The state which professes to be the 5th largest economy in the country has seen fit to pander to the little people with a mere $4.1 million for California municipal parks. Unfortunately, these habitat restoration grants seek to reduce the usability of already unusable public spaces. Habitat restoration replaces the current impediments to safe use with fauna and flora to mask the issues that made these parks unusable to begin with. Put off and just plain neglected facilities, which are budgeted for, and called out in city charters, are not receiving the funding municipal taxes are supposed to be providing as a quality of life measure in exchange for those funny strips of green paper called tax dollars.
Back in the days before instant questionable information retrieval, an ancient understanding was professed in every hall of learning. This ancient belief called civics was taught as a way for people called citizens to provide an even stranger concept called accountability for their chosen leaders. This ancient and obscure study was designed to help the “citizens” tell the difference between what people say they are going to do and the actual results of their claims. “Citizens” were expected to actually make decisions for themselves and communities that could permanently determine the course of their chosen existence. The most insane concept of this extinct study was that a person could work toward self sufficiency without the expert guidance of people who have never successfully accomplished any of their own life goals.
The prevailing wisdom with large money grant announcements across large areas is that you will be fooled by the big number. Politicians think you’re too stupid to divide $4 million dollars across 4 years of allegedly conscientious municipal custody, and spread across over 100 projects with wildly ambiguous estimates.
Frankly, states with FAR smaller budgets do this work every day of the week and then some. States such as Alabama, West Virginia, and Missouri have been able to not only repair and reopen parks after major storms, they were able to establish and open new park spaces. All the while, tackling a backlog of deferred maintenance from now restored Federal funding.
In the end, how many of these projects are really going to happen?
Let’s exercise some common sense and look at the practicality of maintaining spaces that are currently overrun by ever expanding homeless populations. All you have to do is honestly examine how well the cleanups have gone in communities across California, and in the rest of the country. These are nothing more than pretty municipal band-aids for a figurative hemorrhaging shotgun wound.
We call balls and strikes equally equally across the country. There’s plenty of good work happening but it’s the get filthy and dirty while doing it kind of work. You can’t pose for a photo op in a storm sewer with debris screen bags, but planting a bush the state grew and billed for has a nice wholesome look to satisfy focus group voters who wouldn’t go to these places after dark on a dare. The problem is that those people don’t have to be saddled with the wildlife and resultant detritus of decisions made without cognisance of consequences.
California Municipal Parks Grant awardees such as they are by county are:
Alameda County
- City of Oakland – Welcome to Wildlife at Peralta Hacienda: $160,000 to provide a series of 280 free activities over four years for youth ages 5-21 involving wildlife study and habitat restoration.
That’s $571.42 per activity to serve a population of 100 K or so kids in the region or roughly 1/2 a penny per child. Your local leaders are still going to break their arms patting each other on the back for that though.
Contra Costa County
- East Bay Regional Park District – McCosker Public Access: $200,000 to construct new Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)-compliant nature trails, including a creek crossing in Sibley Volcanic Regional Preserve.
Humboldt County
City of Eureka
- Camp Cooper Environmental Education & Adventure: $91,717 to provide over a four-year period an eight-week outdoor environmental summer camp for youth.
- Classroom in the Canopy: $50,000 to provide an educational program and guided interpretive tours for K-12 students at the Sequoia Park Zoo.
- Old Growth New Adventures: $267,000 to construct a 1/4 mile trail, relocate zoo boundaries and install interpretive signage at Sequoia Park.
Los Angeles County
- Los Angeles County – Peck Road Park Wildlife Area Activities: $61,905 to provide 18 educational events over the course of three years for all community members at Peck Road Park Wildlife Area.
- City of Lancaster – Prime Desert Woodland Preserve Trail Expansion: $199,410 to construct approximately 1 mile of new pedestrian recreational trail.
