News Subscribe to Our Newsletter Sign up for Email Updates CGF In the News Press Inquiries Past Articles Calendar			Mercury News January 12, 2004   Groups unite to  save coast Coalition to support  land agency's growth By Marilee Enge A new organization will work to protect open space  on the San Mateo County coast, starting with an effort to extend the boundaries  of a local open space agency to the ocean, a coalition of conservation  groups announced Monday.  The Committee for Green Foothills, Sierra Club,  Surfrider Foundation and several other groups said they will combine forces  through the Coastal  Open Space Alliance, a new initiative to prevent Silicon Valley-style  development on the coast.  "We feel it's just a matter of time before  piecemeal sprawl claims the San Mateo coast if we don't act now to enact  protections that will last well into the future,'' said Zoe Kersteen-Tucker,  a Pacifica environmentalist.  "This really is an opportunity for us to connect  with people in this community to help them understand the land simply  cannot protect itself,'' she said.  The committee's first project will be backing expansion  plans by the Midpeninsula  Regional Open Space District, a public agency that works to preserve  the Peninsula's remaining wild places. The district, which protects nearly  50,000 acres between San Carlos and Los Altos, is seeking to extend its  reach to the ocean. If the boundary change is approved by Santa Clara  and San Mateo counties, the district would gain the authority to buy land  on the coast and manage it for recreation.  Some private landowners and the county farm bureau  have opposed the expansion in the past, fearing farmland could be seized  for parks and trails through eminent domain proceedings. But the district  specifically gave up the right to seize land on the Coastside when it  filed an application to expand. The board of the San Mateo County Farm  Bureau is scheduled to vote next week whether to endorse the expansion  plan.  The alliance will launch a letter-writing and public-outreach  campaign to back the boundary expansion, Kersteen-Tucker said. It also  announced a new Web site: www.coastalopenspace.org Page last updated January 23, 2004 .