Catch a State Park Documentary

There are some new opportunities to catch two awesome documentaries about California state parks in person or in the comfort of your own camper. Be sure to check them out!

1. Mile … Mile & A Half

See a screening of a new documentary by The Muir Project, Mile … Mile & A Half. The screening is June 15 at the Guild Theater in Sacramento. See a screening of the film, see a musical performance by Opus Orange, and do a Q&A with the film crew. Half of ticket proceeds from the screening with be donated to CSPF, so double bonus! More info on Facebook, and direct ticket sales here.

Beautiful shot from the film Mile … Mile & A Half

About Mile … Mile & A Half

A group of artists leave their daily lives behind to hike the John Muir Trail & bring back their experiences and inspiration. From Yosemite Valley to the highest point in the contiguous US – Mt. Whitney. 219 miles in 25 days.

Along the way, they are joined by musicians, painters, teachers and other adventure-seekers. In the midst of the grandeur and daily grind, they discover what matters most is the opportunity to seek adventure wherever and whenever you can.

What began as an adventure to see – let’s be honest – if they could complete the trail, became the need to capture the experience in order to share the trail with others. Come see how life on the trail shapes the lives of artists and individuals.

2. The First 70

You’ve heard us talk about this film before (because we love it), but now The First 70 is going to be widely available for everyone to enjoy in a new DVD box set and on digital platforms.

The new DVD has lots of cool extras, including behind the scenes, cutting room floor, photo gallery, and a special download from CSPF!

About The First 70

When they heard the state of California wanted to close a quarter of its state parks, three young filmmakers set out to visit the 70 parks that were doomed to close.  Along the 3,000 mile trek, they capture both the majesty of the state’s parks and the outrage of local community members, park rangers and environmental activists who are confounded by the State’s financial logic, yet determined to keep these wondrous expanses of beauty open to the public.

The First 70 is a about Californians banding together to enact change and develop solutions in the face of a glaring bureaucratic oversight. Volunteers have been forced to lend even more of their time and effort to support the already grossly underfunded state park system. Independent organizations and nonprofits have become obligated to step up to the challenge of keeping parks open, supporting them financially while working within the state’s guidelines. Due to these citizen-led efforts, the 70 parks were not closed on the July 2012 deadline, however their future is still hazy.

Tour of California Headed to Mount Diablo State Park

See it for yourself in a state park

The Amgen Tour of California professional cycling race is going on right now, and so far it has been a great race to watch. Even more exciting, the tour will “peak” on Saturday during Stage 7 set for Mt. Diablo State Park.

The Amgen Tour of California is one of America’s biggest annual cycling road race. It is an 8-day event with a new stage in a new California location each day. Professional cycling teams from around the world come to California to compete.  This year there are 16 teams competing on some of California’s most beautiful and scenic highways, roadways, and yes, state parks.

Stage 7 on Saturday, May 18 starts in Livermore, CA and ends 92 miles later with an epic climb up Mt. Diablo … finishing at the summit 3,770 feet up. The crowds on Mt. Diablo in 2012 were among the largest ever seen along a mountain route for the race. In 2013, the race will be even better as they have added an extra five miles of climbing to the actual summit.

You should definitely be among the spectators on Mt. Diablo this Saturday. There will be amazing views and amazing athletes putting everything they have into the climb up to the top.  For more information visit the Amgen Tour website and be sure to download the spectator’s guide for Stage 7.

If you can’t make it to Mt. Diablo, they will live stream the event on the Amgen Tour website, so be sure to check it out!

The full 8-day race course of the Amgen Tour of California

April Meteor Showers

Photo by Mike Shoys

Camping in state parks is fun as is, but add in a meteor shower and you could have an amazing camping experience in a state park this weekend.

That’s right … this weekend is the annual Lyrid Meteor Shower.  In California the shower will peak April 21-22 (Sunday night into Monday morning), when you should be able to see one every three to six minutes. The time to see the most meteors will be between 3:45am and 4:30am.

But you’ll need to be far from city lights. What better way to see them than from a state park campsite? So pitch a tent Sunday evening and settle in for a spectacular show.

More tips about how to view the Lyrid Meteor Shower here and here.

Enjoy!

Recommendations for a Better Parks System

Yesterday, the Little Hoover Commission released a report on state parks titled “Beyond Crisis: Recapturing Excellence in California’s State Park System.” We at CSPF have been reading the report with great interest, and we think you should be interested, too.

But first … a little background on the Little Hoover Commission. It’s a 13-member independent state oversight agency appointed by the governor and Legislature. The commission investigates state government operations and writes reports and recommendations that promote efficiency, economy and improved service.

About a year ago, the commission began to look at the long-term vision of California state parks and the Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR). This was a lengthy process which included many hearings and interviews. CSPF staff testified several times before the commission.

The 120-page report was released Monday morning, and can be downloaded online.

The report is direct and comprehensive. The Executive Summary is quick to read and will give you a good flavor for the report. Some of the top level recommendations to the state include:

1. Develop a new vision for DPR.
2. Assess which parks should remain state parks and which ones would be better transferred to local control.
3. Enable state parks to generate more revenue with a more enterprise-based operating model.
4. Commit General Fund support to DPR with flexibility for revenue generation and more transparent financial reporting.
5. Develop incentives and performance measures reported in annual performance reports.
6. Give DPR more flexibility to hire and promote a range of skilled employees.

CSPF agrees with the commission’s top-level recommendations for the future direction of California’s state parks. We find the call for a new vision for parks very consistent with our 2011 report: “A Vision for Excellence for California State Parks.” It was also consistent with the testimony that CSPF gave before the commission.

Read our full statement about the report online.

