The Newsletter for Members of California State Parks Foundation
SUMMERTIME IN STATE PARKS
reetings, park champions. Summer is a busy time in state parks, and hopefully you’ve ventured out to camp under the stars, float down a river, or partake in your own favorite activity while the days are long and sunny.
It’s been an active and exciting season for the park system and California State Parks Foundation. Over the past few months, we celebrated the first annual California State Parks Week, hosted volunteer workdays across the state,
Montaña de Oro State Park
advocated for parks at the Capitol, provided amazing organizations with grants — and much more. There’s even a new state park in the works.
We have a lot to share, which is why we’ve added another edition of Parklands per year. Welcome to the first summer issue, and enjoy learning about the work you make possible!
A LETTER FROM OUR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Hi park lovers,
I wanted to give you an update on our park advocacy work, since it has been in full swing these past few months. We’ve been working hard in the Capitol to ensure state parks get the resources and funding they deserve — and your support is helping us push forward important, park-oriented legislation.
We also hosted Park Advocacy Day in May, which brought together a community of park champions who believe in park equity and outdoor access for all. In 2020 and 2021, the event was virtual, but we knew participants missed looking elected officials in the eye, telling their stories, and knowing they’d been heard. That’s why we were so thrilled to have advocates back in person this year. We’ve hosted Park Advocacy Day for two decades now, and this was another successful year of demonstrating the political strength of the parks movement.
It’s always crucial to articulate what our parks need, but it’s especially true during a year with a $97.5 billion surplus in the state budget. We want parks to be welcoming and protected for future generations of Californians, and they still have pressing needs like staffing, facility upgrades, and basic maintenance. Also, climate change is here, so parks need investments to be resilient in the face of drought, sea level rise, and extreme heat.
Because of the large surplus this year, we are seeing more action on the budget, as opposed to legislation. Still, there are some important legislative priorities we championed, including:
• Assembly Bill 30 (Kalra from San Jose): an important policy statement on access to nature
• Assembly Bill 2128 (Cooley from Rancho Cordova): an effort to create discounted park admission in September, California’s birthday month
• Assembly Bill 2146 (Bauer-Kahan from Orinda): an initiative to protect pollinators like western monarch butterflies from the effects of neonicotinoid pesticides in most nonagricultural settings
As I write this, it’s still too early to know whether all these priorities will be fully enacted, since the legislative session does not wrap up until September. What I do know is that our voice — your voice — matters when it comes to speaking up for parks. When we speak up, step up, and show up, we can pass policies that are better for parks and people.
Until next time,
Rachel Norton Executive Director
YOUR IMPACT: BY THE NUMBERS
We could not accomplish any of our work in state parks without the support of members, volunteers, and park partners. You make an enormous difference in helping us carry out programs and projects for the benefit of state parks and the millions of Californians who use them. These numbers reflect recent work you made possible. Thank you so much!
648 volunteers in state parks this Earth Day
745 bags of trash collected statewide through our DIY Earth Day Climate Action clean-up
20 grants awarded through our 2022 State Parks Improvement Grant Round, with a focus on park experiences, equitable access, and honoring history and culture
7,220 native California plants and trees planted in state parks
65 advocates who attended Park Advocacy Day this May to rise up for state parks
22,500 square feet of wildfire buffer zone created in parks
$111,461 in climate resiliency funding to parks and park partner organizations through our Building Climate Resilient Parks Grant Round 5 days in June dedicated to the first annual California State Parks Week
Saddleback Butte State Park
CREATING MEANINGFUL EXPERIENCES
hen visitors go to a state park, they deserve experiences that feel meaningful and relevant to them. Our most recent grant round focused on the importance of that, and we invested in programs that both improve state parks and create innovative programs for visitors.
Most people remember the first time they visited a spectacular wilderness park, camped outdoors for the first time, or toured a fascinating historical site that brought the past to life. To spark a desire to return and keep exploring, visitors must forge a connection to the park.
Intentional education and interpretation go a long way, especially for someone visiting a park for the first time. The signage should be clear, the interpreter leading the tour should be welcoming and knowledgeable, the trail should be navigable, and the natural beauty should be unspoiled.
