 1982. In 1983, the California Native Plant Society filed a lawsuit challenging the EIR, which was settled out-of-court on the condition that sensitive habitats would be given protection. The Bay checkerspot was declared a threatened species in 1987, followed by the Edgewood Park harvestman in 1988, and one of the members of the County Board of Supervisors ran for Congress in 1988, narrowly defeating a primary challenger after the supervisor's support of the golf course was made one of the focal points of the campaign. In 1992, two-thirds of Edgewood Park were set aside for a natural preserve with one-third to be considered for the golf course, pending the results of a feasibility study. In the summer of 1993, the County Board of Supervisors declared Edgewood County Park a Natural Preserve, following the feasibility study results, which concluded the parts of the park flat enough to support a golf course were also the same parts that contained the protected species. The Natural Preserve declaration in 1993 protected the entire park from future development.

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