We are excited to see what comes next for state parks, and we at CSPF plan to continue to be there to represent as your voice for state parks. What do you think about the report? Let us know in the comments.

Here’s to a positive future for our parks!

Art Sale for State Parks

Treasured Places art show is going on now and is donating proceeds of art sales to CSPF! The show features beautiful paintings and photographs of California’s stunning state parks created by artists of The Oak Group.

If you live in the Santa Barbara area, please visit the art show at the Faulkner Gallery at the Santa Barbara Central Public Library located at 40 E. Anapamu Street. The show will be on display until March 30.

If you can’t make it to the gallery, check out the show right here! We have the pieces on display below. Click on an image to see details such as artist, size and price. If you are interested in a piece, please contact Allison See, Special Events Coordinator, at allison@calparks.org or (415) 262-4409 for more information.

Marvelous Mavericks

Tucked away between Half Moon Bay State Beach and Gray Whale Cove State Beach, and amazing event is taking place this weekend… Mavericks Invitational surf contest.

Photo (c) Julianne Bradford

The surf will be prime for this world-famous big wave contest taking place Sunday, January 20 at Pillar Point in Half Moon Bay. This is the first time in three years that the waves have been big enough to hold the contest, so excitement is high for this year’s showdown.

Although you can no longer watch the contest from the beach or bluffs for safety reasons, you can head down to the Mavericks Invitational Festival, an outdoor event to will be held on the grounds of the Oceano Hotel & Spa at Princeton Harbor, located on the road to Mavericks and across from Jeff Clark’s legendary Mavericks Surf Shop.

The contest and festival start at 8 a.m.. Traffic will surely be crazy and there will be no parking along Highway 1 or in the local neighborhoods. Consider parking at the Half Moon Bay Airport, which is within walking distance of the Festival.

If you can’t make it to Half Moon Bay, watch a free, live webcast at mavericksinvitational.com. The fact that GoPro is sponsoring means there’s bound to be some awesome footage from the water.

May the best surfer win!

King Tides in California

Some of the largest tides of the year are due to start washing up on our beaches tomorrow (Wednesday) through Friday … the King Tides.

They will cover beaches and wash up on docks and marinas, with waves peaking at close to 7 feet.

Photo by Mark Dodge

But don’t worry … these tides are not the result of global climate change. King tides are perfectly normal and occur at least once a year. They are a result of the position of the moon and sun, according to the Weather Service.

One group, The California King Tides Initiative, encourages members of the public to document the tides that occur along the coast. These photographs help to show the impact of rising waters on the California coast.  Find out more about submitting photos here:
http://www.californiakingtides.org/
, but remember to be safe!

Recommended sites for viewing or photographing tides include:

• Marina State Beach
• Monterey State Beach
• McWay Falls at Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park
• Andrew Molera State Beach
• Garrapata State Beach
• Pfeiffer State Beach

If you miss it this week, King Tides will also occur January 9-11 and February 7-9. Will you be checking out the tides this week?

Holiday Fun with California State Parks

It’s the most wonderful time of the year to visit state parks!

California Department of Parks and Rec came out with a great blog post about which state parks are holding holiday-themed events.

Check out the list of events here: Holiday Fun with California State Parks.

An Important Step for Parks

An important line in the sand got drawn for state parks last month when Governor Brown signed two bills into law, Assembly Bill (AB) 1478 (Blumenfield) and Assembly Bill (AB) 1589 (Huffman). Both bills have measures that will help California’s ailing state parks system.

AB 1478 appropriates the recently-identified $20.5 million in State Park and Recreation Fund funding to the California Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) to keep parks open that had previously been slated for closure. The bill also contains new qualifications for appointing members to the nine-member State Park and Recreation Commission. The changes to the Commission are intended to improve its ability and capacity to provide oversight of DPR and foster a more meaningful connection between the public, park stakeholders, and DPR. AB 1478 also establishes a two-year moratorium on closing state parks, in Fiscal Year 12-13 and FY13-14.

Governor Brown made the first important step toward restoring public confidence in California’s state parks by signing AB 1478. The governor’s signature is a good sign faith on the part of California’s government that all the hard work of communities, organizations and donors across the state who stepped up to support their parks is recognized and appreciated. The governor also signed AB 1589 (Huffman), which requires DPR to develop a new action plan for increasing revenues in state parks, allows purchase of annual park passes on annual tax returns, and encourages an independent assessment of California’s state parks.

AB 1589 gives the state important tools for a future that is increasingly emphasizing the need for more self-generated revenue in our parks. While we do not believe that our state park system, a true public good, will ever be able to sustain itself without a core of dedicated, public funding, we do wholeheartedly agree that the movement toward more revenue generation should be done with a roadmap. The action plan required in AB 1589 requires such a roadmap and maintains the need for revenue ideas to be appropriate to the mission and uses of our state parks.

We look forward to working with the governor, Legislature and all Californians to implement provisions of AB 1478 and AB 1589 and to maintain and strengthen the legacy in our state parks.

Parks Bills Move to Governor’s Desk

Late last Thursday, the Legislature passed two important state park bills, AB 1589 and AB 1478, which we were very happy to see.

AB 1589 (Huffman) helps move state parks toward sustainability by providing a comprehensive and creative approach to searching for additional funding streams.

AB 1478 (Blumenfield) is a budget trailer bill that will direct a portion of the hidden funds to state parks and establishes a two-year moratorium on closing state parks.

Both bills have moved to Governor Brown’s desk. He has 30 days to sign or veto them. In the case of the budget trailer bill, he can “blue pencil” portions that contain appropriations, which would be akin to vetoing or reducing parts of the appropriations.

We  hope you will help us request the governor’s signature on AB 1478 in particular. You can send him a letter now.