Campers Rescued at Leo Carrillo State Park After Heavy Rains
Story from: Danielle LeFer, Angeles District
 Heavy rains caused extensive damage at Leo Carrillo State Park's campground. Photo from Spencer Orloff, Angeles District
Early Thursday morning, Dec. 30, 2021, Leo Carrillo State Park’s campground flooded as Arroyo Sequit overtopped its banks from the series of storms that brought heavy rain to the region. Over 50 campers had to be rescued from the campground, as the roads were filled with rushing water. A portion of the campground was covered by over 3 feet of sediment.
State Parks staff has been working diligently to clear the roads of sediment and dig out the picnic benches and fire rings. Angeles District received much-needed and much-appreciated support from heavy equipment operators from the Los Angeles Department of Public Works and Caltrans.
The Arroyo Sequit watershed burned during the 2018 Woolsey Fire, and over 4 feet of sediment filled the creek channel in winter 2019. The heavy rain on December 30 pushed all of the sediment in the stream channel out to the ocean and onto the campground. Sediment removal and repairs are expected to take several months.
 Los Angeles County firefighters and swift water teams along with state park peace officers (SPPO) (lifeguards and rangers) helped rescue the campers at the park. SPPO (Lifeguard) Johnny Regan, in the neon yellow rain gear, supervised the incident. Tables, campfire rings, electrical outlets, portable restrooms and other of camping equipment were displaced in the flood. Caltrans also assisted by providing vehicles and operators to help State Parks crews with State Parks heavy vehicles, which were also used, totaling three heavy machines. The roads were open in just two hours and got campers out. Photos from Spencer Orloff, Angeles District.
 Left: State Park Peace Officer (Lifeguard) David Wilson spent the night with the stranded campers to make sure they were all doing fine throughout the night. Photo from Spencer Orloff, Angeles District. Right: Park Aide Cameron Leininger and Senior Park Aide Spencer Orloff walk the Leo Carrillo Campground surveying the damage and assisting with help. Photo from Lindsey Ebner, Angeles District.
Celebrating at the State Capitol: 50 Year Anniversary of Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation Division and a New Partnership
Story from: Don Schmidt and Mike Lynch, Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation Division
 Attendees of the Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation Division 50th Anniversary event at the State Capitol. Photo from Peter Ostroskie, Interpretation and Education Division.
Off-highway enthusiasts and California State Park employees headed to the west steps of the State Capitol in Sacramento on December 22, 2021, to commemorate a historic, final event in the yearlong celebration of the Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation (OHMVR) Division’s 50th Anniversary. It was on this date and near this spot that, back in 1971, Governor Ronald Reagan signed the Chappie-Z’berg Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Act into law, which eventually created the Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation (OHMVR) Division within California State Parks.
State Parks employees and representatives from off-highway vehicle (OHV) recreation nonprofit groups came from all over California to be part of this event. The attendees, including Director Armando Quintero, braved the cold weather to hear a discussion on the history of OHV recreation in California by Tom Bernardo from the OHMVR Division, along with speeches by Director Quintero, OHMVR Division Deputy Director Sarah Miggins, OHMVR Commissioner Roger Salazar, California Outdoor Recreation Foundation (CORF) President Paul Slavik and CORF board member Amy Granat. The master of ceremonies, dressed in his historic OHV uniform jacket from the 1980s, was Mike Lynch from the OHMVR Division.
One of the highlights of the event were vehicles displayed representing the past and present of OHV recreation, including a four-door code-3 “side-by-side,” and two electric dual-sport code-3 motorcycles. The most historic vehicle on display was the “Expedicion de las Americas” Jeep, brought by its current owner, Chris Collard. In late 1978, this Jeep traversed over 21,000 miles from Terra del Fuego, Chile, to Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, through the Darian Gap, a nearly impassable route between Central and South America.
