Previewing California parks-that-could-be

Sunset, May, 1988

Previewing California parks-that-could-be

Hoping in one fiscal swoop to augment California's parks and open space reserves, a coalition of environmentalists, conservationists, and business organizations --plus hundreds of thousands of citizen petitioners--qualified a bond initiative for the state's June ballot. If the California Wildlife, Coastal and Parkland Initiative (Proposition 70) is passed, the state will sell about $776 million in bonds to acquire land for parks and preserves.

On these pages, we guide you to 4 areas out of the more than 70 that would be affected by the initiative.

In the past, money for park acquisition was either set aside in the state budget or raised through bond acts passed by the legislature. Since the Gann Act, which limited state spending, the legislature has resorted more frequently to using bond acts to finance projects such as prisons and schools. Since there is a limit to how much money can be raised this way each year, land acquisition has until now been deferred.

Putting together an environmental wish list

A group of environmentalists decided that leaving land-buying to the future is too dangerous, with pressure for development so great in California. In mid-1986, the Planning and Conservation League, a Sacramento-based lobby group for environmental causes, began to campaign for an initiative, savvily asking groups around the state--the Sierra Club, the Audubon Society, city governments, and even local groups that were protecting, perhaps, something so limited as a single bay--to dream up a wish list. What would they buy if they could; what would it cost?

The result was a list of more than 70 areas that could benefit from the passage of such an initiative, and hundreds of volunteers from all the groups, ready to circulate petitions. To qualify for the ballot, 600,000 signatures were needed; more than 735,000 were obtained.

There is some opposition to the initiative, notably by the California Chamber of Commerce and the California Farm Bureau, who object that this initiative was not put together using a carefully crafted government plan. Instead, they say, it was assembled piecemeal, with the loudest and best-organized environmental groups nabbing the most money for proposed parks in their own regions.

But generally, because land would be bought at fair market price from owners willing to sell, the initiative has stirred little controversy. Its chances of passing are good; California voters have never turned down a parks and wildlife bond initiative.

From Humboldt County to the Tijuana River

The range of projects that stand to benefit from the initiative represent the state's physical diversity: from Humboldt and Mendocino counties' Sanctuary Forest in the north, which sustains spawning grounds of king salmon, to the flat Tijuana River Sanctuary in the south, preserving dunes and marshes. Between are monarch butterfly breeding grounds, marshlands favored by wintering geese, and dairy farms in agricultural preserves. While most of the money would be spent on specific state and regional parks, significant sums would go toward protecting wildlife habitats, such as wetlands in the Central Valley, and developing historically important sites.

A sampling of initiative projects reveals that in an increasingly urbanized state, the words "parks" and "open space" must be very broadly defined. They apply equally to the pristine, pine-studded Hope Valley near Lake Tahoe and to a thin fringe of orange groves in tract-burdened, park-poor Irvine.

Photo: East Bay shoreline park

Across from the skyscraper mountains of San Francisco's skyline and the lower-lying silhouette of Yerba Buena Island, the East Bay shoreline is a relatively undeveloped stretch of marshlands and landfill--habitat for thousands of resident and migratory birds.

For a decade, citizens' groups have proposed a 9-mile strip as a state park; the initiative would provide $25 million toward this.

Currently, Berkeley North Waterfront Park is the most accessible public parcel, with picnic areas and a bike path. From I-80, exit west on Powell Street and take Frontage Road north to University Avenue; turn left. In summer, come early to avoid strong afternoon winds

Photo: Hope Valley

This is one of the Sierra Nevada's gems: beneath snowy peaks, trout-filled streams thread among aspen and pine groves. It is summer range and fawning habitat for the Carson River deer herd. The initiative would provide $4 million to buy 2,500 acres, to be managed by the Department of Fish and Game.

The valley is only 17 miles south of Lake Tahoe. From State 89, there are pull-outs at Luther Pass for views; continue south along State 88 to Hope Valley.

Photo: Palm canyons

Three canyons south of Palm Springs hold not only palm oases but also the mythical birthplace of the Agua Caliente band of Cahuilla Indians. Using a proposed $19 million from the initiative, the state would acquire land from individual Cahuilla, to be managed in cooperation with the tribe as Indian Canyons Heritage Park.