Earlier this year, we were thrilled to provide 20 amazing state parks and park partner organizations with grants for programs across the state. The 2022 State Parks
Improvement Grant Round included $182,303 in funding that supports programs in these focus areas: park experiences, equitable access, and
HERE ARE A FEW OF THE PROJECTS CREATING INTENTIONAL, MEANINGFUL PROGRAMMING IN STATE PARKS:
Forests for All: Connecting Underserved and Marginalized Communities to the Coast Redwood Forest Redwood Parks Conservancy — Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, Redwood National and State Parks
The work of the Forests for All project will bridge the gap between the park’s adjacent communities and redwood forests by removing barriers to transportation and providing safe, welcoming opportunities for people of all backgrounds, abilities, and socioeconomic status. With support from community partners, Forests for All will create inclusive and meaningful outdoor experiences, including ranger-led backpacking trips and day trip outings. Its goal is to remove barriers keeping people from experiencing their neighboring redwood parks, especially for Latinx and Indigenous residents living close to Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park and the rest of Redwood National and State Parks.
IN STATE PARKS
Third Grade Interpretive Hike Program
Foundation for the Preservation of the Santa Susana Mountains — Santa Susana Pass State Historic Park
This interpretive hike program introduces local youth to Santa Susana Pass State Historic Park. Many have never been on a hike or in a rural park. These excursions are approved by the school district, integrated into their third-grade curriculum of California history and Native American culture, and include a two-mile hike. They will be led by trained volunteer leaders who take many pauses to show and tell the children about the birds, plants, and other interesting encounters along the way. This program provides the opportunity for youth to widen their horizons and opens doors to experiences and benefits of parks.
South Yuba River State Park
Over the past decade, South Yuba River State Park has witnessed an increase in the diversity of first-time visitors, many of them Spanish speaking. This program will help improve the visitor experience and offer a welcoming and safe environment for river goers, especially first-timers. This season, the program will recruit bilingual River Captains who can bring multicultural competency to training River Ambassador volunteers. River Captains and River Ambassadors will work to provide a welcoming experience for new park goers as well as create situational and safety awareness and promote park stewardship.
For a full list of the 2022 State Parks Improvement Grantees, visit calparks.org/parkgrantees
CALIFORNIA STATE PARKS WEEK
he first California State Parks Week took place this past June! As a presenting partner, California State Parks Foundation was so excited to see many of you take part in learning about state parks and deepening your commitment to them.
This new annual event celebrated the state park system and invited Californians to honor the lands that have been protected by and for all of us, explore their diversity, and become stewards of these iconic places. Parks across the state offered special community events with both virtual and in-person programming.
Over the past couple of years, the pandemic brought many challenges to California’s communities — but it also illuminated the important connection that the outdoors has to people’s physical and mental well-being. Parks across the country experienced increased visitation during the pandemic, and California parks were no exception.
California State Parks Week was a chance to celebrate the wonder and sense of community that the outdoors provides to Californians and visitors from all over the world. Each day centered on a theme:
• Land Acknowledgment Day, June 14, honored and celebrated the Indigenous voices and stories rooted in the ancestral lands now stewarded by California State Parks.
• Kids Career Day, June 15, helped kids explore the important jobs people do to keep parks thriving and running smoothly.
• Health and Wellness Day, June 16, reminded people that spending time outdoors is critical to health and well-being.
• Stewardship Day, June 17, focused on the various land and habitat management activities that safeguard the wide diversity of plants and animals in state parks.
• Partnership Day / Volunteer Day, June 18, helped folks learn about the essential roles businesses, nonprofits, and other partners play in stewarding the state park system.
California State Parks Week was modeled after National Park Week and helps advance the state’s “California Outdoors for All” initiative. It was an energizing time, and we hope you were able to join a virtual or in-person event during the weeklong celebration. We’re looking forward to next year already!
YOUR PARKS LEGACY
A VISION IS A POWERFUL THING. IT IS A DREAM BASED ON A CLEAR PERCEPTION OF THE FUTURE, COMBINED WITH A COMMITMENT TO TAKE THE NECESSARY STEPS TO MAKE IT HAPPEN.”
WILLIAM PENN MOTT, JR. Founder of California State Parks Foundation
f California state parks have played a role in your life as places of solace and inspiration, and you value protecting nature for future generations, we invite you to leave a legacy. You can keep the vision alive in perpetuity — to protect and preserve the California state park system for the benefit of all by including California State Parks Foundation in your will, trust, or other legacy plan. In doing so, you’ll make an impact that lasts forever.
Join the William Penn Mott, Jr. Legacy Society by making a bequest or other planned gift. You will join a group of passionate California state parks supporters dedicated to protecting the parks during and beyond their lifetimes. Benefits of membership include invitations to our popular Insider Tours, our Brief newsletter, plus the other benefits you already receive as a member.
