Beall gets a bench

There’s a bench above Lexington Reservoir with state Sen. Jim Beall’s name on it. The Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District placed the bench on an open space preserve in Beall’s 15th district “to honor his longtime dedication to the health of the open space lands of the Santa Cruz Mountains.”

District 15 includes Campbell.

“Over the last several years, Sen. Beall has actively worked to enable our ability to protect and restore lands in the Upper Guadalupe Watershed and enhance the movement of wildlife in and out of the San Francisco Peninsula,” Midpen general manager

Ana María Ruiz said in a statement.

The bench is located on the Aquinas Trail in El Sereno Open Space Preserve, facing south to overlook the lands surrounding Lexington Reservoir, with a view of San Jose to the east. Beall recently helped secure funding to allow Midpen acquire a privately held 182-acre tract of land in the El Sereno preserve.

“I’m honored and excited about the placement of the bench in our beloved Santa Cruz Mountains,” Beall said in a statement. “I’m hopeful that the open space district will be able to acquire and preserve more open space for future generations to enjoy, as my family long has.”

The plaque embedded on the bench reads: “Dedicated to State Senator Jim Beall, a longtime public servant of the South Bay, whose family settled in this area in the 1930s. He loved the land and fought for the preservation of open spaces and protection of habitat health in these Santa Cruz Mountains.”