- City of San Fernando – San Fernando Family Hike and Wildlife/Environment: $26,486 to provide eight educational workshops, five day-hikes and three overnight camping trips to children, teens, families and seniors.
Orange County
- Craig Regional Park Lake Restoration: $194,160 to restore approximately three acres of wetlands to include sod and riparian plantings, installing fish habitats, interpretive signage and benches
- Inside the Outdoors – Youth Wilderness Leadership: $166,516 to provide wildlife interpretive field trips and on-campus traveling scientist programs for K-12 students and teachers, plus campus-wide activities at Carbon Canyon Regional Park and Saddleback Gateway/Irvine Ranch Open Space.
Riverside County
Desert Recreation District
- Recreation Outdoor Camp: $90,000 to provide an outdoor environmental adventure and recreation camp program for disadvantaged youth in the Coachella Valley.
- Trips for Kids: $90,000 to provide outdoor mountain biking camps for youth ages 10-17 in the Coachella Valley.
San Diego County
- Nature Explorers Program: $160,000 to provide environmental education experiences and leadership skills to youth ages 5-17 through numerous outdoor activities and community service projects.
- Sierra Verde Expansion Acquisition: $225,000 to acquire approximately 76 acres of open space southeast of Hellhole Canyon Open Space Preserve.
San Francisco County
- McLaren Park Visitacion Avenue Corridor Trail: $207,000 to construct approximately 1/4 of multi-use trail with trail surfacing.
- Sharp Park Garter Snake Habitat Restoration: $200,500 to restore one acre of habitat with invasive plant removal and native plantings.
$200K to pull weeds and make it look like the un-kept lawn your neighbor insists is a “native wildflower garden” on a SINGLE ACRE OF LAND
San Mateo County
Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District
- Acquisition of Johnston Ranch Uplands: $200,000 to acquire approximately 650 acres of Johnston Ranch Uplands as an addition to Miramontes Ridge Open Space Preserve near Half Moon Bay.
- Mindego Ranch Ponds Restoration: $200,000 to enhance approximately 1.09 acres of wetland, including excavation, re-vegetation and erosion-control measures at Kneudler Lake and Upper Springs in Russian Ridge Open Space Preserve.
Santa Barbara County
- City of Santa Maria – Ranch to River Outdoor Nature Experience Program: $39,250 to provide field trips for third, fourth and fifth graders at Los Flores Ranch Park and docent-led nature walks for children and families at Santa Maria River Trail and Los Flores Ranch Park.
Santa Cruz County
- City of Santa Cruz – Neary Lagoon Wildlife Refuge Interpretive Trail: $200,000 to replace approximately 480 feet of boardwalk trail and interpretive signage.
- Santa Cruz County – Riparian Restoration at Soquel Creek: $205,750 to restore approximately 1 Acre of riparian habitat, including removal and replacement of non-native plants with native plants, fencing and interpretive signage.
- City of Watsonville – Upper Struve Slough Habitat Restoration: $52,600 to restore and enhance approximately one acre of wetlands.
Sonoma County
- Cooper Creek Addition: $220,000 to acquire 54 acres, including approximately a half-mile of Cooper Creek as an addition to Taylor Mountain Regional Park and Open Space Preserve.
This is an excellent buy given the cost of Real Estate, however there are more pressing issues facing the community given fire activity in recent years.
Ventura County
- Pleasant Valley Regional Park District – Get Wild: Nurture Your Nature with Pleasant Valley: $105,250 to provide experiential nature-based programs for community members and students (via school field trips), including staff-led nature hikes, classes, activities and special events at Camarillo Grove Park.
Yolo County
- Yolo County – Grasslands Regional Park Vernal Pool Habitat: $65,200 to develop and provide an outdoor education program.
- West Sacramento – Southport Levee Trail head: $460,500 to construct a trail head and ADA-accessible ramp to an existing levee trail.
$500K to grade a path, string trim a path and add signage already in stock, and a stock of gravel already on site.
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