Here's who bought 787-acre Bay Area ranch in the same family for more than 100 years

An undeveloped piece of 767-acre land spanning Sunol and Milpitas, Calif., has been in the same family since the 1900s and had been listed for $13.9 million. The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission bought the land for $9.7 million. less An undeveloped piece of 767-acre land spanning Sunol and Milpitas, Calif., has been in the same family since the 1900s and had been listed for $13.9 million. The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission bought ... more Photo: California Outdoor Properties Photo: California Outdoor Properties Image 1 of / 18 Caption Close Here's who bought 787-acre Bay Area ranch in the same family for more than 100 years 1 / 18 Back to Gallery

The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission is the new owner of a rare chunk of undeveloped Bay Area land stretching across 787 acres of oak-studded grassy hills in Milpitas and Sunol.

The so-called Wool Ranch went on the market last spring for $13.9 million, and the deal closed in December for $9.7 million. The property is trading hands for the first time since Ernest Wool purchased the property to raise sheep in the 1900s. The sheep business failed when coyotes killed the flock, so Wool transitioned to cattle. Wool's grandchildren now lease the land to a cattle rancher, and they are ready to pass their stewardship to a new owner.

The SFPUC is a department of the city and county of San Francisco, and provides drinking water to 2.9 million customers in Alameda, Santa Clara, San Mateo and San Francisco counties. Water is pulled from reservoirs in the East Bay, the Peninsula and the Sierra Nevada, including Hetch Hetchy.

This newly purchased land neighbors SFPUC property in the East Bay, and drains directly into Calaveras Reservoir and Alameda Creek downstream from Calaveras Dam.

Tim Ramirez, who manages the SFPUC’s natural resources and lands division, said Wool Ranch was purchased to stop development in the watershed.

"The best way to ensure clean water is to protect the watershed that drains into the reservoir," Ramirez said. "The watershed acts to a certain extent as a natural filter."

The SFPUC was particularly interested in acquiring property in the Alameda watershed where only 40% of the land draining into the reservoirs is protected under ownership by public agencies and conservation agencies (SFPUC owns 25%). By comparison, the SFPUC owns 95% of the land in the Peninsula watershed.

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Ramirez said the SFPUC will also protect the many creatures that live on the land, including tiger salamanders and red-legged frogs.

"The open space and the watershed in general are home to countless plants and animals that are native to the watershed," he said. "This offers a lot of opportunities to protect native species."

The property is a relic of California's old Spanish land grants. This particular property was part of a 4,394-acre concession known as Rancho Los Tularcitos and given in 1821 to José Loreto Higuera by the last Spanish governor of Alta California, Pablo Vicente de Solá.

The land feels incredibly private as it's surrounded by undeveloped land owned by the SFPUC, East Bay Municipal Utility District and East Bay Regional Parks.

"People can't hunt on the water district land so there's a lot of wildlife," said listing agent Tim Renfrew of California Outdoor Properties. "There are lots of wild deer, pig, turkey, quail, doves."

The SFPUC's "grazing program" will oversee the cattle operations on the land. At this time, there aren't any plans to offer the public access to Wool Ranch.

Amy Graff is a digital editor with SFGATE. Email her: agraff@sfgate.com.