No one can promise what the future holds, but planning helps ensure you are ready for anything. You owe it to yourself and your family to make sure you’re prepared for the many events in life that are out of your hands. Planning puts you in control and affords you the opportunity to provide for loved ones and for the causes you care about.
Planned and estate giving can be an easy, highly effective way to support our natural and cultural treasures. Often, all it takes is a simple form or phone call to set up a donation that will help provide for the parks’ future. Gifts of any size make a big difference — and can benefit you too!
For more information about leaving a parks legacy, please contact:
Randy Widera, Director of Philanthropy (415) 262-4433 | legacy@calparks.org
Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park
Established in 1929, this beautiful, densely forested park is the last in a long stretch of redwood parks on Northern California’s coast, containing seven percent of all the old-growth redwoods left in the world. Take a journey alongside the giant trees on the newly opened off-ground trail, the Grove of Titans.
Castle Crags State Park
Castle Crags is home to some of California’s most majestic rock formations with granite spires over 6,000 feet tall and 170 million years old. When you visit, choose from a variety of activities like swimming or fishing in the Sacramento River, camping, picnicking, or exploring 28 miles of hiking trails.
Butano State Park
For a redwoods experience closer to the Bay Area, check out this park. Located near the community of Pescadero, it features camping and extensive hiking trails. Take a meditative walk in the quiet canyons alongside babbling creeks and under the old-growth trees.
EXPLORE YOUR STATE PARKS
ummer may be drawing to a close, but there are still plenty of great state parks to visit! Late summer is a good time to explore, since tourist crowds have died down and the weather is starting to cool off. Take this refreshing period to get out and see something new. Here are some of our top picks:
Tule Elk State Natural Reserve
This reserve protects a small herd of tule elk, the only elk species endemic to California. Once in danger of extinction, elk from the reserve have since been successfully transplanted throughout the state. Most active from late summer through early autumn, visitors are encouraged to bring binoculars for better viewing (at a distance, of course).
Point Dume State Beach
Used as a filming location for movies such as Planet of the Apes and Iron Man, this is a beautiful, coastal cliffside beach park for any day’s adventure! Along with the fantastic views and abundant wildlife, the beach park is a perfect place to watch California gray whales from December to mid-April.
Picacho State Recreation Area
Experience the desert at Picacho State Recreation Area. A small gold-mining town 100 years ago, this state park is popular with boaters, hikers, anglers, and campers alongside nine miles of the pristine Colorado River. You may even spot wild burros and bighorn sheep.
TRAILS FOR ALL
ith 279 state parks and 5,200 miles of trails, California state parks contain the largest and most diverse recreational, natural, and cultural heritage holdings of any state agency in the nation.
We believe that the enjoyment of California state parks should be for everyone — and that includes having trails that are high quality and accessible to all kinds of visitors. Whether you’re an experienced backpacker or are just looking for a leisurely stroll, a trail leads the way. And between the state’s beaches, deserts, redwood forests, and mountains, there’s a landscape for everyone too.
Although many trails are present in parks, they may not be safe or accessible for all. Hitting the trail is also a chance to have a dynamic experience that allows for deeper understanding of a park, and all Californians deserve that opportunity.
Through our Trails for All initiative, we are working to improve trails in both urban and rural settings for people of all ages, interests, skills, and physical abilities. This initiative promotes the enjoyment and appreciation of trails while also encouraging greater public access.
RECENT TRAIL PROJECTS YOU’RE
MAKING POSSIBLE:
n Thanks to your support, Redwood Trails Alliance will now have a Volunteer Coordinator to recruit and organize volunteers to work on specific trail projects in Trione-Annadel State Park. They will devote time to finding and informing volunteers, identifying specific trail projects with park staff, and ensuring volunteers are equipped with the tools and supplies needed. Improving the trails in this park is vital for visitors — whether they are hikers, runners, mountain bikers, or equestrians — to retain access to the interiors of the park.
n With your help, Santa Cruz Mountains Trail Stewardship is working to reopen parks impacted by the CZU Lightning Fires of 2020: Big Basin Redwoods State Park, Butano State Park, and Año Nuevo State Park. To reopen the parks and improve their trails, the project will assess damage and determine scope. This includes work such as removing hazardous, fire-damaged trees, reestablishing damaged trail surfaces, repairing drainage structures, and rerouting existing trails for sustainability to adapt to the new landscape.
Want to discover some accessible trails throughout the state? Check out calparks.org/accessibletrails to learn more.
A NEW STATE PARK ON THE HORIZON
xciting news! California is working to establish its first new state park in 13 years. The area, Dos Rios Ranch Preserve, is located in the Central Valley just outside of Modesto.
