FIRST DAY WALKS: California State Parks announces guided interpretive hikes at 4 state parks along the Mendocino Coast on January 1, 2012. These hikes are part of a nationwide effort of special hikes on New Years Day in state parks in all 50 states. This will promote state parks and participation in healthy activities. All of these hikes will take place on California’s North Coast in wintertime. Be prepared for cool temperatures.

WALK #1: Westport-Union Landing State Beach. Meet the docent at 1:00 p.m. at the park headquarters building at park main entrance, just west of Hwy 1. The park is located about 19 miles north of Fort Bragg, California on Hwy 1. This will be a 1 mile long moderate hike. This hike is suggested for children 8 years and older, and adults. Learn fun facts about the once bustling town of Westport from local resident Steve Brigham.

WALK #2: MacKerricher State Park. Meet the docent at 10:00 a.m. at the Laguna Point parking lot, from Mill Creek Road, three miles north of Fort Bragg, California, west of Hwy 1. This will be an easy three-quarter-mile walk along a boardwalk. This short walk will be filled with fun facts about MacKerricher State Park as you walk to an overlook above the ocean. Park Naturalist Teresa Hurray will lead this walk. The walk is suggested for children 12 years and older, and adults.

WALK #3: Russian Gulch State Park. Meet the docent in front of the recreation hall at the park at 12:00 noon. The park entrance road is located on the west side of Hwy 1, three miles north of Mendocino, California. This will be a moderate 5.5 mile out and back hike (2.75 miles each way) to the beautiful waterfall at Russian Gulch State Park. You will learn about the park’s natural history from Dave Jensen, renowned birder and naturalist. This hike is suggested for children 10 years and older, and adults. Bring water and snacks with you.

WALK #4: Mendocino Headlands State Park. Meet the docent at the Ford House Visitor Center at 1:00 p.m. The visitor center is at 725 E. Main St. in Mendocino, California. This will be a moderate 2 mile out and back hike (1 mile each way) to the bluffs overlooking the ocean. Park naturalist Fred Andrews will talk about the annual migration of gray whales between Alaska and Baja. Binoculars will be provided to look for gray whales swimming southward. This hike is suggested for children 10 years and older, and adults.

WHALE TALKS: California State Parks announces weekend whale talks at MacKerricher State Park! Talks will take place from January 7 through March 18, 2012. Knowledgeable docents will talk about the annual gray whale migration and about other marine mammals seen along the Mendocino coast. Programs are scheduled to begin every Saturday and Sunday at 11:00 a.m., from January 7, through March 18.

Talks will begin near the visitor center at the main entrance to MacKerricher State Park. Docents will provide binoculars and a spotting scope to help visitors study whales and other fascinating wildlife found near MacKerricher’s shores. After meeting at the MacKerricher visitor center, groups will then drive to Laguna Point, where you will walk out to look for whales. Programs are scheduled for 11:00 a.m. every Saturday and Sunday from January 7 through March 18, 2011

This is event is scheduled for Saturday evening, October 22, 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., on the field behind the Ford House Visitor Center in Mendocino, on Main Street. Call 707-961-0471 for more information about this event. This event will be cancelled in case of cloudy skies.

About 40 people attended the May 7 event at $75 / person. The atmosphere was upbeat, participants in a good mood and a lot of good conversations going on between the small group. Everyone I spoke to thought it was a great event and can’t wait for next year. The proceeds go to help restoration projects for the Ford House.

In keeping with Governor Schwarzenegger’s plan for keeping parks open, California State Parks is today announcing the implementation of service reductions at parks across the State. The goal is to achieve the required cost savings while minimizing the disruption to park visitors as much as possible.

All of the service reductions are consistent with the Governor’s September 25 announcement of the kinds of service reductions the public could anticipate in order to achieve the budget savings necessary to meet severe budget restrictions.

The reductions are designed to minimize disruptions for park visitors, while keeping parks open and  achieving the $14.2 million in budget savings to help close the State’s budget deficit.

To achieve savings as quickly as possible, State Parks will begin implementing these cost saving measures all across the State in the next few days.

