Newsletter Fall 1999

President's Message

What a year we’ve had! We got through the winter in good shape thanks to the preparation by the park maintenance staff and the help of our winter shovel brigade. We’ve maintained and improved trails – most visibly in our re-creating the Westridge trail section that slipped away below Thompson’s bench and installing a culvert at Bridge Creek historic site to channel the water that flows down “elevator hill”. Thanks to marathon man Jim Belcher, we’ve cleared numerous downed trees to keep trails open. With the expert guidance of Chris Elkington, we repaired the Old Growth Loop Trail on the kiosk side of the stream, which included the trial installation of a water bar that is safe for cycle use but impervious to damage from bikes. Chris is stepping up again to lead a crew of Cabrillo College volunteers in re-routing a section of the Terrace Trail across the stream from the log decks. Thanks also to Sandy Erickson, who cleaned all the wooden bridges in the park– an effort that will greatly increase their useful life.

On to the projects we completed. The Advocates spent many hours developing, producing and installing the trail signs for Marcel’s Forest. Many volunteers, including Brandt Stickel’s Boy Scout Troop, helped this major effort. Over 30 poles were placed over the 25 acre area – all set in concrete! With Dave Steele leading the way, we built a substantial 20’ footbridge that enabled the us to add the word “Loop” to the “Old Growth Trail”. Then Geoff Alexander, with the help of over 20 volunteers, engineered the grand finale project – installation of a seasonal bridge across Aptos Creek. Our goal of having Marcel’s Forest easily accessible for families, school kids, and the elderly (at least for 8 months a year!) was accomplished. And to be sure everyone could find the way, we installed a map that shows all the lower park trail, with Marcel’s Forest enlarged, at the Reed Picnic Area interpretive shelter. We also printed hand-out maps that are available in a holder attached to the shelter. This is an effort all the Advocates can take pride in, and something that will bring the experience of magnificent old growth redwoods to thousands of people for many years to come.

There’s more! We’ve made two major steps in our effort to keep the disappearing history of the park alive. Thanks to the generous support of Diane Porter Cooley and her family, we installed an interpretive panel and bench at the porter house site. Jeff Thomson did a great job on the panel text as did Margaret Hicks on the layout and production of the art. We also installed an interpretive shelter and bench on the fire road at the Aptos Creek Trailhead. This will tell the fascinating story of the Incline on one side, and the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake story on the other. Thanks to Sandy Lydon who provided Incline text and Jeff Thomson who, along with Margaret Hicks, is coordinating the project.

So what’s on tap for next year? Marcel’s seasonal bridge has been so well received that we plan to put in at least one more next year – at the Terrace Trail crossing below George’s Picnic Area.

Eventually, we’d like to have bridges at the other end of Terrace (by the log deck) and at Aptos Creek Trailhead. How practical this is will depend on how difficult they will be to remove (we find out at our November 14 workday).

The other major effort for next year will be to begin working with State Parks on the CEQA document for the Mangel’s Ranch property (formerly called Hetzer property). We will provide the groundwork for this document, as we did for Marcel’s Forest, and work to get this part of the park ready for public use. The Trust for Public Lands purchased this 94 acre property and donated it to the park early this year, and we were pleased to arrange a picnic on the ridge above the meadow to honor the anonymous donor who made it possible. This purchase would not have happened without the determined effort of Margaret Eadington, who coordinated this project for TPL. Many thanks to Margaret, and to local neighbors Dan and Pat Miller who spent countless hours working to see this land preserved.

It has been a great year thanks to your donations that make the projects possible, the great support and cooperation from State Parks- particularly Larry Tierney, Barbee DeWeese and C.L. Price, and the hard work of our dedicated volunteers. In addition to those mentioned above, thanks go to Greg and Margrite Weaver, Linda Moore, Carol Cuminale and Chris Foster, Mike Hammas, Christopher Angelos, Linda Maxwell, Richard Erickson and Paul Tichnor. A special thanks goes to Carol Cuminale’s Women’s Five Miler Race, which made a very generous donation to the Advocates.

General Plan for Nisene Marks

The process of developing a general plan for the park will begin shortly, the result of a substantial contribution to State Parks made by another anonymous donor. This general plan will be the blueprint for park use, development, and management for decades to come. As part of this process, the public will be invited to participate in shaping the plan. Many important issues – trail use, park access, bicycle access, etc – will be addressed. This will be the time to bring all user groups together and work to create a positive park experience for all users, and to insure the park resource itself is properly protected. The Advocates will play an active role in this process, and we encourage our individual members to give us their input or to participate directly

The Land Behind Aptos Station Slated for Development

A development company has purchased the property (as of this writing it is still in escrow) behind Aptos Station. There is mixed zoning on the land, so preliminary plans call for 5 homes on the upper slope on Granite Way, and 2 large commercial buildings and 4 duet style homes behind Aptos Station. This is a proposed development, and has a long way to go to achieve final approval. The ramifications of this project for the park are enormous. On weekdays, a hundred plus cars park on this property or the access road to the property, with 3 times that number on weekends. We are working with State Parks to be sure park interests are considered in the planning process, and to create a fall-back position should parking for the park be eliminated.

Welcome to Two New Rangers

Having been well trained by our former Supervising Ranger Stephanie Price, two new rangers are now on duty in the South Sector. We would like to welcome Joe Conner and Todd Allen. Our Supervising Ranger, C.L. Price, did as good a job as possible of maintaining limited patrols in the park while he was very short-staffed. So we are all glad to see Todd and Joe on the job and look forward to seeing you in the park.

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