Today the California State Parks Foundation launched a new campaign: “California State Parks are Great Places to …” This week the focus is on great places to walk among giants!
How would you fill in the blank? The possibilities are endless! Share your own “Great Places” photos and stories on the CSPF website HERE.
You can visit, join, and support the California State Parks Foundation HERE.
California State Parks has introduced a new Annual Park Pass Program to commemorate the 150th Anniversary of State Parks. From the press release:
The Pass Program will include a variety of options for visitors, including a 150th Commemorative Pass, the Surf Explorer pass, the Off-Highway Vehicle pass, a Historian Passport pass, and the California Park Experience day-use pass. The new passes will be available to purchase starting today.
As the holidays get close, and the air cools off a bit (yep, I’ve already dug out my flannel-lined jeans!) don’t forget our California State Parks. CalParks Park Champions program operates year round to help restore the natural ecosystems in state parks or assist with much needed general maintenance projects.
You can join one of the many volunteer teams who are helping to keep our parks going. Current projects include improving the vital habitat at Half Moon Bay (San Mateo), Silver Strand (San Diego), or Palomar Mountain (San Diego), repairing trails at Wildwood Canyon in San Bernardino, and you can even help with general park maintenance at Candlestick Point in San Francisco.
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.”
Jay Gamel, reporting for the Kenwood Press, writes that uncertainty, objectives and habits all play a part in daily operations:
California’s state park system is under scrutiny by an independent commission tasked to revamp the entire system by 2015. As part of this process, the Parks Forward Commission has held 10 public workshops throughout the state, taking testimony from private and public sectors, seeking to find sources of sustainable funding, expand park availability to all Californians, and examine the role of private partners in the future of park operations.