Capping the historic significance of the event was the signing of a fundraising agreement between new partner CORF and the OHMVR Division. The agreement was signed by Director Armando Quintero and CORF President Paul Slavik. CORF was established in June 2020 and was the primary partner for the OHMVR 50th Anniversary celebrated throughout 2021. The Foundation will continue with its primary goal to support the OHMVR Division with OHV safety education. This includes partnering with federal, state and OHV nonprofit organizations to help sponsor the statewide Safety Week and Outreach Programs. CORF was instrumental in making the May and October Safety Weeks a success by developing an online method for registering to take free OHV safety classes offered by the Specialty Vehicle Institute of America.
The OHMVR Division and the 50th Anniversary Committee wish to thank all who participated in the activities and events throughout the year. We also would like to acknowledge all the partner agencies, nonprofit groups and individuals who supported our mission of providing high-quality, world-class OHV recreation while maintaining the highest resource management and safety standards. As we in the OHMVR Division like to say, “Be Safe, Be Responsible, and Know Before You Go!”
 Top: California Outdoor Recreation Foundation Board members attending the meeting (left to right): Amy Granat, Jane Arteaga, Rob Ettleman, Paul Slavik, Nick Haris and Kevin Murphy. Bottom left: Event cake with all the patches and graphics developed for the 50th Anniversary of the Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation (OHMVR) Division. Bottom middle and bottom right: California State Parks Director Armando Quintero and OHMVR Division Deputy Director Sarah Miggins speaking at the event. Photos from Peter Ostroskie, Interpretation and Education Division.
 Signing of the fundraising agreement between California Outdoor Recreation Foundation (CORF) and State Parks. Top: Left to right: CORF board members Robert Ettleman, Nick Haris and Kevin Murphy; CORF Board President Paul Slavik; and Director Armando Quintero. Bottom: Left to right: Director Armando Quintero, Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation (OHMVR) Division Deputy Director Sarah Miggins, OHMVR Commissioner Roger Salazar, Prairie City State Vehicular Recreation Area Sector Manager Peter Jones, OHMVR staff member Mike Lynch and California Outdoor Recreation Foundation President Paul Slavik. Photos from Peter Ostroskie, Interpretation and Education Division.
Soil Conservation Plan Development at State Vehicular Recreation Areas
Story from: Ryan Miller, Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation Division
 Left to right: Engineering Geologist Emily Siegel-Dower (Natural Resources Division), Senior Engineering Geologist Will Harris (California Geologic Survey), Environmental Scientist Dawn Bradley (Great Basin District), Environmental Scientist Tricia Farmer (Great Basin District) and Senior Environmental Scientist Scott Soares (Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation Division). Photo from Ryan Miller, Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation Division.
Over the past year, Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation (OHMVR) Division staff has been working together with California Geologic Survey (CGS) and the Natural Resources Division (NRD) to develop Soil Conservation Plans for all nine state vehicular recreation areas (SVRAs). The Soil Conservation Plans are intended to demonstrate compliance with the 2020 Soil Conservation Standard by describing assessment methods for erosion issues and procedures to document maintenance practices, and developing a monitoring plan to evaluate the effectiveness of management actions. Development of updates or new plans at SVRAs allow the integration of new science, approaches and techniques contained in the 2020 Soil Conservation Standard and Guidelines.
The Soil Conservation Plan working group has been meeting routinely with SVRA staff to discuss how to develop a monitoring program to detect and analyze changes in soil loss, and to perform on-the-ground assessments of problem areas of roads and trails. The collaborative effort is also working to ensure the department’s Best Available Science Guidelines are applied and incorporated throughout the development of each plan. When complete, drafts will undergo peer review and a public comment process.
This last month the working group members met onsite with staff from Hungry Valley and Eastern Kern County Onyx Ranch SVRAs to tour and review soil loss assessment methods. Site visits with remaining SVRAs are expected to occur over the next year.
 Left: Recreational off-highway vehicle on a trail at Hungry Valley State Vehicular Recreation Area. Photo from Ryan Miller, Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation Division. Right: Landscape view of Eastern Kern County Onyx Ranch State Vehicular Recreation Area. Photo from Scott Soares, Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation Division.
Colorado Desert District Begins Youth Volunteer Internship Program
Story from: Dennis Stephen, Colorado Desert District
 Borrego Springs High School student helps make interpretive program poster at the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park Visitor Center. Photo from Dennis Stephen, Colorado Desert District.
