A nearly 2,000-acre cattle ranch south of San Jose, a rare vestige of the region’s past, has been purchased by conservationists as part of a continuing effort to keep the strip malls and subdivisions of Silicon Valley at bay. The Peninsula Open Space Trust closed last month on the $22.4 million sale of Lakeside Ranch, on Uvas Road near Morgan Hill. The plan is to maintain the rural property, with its creeks, grassy hills and oak woodlands, in its current, largely natural state and eventually build a through-trail for hikers. The site is one of several in the Coyote Valley area of southern Santa Clara County that has been bought in recent years with the purpose of protecting open space. The acquisitions follow a long and concerted push to create a vast greenbelt of farms and nature preserves to confine the bustle of San Jose to the north.

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