Five conservation groups will pay more than $30-million for 8,500 acres in Santa Cruz County to preserve it from development, writes the San Jose Mercury News.

The Peninsula Open Space Trust led the effort, contributing $16-million toward one of the largest preservation Bay Area preservation deals in recent years. The agreement will protect a broad expanse of oak and redwood forest, home to mountain lions, peregrine falcons, and coho salmon, that surrounds a closed cement plant in Davenport, Calif.

The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, the Sempervirens Fund, and the Nature Conservancy also contributed to the land buy, which will link two existing state parks to create a protected area the size of San Francisco.