The county's Board of Supervisors on Tuesday appropriated $8.5 million to acquire the land owned by John and Martha McCullough. The family, meanwhile, will donate $850,000 to the Regional Parks Foundation to help transition the land into a park.

McCullough Ranch includes grassland, chapparal and stands of redwoods and oaks. Mark West Creek, home to Coho and steelhead salmon, runs for 1.7 miles through the property.

The land is adjacent to 340 acres purchased by the district for parkland in 2007.

- John King