The land is currently stewarded by River Partners, a local nonprofit focused on rebuilding wild places and creating homes for wildlife. They spent nearly ten years restoring the landscape, with a focus on lowering flood risk and protecting endangered species.
Now, River Partners is in the process of donating the property to the state. This donation is major for the Central Valley, as it has far fewer state parks than other regions have. California State Parks previously identified the Central Valley as a key priority for additional parks, and this shows real action behind their vision.
Residents will soon be able to enjoy the beautiful surroundings and recreate closer to home. Once
complete, the park is set to have facilities for visitors, plus fishing and swimming opportunities on its two rivers, the San Joaquin and Tuolumne.
Due to its location, the preserve is also an essential habitat for migratory birds and monarch butterflies. So, in addition to providing recreation, it will continue to be a critical place of conservation and habitat restoration. Dos Rios Ranch Preserve is along the Pacific Flyway, which makes it a global migration corridor for many endangered birds. Similarly, monarch butterflies leave the California coast in late winter and fly inland to areas like this to breed. Protecting areas in the Central Valley is necessary for these populations to thrive.
The park will need to go through an official acquisition and naming process before becoming accessible to the public, but it could open as soon as 2023. Stay tuned for more information on its opening!
Threatened species, such as western monarch butterflies and many migratory birds, rely on Dos Rios Ranch Preserve as protected habitat in the winter.
THE IMPORTANCE OF OUR VOLUNTEER CORE LEADERS
alifornia State Parks Foundation’s volunteerism program began with an annual Earth Day volunteer event in 1998. Through these events, we learned the power of what volunteers can accomplish in a single day. In 2010, we expanded the program to year-round in response to unprecedented state budget cuts and a growing backlog of deferred maintenance projects.
Bringing volunteers together on an ongoing basis tackles pressing needs of the parks throughout the year. In partnership with the California Department of Parks and Recreation, our volunteer days provide consistent, sustainable volunteer support in state parks across California. They’re also an engaging way for people to learn about their local state parks and help them take the first step in becoming park stewards in a warm and welcoming community! All tools and instruction are provided at the beginning of each workday.
The program works by developing and training groups of Volunteer Core Leaders who have the enthusiasm and skills needed to help plan and lead public workdays at local state park sites. Each park site has a group of Volunteer Core Leaders to support the park and each other. They work closely with California State Parks Foundation and park staff to accomplish key projects and create a welcoming volunteer experience.
WE ARE LOOKING FOR NEW VOLUNTEER CORE LEADERS!
Becoming a Volunteer Core Leader is a great fit for you if:
• You are passionate about state parks and want to play a deeper role in getting good work done.
• You are a flexible team player and are comfortable working with people of all backgrounds.
• You are interested in being part of a community that cares deeply about state parks.
• You are available to volunteer approximately once per month.
If you’d like to step up to be a Volunteer Core Leader or have questions before making the decision, contact us at volunteer@calparks.org. To learn more, you can also visit calparks.org/coreleaders.
FLASHBACK PHOTO
Did you know Big Basin Redwoods State Park is California’s oldest state park? There is nothing more magical than standing under oldgrowth redwoods, and the park has provided that experience since 1902. Sadly, Big Basin Redwoods State Park closed temporarily due to the 2020 CZU
Lightning Complex Fire, which burned through 97 percent of the park. But there’s good news to share!
Thanks to the hard work of California State Parks, partners, and others, interim access to the park is set to open this summer. You can learn more at ReimaginingBigBasin.org.
ENTER OUR PHOTO CONTEST
Every month, you have the chance to win a FREE California state parks pass. We’re always looking for amazing photos of state parks, and we’d love to see yours! Tag us on Instagram or Twitter @calparks, on Facebook at facebook.com/calparks, or upload to our Flickr page at flickr.com/ groups/mycastateparks. Just make sure to include #MyCAStateParks.
Each week, we pick a photo for our #FeatureFriday and at the end of the month, the featured photo with the most likes across our platforms wins a free yearlong parks pass.
This photo of Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park from @optimal_focus was one of our most recent winners on Instagram.
California State Parks Foundation is an independent, membersupported nonprofit dedicated to protecting and preserving the California state park system, for the benefit of all. Stay Connected Visit us online at calparks.org and follow us on social media: @calparks @calparks /calparks Front cover photo: Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park California State Parks Foundation 33 New Montgomery St., Suite 520 San Francisco, CA 94105 members@calparks.org
Diggins State Historic Park
Malakoff