The service reductions came about through a process wherein each of the State Parks’ District Superintendents designed a plan for specific reductions tailored for each park within their respective districts.  A summary of some of the most common service reductions across the State include:

• Reduce days of operation by two or three weekdays at selected parks.  Other parks will close a portion of a campground or outlying day-use areas.
• Close and consolidate some park offices and/or reduce hours of operation.
• Reduce off-season lifeguard levels at some beaches.
• Remove some trash cans and fire rings from the beach and close roughly half of the restrooms at some beaches.
• Close many park visitor centers two or more days every week.
• Reduce the numbers of school tours and interpretive programs at many parks.

These service reductions are intended to ensure that California State Parks achieves its required cost savings while maintaining revenues at the highest level possible for the remainder of this fiscal year and while minimizing disruptions to visitors.

Some visitors may be inconvenienced by these service reductions; however, it is hoped that park visitors will understand and appreciate that their parks are remaining open, despite the severe budget reductions. The public can assist in several ways, including by hauling out their trash and helping to keep facilities as clean as possible for the next park visitor.

For the Mendocino District, all park units will have a reduction in public safety patrols, trash services, maintenance of facilities including restrooms, exotic weed removal and wildlife monitoring. Specific service reductions for the parks within the District are as follows:

Greenwood State Beach:

• Closure of vault toilet near the beach.

Hendy Woods State Park:

• Seasonal closure of campground – December 2^nd through March 25^th.

Jug Handle State Natural Reserve:

• Closure of Jug Handle office. Relocate office to open facilities.

MacKerricher State Park:

• Reduction in Visitor Center hours. Closed Monday – Thursday.

Mendocino Headlands State Park:

• Closure of the restroom facility on Main Street. Replace with portable toilet from Big River Beach.
• Reduction in Ford House Visitor Center hours. Closed Tuesday – Thursday.

Navarro River Redwoods State Park:

• Removal of two portable toilets from the Navarro Beach campground and one at the Mill House.

Point Cabrillo Light Station State Historic Park:

• Closure of the Visitor Center including restrooms. Relocate offices to open facilities.
• Installation of portable restroom at the Visitor Center.
• Closure of one restroom at the Light Station.

Russian Gulch State Park

• Reduction in camping season – Closed until May 14^th

Schooner Gulch State Park:

• Closure of one vault toilet.

Van Damme State Park:

• Reduction in campsites. Reduce to 20 sites from Nov 1^st – March 25^th. Only 1 restroom remains open.
• Seasonal closure of Visitor Center from November 1^st – March 25^th.

The reductions above include combining offices, reducing the number of phone lines, reducing internet connections, lowering thermostat settings, reducing seasonal staff and not filling 9 vacant full time positions. Further reductions may be necessary if unexpected facility failures occur.

California State Parks day-use and camping fees will increase and begin to help offset recent budget reductions and help keep more parks open. Partners in the public and private sectors are still being sought, as the fee increase will help keep some parks open, but not all.

“In these dire economic times, we can no longer afford to keep our fees at their current levels,” said State Parks Director Ruth Coleman. “The people of California understand that by charging more, we will be able to keep more parks open and preserved for these and future generations.”

Beginning Aug. 17, day-use parking fees will increase by $2 to $5, and camping fees will increase by $10 – $21 a night. Camping reservations made prior to that date will be honored at the lower price.

Annual Passes will go back on sale immediately at the existing price of $125. In future months, additional fee and pass increases are possible as State Parks assesses how the partnership program stretches the reduced budget funding to help keep parks open.

A list of specific parks where fee adjustments will occur will be made available when they go into effect. In deciding which parks will receive a fee increase, and by how much, park managers are evaluating attendance, with higher fees charged where demand is greatest. In that way, the fee increase will have the least effect on attendance, resulting in a revenue gain. Managers will watch revenues closely, and may make adjustments to particular fees throughout the year.

It should be noted that these increases do not raise park revenues to the level of self-sustainment for the system. Doing that would require steep increases that would price people out of their public park system. These increases are another tool in the efforts being taken by California State Parks to keep more parks open during this time of budget cuts and employee furloughs.

