State Parks in the News

Guest opinion: Addressing the lack of diversity among California state parks users

As much as things change around us, our seven amazing California State Parks at Lake Tahoe and Donner are a constant, along with the knowledge that Sierra State Parks Foundation supports them.

Thanks to our donors, volunteers and members, SSPF has achieved significant milestones for our parks: an SSPF sponsored state park interpreter at Lake Tahoe provides year-round educational programming; the state park volunteer program at Donner Memorial thrives and grows; numerous restoration projects are complete while many others are underway; and almost 30,000 visitors learned about local history on tours operated by SSPF at Vikingsholm and the Hellman-Ehrman Estate. Ensuring this momentum continues means taking the next step.

The biggest concern for stewards of our parklands is not necessarily the challenge of inadequate budgets and maintenance backlogs. Our parks have a diversity problem of age and color. We need diversity amongst park users to ensure adequate future funding, volunteers and advocacy. Only by making these special places relevant and vital to the next generations, as well as people of color, will they learn to care for and support parks. Attracting advocates and users of our parklands is required for a solid future of our state park gems.

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Damage from earthquakes closes site of historic Bodie ghost town

On social media, there were photos of some items falling off store shelves around Hawthorne, but officials said there were no reports of structural damage to buildings. Matthew Green, chief ranger for the Sierra District of California State Parks, told the San Jose Mercury News that Bodie suffered some damage and that the area would remained closed so a full damage assessment could be completed.

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California’s low-key coastal keeper blazes a 40-year trail

You don’t have to walk from Mexico to Oregon to appreciate the California Coastal Trail, but Morgan Visalli and Jocelyn Enevoldsen did anyway. The young marine scientists spent three months last summer exploring a proposed 1,200-mile route that many consider a symbol of California’s approach to managing its coastline.

A short stroll across scenic bluffs, shifting dunes or sandy beaches is equally worthy of protection, says Tim Duff, a project manager with the California State Coastal Conservancy, the state agency in Oakland that serves as primary architect of the trail.

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Editorial: Beaches are a public trust, not reserved solely for billionaires

The California State Lands Commission, an obscure state entity, took a bold step this week in confronting Silicon Valley billionaire Vinod Khosla over a beachfront property he owns on the San Mateo County coast.
The commissioners – Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, Controller Betty Yee and a representative of the Department of Finance – had little choice if they were to remain true to the California ethos that this state’s magnificent beaches belong to us all.

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Trestles Saved…Forever

The word “historic” is frequently overused in today’s public discourse. However, few words are more fitting to describe the landmark lawsuit settlement that was reached between the Save San Onofre Coalition and toll road developers, the Transportation Corridor Agencies (TCA), to end one of the most hard fought, long-lasting environmental battles in California history.

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Survey: MinoSurvey: Minority Hiking, Camping Participation Surge

A recent survey of nearly 3,000 Americans and Canadians found that among the 1 million people who began camping for the first time last year, nearly 1 in 5 was black and 11 percent were Latino, nearly twice the rate for those groups in 2014. The survey, commissioned by Kampgrounds of America, showed that the latest generation of campers more closely represents the nations’ overall ethnic breakdown.

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Joel Reynolds: San Onofre State Beach Saved; Nov 2016 Agreement Ends Toll Road Dispute

It’s fair to say that, for the better part of three decades, NRDC has had a difficult relationship with the Transportation Corridor Agencies (TCA) of Orange County, the toll road agency that has been trying for years to build a toll road through the California State Park at San Onofre State Beach.

With that long history in mind, it is extraordinary to announce today a landmark agreement between the TCA, California Attorney General Kamala Harris, and a broad coalition of national and local environmental groups, including NRDC. In short, the agreement will protect San Onofre State Beach, the Richard and Donna O’Neill Conservancy and San Mateo Creek while also allowing for exploration of other transportation solutions for South Orange County.

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Photo Credit: Julianne Bradford