Park plan

Chico isn’t the only North State city fighting to keep a state park open. Red Bluff residents are mounting a similar effort to keep their William Ide Adobe State Historic Park open in the face of a scheduled July 1 closure.

Last week they got a boost when the California State Parks Foundation (CSPF), a statewide nonprofit, distributed more than $325,000 in grants to nonprofit organizations fighting to keep open 13 state parks, including Red Bluff’s.

The Ide Adobe Interpretive Association will receive $20,000 from the fund if it can successfully negotiate a plan with the California Department of Parks and Recreation to keep the park operable.

“The grant is a huge boost and puts us about halfway to our goal, but we’re getting down to the wire,” said Judy Fessenden, president of the IAIA. Fessenden said the nonprofit needs an estimated $72,000 annually to supplement state funds to keep the facility operating in its current capacity. Ide Adobe is open Fridays through Sundays and has only one state employee.

The IAIA employs a park host to help run the park, which was once an important waypoint for settlers crossing or traveling by boat on the Sacramento River on land owned by William Ide, a pioneer who led the Bear Flag Revolt of 1846.

Fessenden said her organization’s main goal is to keep the site’s interpretive programs in place, explaining that fourth-graders from Tehama and nearby counties make annual field trips to the park and participate in an immersive educational program.

“They cook their own lunch, learn skills, and get to experience a little bit of how pioneers really lived,” she said. High-school-age docents also participate in the program, as do costumed volunteers.

Fessenden said the IAIA’s other goal is ensuring that three large annual events—Adobe Days, a Pioneer Christmas Party and a horseshoe tournament—continue. Beyond that, she would like to see park hours expand and secure more employees.

“Every little bit helps, but we’ve still got a long way to go,” Fessenden said. To raise funds, they are selling park memberships and sponsorships ranging from $10 to $500. Fessenden said they hope to raise enough in the next month to negotiate an extension until Adobe Days in August, which she said will be an extra large event with a focus on fundraising.

On May 22, another North State nonprofit fighting for a state park—The Weaverville Joss House Association—celebrated the signing of an agreement to keep the Joss House, a Gold Rush-era Chinese temple, from closing.

The WJHA was charged with raising a minimum of $47,000 to stop the shuttering of the Trinity County landmark. “This is only the first hurdle,” said WJHA Chairwoman Paula Masterson in a press release, “but we’ve got great momentum.”

In Chico, the Bidwell Mansion Community Project met a $100,000 April 1 goal to keep Bidwell Mansion State Historic Park open, and similar efforts have been undertaken by other organizations across the state.

“We’re watching what other organizations are doing and in communication with other parks in our district like Shasta State Historic Park [west of Redding] and the Joss House,” Fessenden said. “But for all of these sites, it really comes down to getting support from the surrounding communities that they serve. We’re all pulling for each other, but our primary concern is what we can make happen here in Red Bluff.”

Another North State site benefiting from the CSPF grants is Castle Crags State Park, which received $30,000. The beneficiary of these funds was Innovations Housing, a Redding-based nonprofit that provides low-income, sustainable housing in Shasta County and Africa. The organization is also involved in the effort to save Shasta State Historic Park.

The 130,000-member-strong CSPF describes itself as “the only statewide independent nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting, enhancing and advocating for California’s magnificent state parks.”

Since 1969, CSPF has raised more than $186 million to benefit the state’s 279 state parks.

A Placerville woman, Lucy D’Mot, is doing her personal part to save the 70 parks facing closure. Last 4th of July, she decided to visit each and blog about it in an effort to raise awareness and appreciation. As of Tuesday, May 29, she has visited 45 of them.

D’Mot’s blog includes detailed descriptions of each site, peppered with personal observations and her own input on issues surrounding the closures, including the importance of historic and environmental preservation and proposed privatization of some sites. Whenever possible, she speaks to park employees and volunteers about efforts to save each park. Her blog at stateparkclosurestrip.blogspot.com includes visits to all of the parks mentioned above.