Author Archives: Shawn E. Bell

California State Parks Launches 150th Anniversary of State Parks at Grand Opening of California Statewide Museum Collections Center

Today, California State Parks is officially launching the 150th Anniversary of State Parks, along with the grand opening of California’s Statewide Museum Collections Center in McClellan Park, an event sponsored by the California State Parks Foundation (CSPF).

“This is an exciting time for State Parks, as we will be commemorating our Sesquicentennial next year and looking ahead to the future of the system,” said Major General Anthony L. Jackson, USMC (Ret.), Director of California State Parks. “For 150 years, California State Parks has been a leader in the conservation and preservation of our natural and cultural resources, and our mission is to connect the people of California with their parks—whether it’s the beaches in southern California, or the Redwoods in the northern part of the State, or the historic and cultural parks and museums that are part of our history and our past.”

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American Hiking Society’s Volunteer Vacations sign-ups are open – HURRY to take advantage of some pretty great adventures!

The American Hiking Society has just announced that registration for the 2014 Volunteer Vacations season is now OPEN! They’re offering “more than 60 adventure opportunities” this coming year.  These slots can fill up fast (especially on some of the more interesting vacations) so don’t wait!  Discounted registration fees are now in effect.

If you’re not familiar with what the Volunteer Vacations program is, it’s a series of trail stewardship projects that take place across the country during some of the BEST vacation timeframes, that offer you the chance to give back to the trails you love. You can browse trips by state, difficulty level, accommodations, or timeframe. Remember: trail work experience is not a requirement; you only need a good attitude and the willingness to get a little dirty!

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Remove Yosemite’s Dam? Sounds like a great way to waste money!

Dan Lungren and John Van de Kamp have penned an opinion piece in the L.A. Times about the Hetch Hetchy Valley.  They’d like to see the valley restored and the dam removed.  I’m too young to remember what the valley looked like, but I’m of the opinion that it’s too late, and California has already wasted too much of the taxpayer’s money doing idiotic things like re-electing mistakes for governor and investing in high speed rail that nobody – except those getting rich off kickbacks – wants.

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At Yosemite, cattle don’t affect toad population

Well, I’m no scientist, but I could have told you that without having to embark on any years-long study.  Anyone who is even remotely familiar with how cattle graze and where toads live knows that cattle don’t graze in marshy water areas and toads don’t forage in dry meadows.  Duh.

But, to make it official, a UC forest study has found that excluding cattle doesn’t help toad population.  

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Shell reveals unleaded avgas – 10 years in the making!

Shell has announced a lead-free replacement for the 110LL that is currently used by most general aviation piston aircraft.  From the AOPA website:

Shell Aviation, a subsidiary of the multinational oil giant Royal Dutch Shell, announced Dec. 3 that a 10-year effort in the laboratory has produced a fuel that may put a long-sought goal—once thought to be unattainable—within reach: a lead-free “performance drop-in” replacement for 100LL that could power any aircraft in the piston fleet.

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