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Alameda County Altamont Landfill Open Space Fund Costleridge Property Acquisition Pleasanton Ridge Regional Park East Bay Regional Pork District The property lies within the Alameda Creek Watershed and contains two seasonal streams that drain to the Arroyo del la Laguna. In addition, there are many other seasonal drainages and a natural spring. The pristine and relatively untouched natural condition of the landscape offers prime habitat for a variety of special status animal species, in addition to plant species. These include the Golden Eagle. Pallid bat and Yuma myotis bat. The property also supports potentially over 300 species of birds, mammals, reptiles, and amphibians, many of which are prey for the aforementioned special status species. Larger mammals include coyotes, black-tailed deer, American badgers, bobcats and mountain lions. The property is located in a region with an extensive history of human occupancy and development. The Ohlone people are known to have inhabited and traded in the area as evidenced by bedrock mortars, middens, oral history reports and archaeological resource mapping. European settlement of the area and grazing of the grasslands began in the mid-I9' century. Historic resources in the Pleasanton Ridgeland area include houses, outbuildings, orchards and ponds. The Castleridge property currently boasts a trail that is reported to be a portion of the old Pony Express Route. Acquisition and permanent protection of the Castleridge property will allow EBRPD to expand Pleasanton Ridge Regional Park, which abuts the subject property on its southwestern and southern boundaries. Over 8,800 acres have already been preserved and the addition of this property will expand the current wildlife corridor of contiguous open space created by EBRPD's Pleasanton Ridge Regional Park, the City's 237-acre Augustin Bernal Park, the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) open space lands surrounding their San Antonio and Calaveras Reservoirs and EBRPD's Mission Peak Regional Preserve and Sunol/Ohlone Regional Wilderness. Acquisition of this property will also create more opportunities for public recreation, such as hiking, biking, nature viewing and dog walking. The historical Native American and European presence provide opportunities for cultural and historical interpretation in conjunction with the City of Pleasanton's historic Alviso Adobe Park immediately to its east, and the plant and animal communities and habitats provide opportunities for environmental and conservation education.