The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:

(a) Coyote Valley is a unique landscape providing agricultural, wildlife, recreational, climate, and other natural infrastructure benefits, covering an area of about 17,200 acres in southern Santa Clara County.

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(b) Coyote Valley is a resource of statewide significance. The Coyote Valley has been subject to intense development pressure and is in need of restoration, conservation, and enhancement.

(c) Coyote Valley is bounded by and includes two of the fastest growing cities in California, the City of San Jose to the north and the City of Morgan Hill to the south.

(d) Mushrooms, bell peppers, nursery crops, and other agricultural crops grown in Coyote Valley provide more than thirty million dollars ($30,000,000) of economic benefit each year.

(e) Coyote Valley provides a critical corridor for wildlife migrating between the Santa Cruz Mountains and Diablo Range.

(f) Residents of the City of San Jose and other nearby cities access the outdoors in Coyote Valley to view wildlife, and recreate and connect with nature and the community.

(g) Coyote Valley’s natural resources provide opportunities for many climate and natural infrastructure benefits, including flood attenuation from improved wetlands, increased water supply from groundwater recharge, and carbon sequestration from natural and working lands.

(h) Protection of Coyote Valley is a component of state and local efforts to preserve agriculture in the County of Santa Clara, including the Santa Clara Valley Agricultural Plan, the Santa Clara Valley Greenprint, state investments from the Sustainable Agricultural Lands Conservation Program, and a feasibility study funded by the State Coastal Conservancy.

(i) The establishment of the Coyote Valley Conservation Program pursuant to this chapter will provide a necessary structure to implement restoration and preservation projects and recreational opportunities, and enhance the overall condition of Coyote Valley.

(Added by Stats. 2019, Ch. 356, Sec. 1. (AB 948) Effective January 1, 2020.)