The department continues to seek support from cities, counties, corporations and nonprofit organizations who may want to sponsor or operate particular parks to help keep them open. Further, park managers have been reducing services and modifying their operations by closing portions of parks and reducing operating hours.

“We have loyal visitors who truly love our parks,” added Coleman. “We will do our best to maximize the use of additional funds so that parks continue to be available for public enjoyment.”

Summer Programs at MacKerricher State Park
California State Parks announces free, guided interpretive programs at MacKerricher State Park.  These programs will be presented every week through September 6, 2009. All programs are led by park staff or volunteers.

• The Study Club of Mendocino celebrated its 100th anniversary this  year and has published a walking town of historic homes.
• The restored 1909 Point Cabrillo Light Station, now a state historic park, is celebrating the 100th anniversary of the lighting of the light.
• The Presbyterian Church, one of the oldest in the western hemisphere, is celebrating 150 years.
• Five “house museums” (Kelley House, Ford House, Lighkeeper’s House, Light House and Guest House) have joined together to market their little corner of the coast.

But what energized me to make note of these was the introduction of historian Bruce Levene’s new photo history, “Perley Maxwell’s Mendocino.”  At the Kelley House’s regular 3 pm program (4th Sunday of each month), Levene, best known as the author of “Mendocino & The Movies” unveiled the newly published book with a one-hour video with music and dialogue. Thanks to two years work by Levene, who donated his time to this fundraising venture for the Kelley House, the work of photo hobbyist Maxell comes to life.

The book is derived from 400 glass negatives created by Maxwell and now stored in the Kelley House archives. Apparently, the slides almost ended up as glass panels for a glass greenhouse roof when building materials were scarce during the Great Depression. There’s more to the story and how the slides were rescued. But you’ll have to buy the book for $24.95 (it’s well worth it). You’ll find it in Gallery Books and at the Kelley House, www.MendocinoHistory.org, in Mendocino Village.

Also highlighted in the book is the 2002 Mendocino High School projected, directed by teacher Bill Brazill, collaborated with a group of students and created the Then & Now Project. The students took 25 prints of Perley Maxwell’s glass slides, found the exact location they were taken a 100 years ago, and photographed them as they appear today. Many of those photos are on display at the Kelley House, as well.

If you’re a history buff, Mendocino Village is the place to be this year.

Docent-led historic walking tours will run every Friday, Saturday and Sunday and include buildings not open to the general public, such as the Masonic Temple, Presbyterian Church, and the Temple of Kwan Tai. Historic characters come alive on the cemetery tour and through old-time radio broadcasts.  Visitors can tour heritage roses at the Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens or talk with historic characters on the Skunk Train.

The Mendocino Hotel now offers guests  an opportunity to make a voluntary donation to help improve Mendocino Headlands State Park. Don’t recall ever hearing about a similar arrangement.

A percentage of the Hotel’s room rate will added to  guest’s bill  The funds collected will be used to carry out needed repairs, maintenance and to restore the Historic Ford House, built for Mendocino’s acknowledged founder in 1854, and a state park visitor center since 1984. The visitor center, which serves 25,000 annually, needs a new roof, paint, and foundation repair. The parklands are in dire need of trail improvements and vegetation management.

The donations will be managed and kept in trust by the Mendocino Area Parks Association (MAPA). A  local non-profit, which has been supporting local State Park educational programs, since 1984. Loews San Diego, entered into a similar agreement with State Parks to maintain Silver Strand State Beach.

The Mendocino Hotel established in 1878 is the only full service hotel in the heart of the historic village directly overlooking the Headlands and the Pacific Ocean .The Hotel features 51 ocean and garden view suites with fine antiques and works of art, an  award winning wine list and a  restaurant which  ZAGAT SURVEY recommends as “A California Menu Right on the Mark”.

CONTACTS:
Mendocino Hotel, Jamie Buckner, jbuckner@mcn.org 707 937 369-6629
Ford House Manager – Jenny Heckeroth, 707 539-7937