The Colorado Desert District began a new volunteer program for high school students in September 2021. The Youth Volunteer Internship Program is a collaboration between Borrego Springs High School, Colorado Desert District and Anza-Borrego Desert State Park.
Twelve students from the high school come to the district and Anza-Borrego Desert State Park one day a week for a full semester to learn about park careers. They rotate through each of the six programmatic areas: Interpretation and Education, Maintenance, Visitor Services, Natural Resources, Cultural Resources, and Administration. They spend two to three weeks with each program getting hands-on experience learning about potential careers offered in parks. While participating in the Youth Volunteer Internship Program, the students earn class credit from the high school.
Participating in the program more than one day allows the students to become more comfortable and more involved, asking many questions and finding what they enjoy. With the research centers for paleontology and archaeology, along with an herbarium for botany, these students have the opportunity to see, learn and gain hands-on experience not available in most other places. Students are even finding interest in potential careers they previously have not thought about such as administration and maintenance.
We look forward to continuing this program with Borrego Springs High School to inspire students to become tomorrow’s park professionals.
 Top: Borrego Springs High School student getting hands-on experience with Colorado Desert District Archaeology Volunteer L. Louise Jee (left) at the Begole Archaeological Research Center. Photo from Borrego Springs High School student. Right: Borrego Springs High School students learn about botany in the Colorado Desert District Herbarium with Senior Park Aide Larry Hendrickson (left) and Environmental Scientist Samantha Birdsong (right). Photo from Dennis Stephen, Colorado Desert District.
Two New Museum Exhibitions Open in San Luis Obispo Coast District
Story and photos from: Amy Hart, San Luis Obispo Coast District
 In addition to informational panels, the “Bear in Mind: The Story of the California Grizzly” exhibition includes artifacts, paraphernalia and hands-on activities that keep all age groups entertained.
Two new museum exhibitions opened in the San Luis Obispo Coast District in the final months of 2021.
The first exhibition, titled “Bear in Mind: The Story of the California Grizzly,” opened in November 2021 at the Morro Bay State Park Museum of Natural History and tells the story of one of California’s most beloved and feared animals: the grizzly bear. Although now extinct in the state, the grizzly bear has long been a central character in California’s history. Since the mid-1800s, the grizzly has been used as an icon, advertiser and entertainer, making the image of the bear a familiar one to most people. Through stories, artifacts, striking images and hands-on activities, the “Bear in Mind” exhibition provides an in-depth look at the history and science of this iconic animal. This exhibition was produced and toured by Exhibit Envoy and was sponsored by the Central Coast State Parks Association. The exhibition will be shown at the Morro Bay State Park Museum of Natural History until Tuesday, Jan. 18, 2022.
The second exhibition, which opened in December 2021 at the Spooner Ranch House in Montaña de Oro State Park, explores the history of Prohibition in Spooner’s Cove. The exhibition, titled “Dog Boats and Rum Runners in State Parks: San Luis Obispo County in the Prohibition Era,” examines the local response to Prohibition beginning in 1920, when alcohol production and sales were outlawed by the federal government. Many Californians circumvented the law and purchased alcoholic beverages illegally through bootleggers, local wineries, the black market and in speakeasies. In isolated San Luis Obispo County, alcohol was smuggled into the region through small, unregulated ports—one of which was located at Spooner’s Cove in present-day Montaña de Oro State Park. This new exhibition was researched, designed and sponsored by The Wine History Project of San Luis Obispo County, an educational nonprofit dedicated to documenting and preserving the unique wine and food history of San Luis Obispo County. This exhibition will be on display until June 1, 2022.
 Top: The view of the “Bear in Mind” exhibition upon entering the auditorium at the Morro Bay Museum of Natural History. Bottom: The "Bear in Mind” exhibition includes stories of well-known grizzly bears in California history, as well as examples of the ways these animals have been used as a symbol of California and the “untamed” American West for centuries.
 Top: The “Dog Boats and Rum Runners in State Parks: San Luis Obispo County in the Prohibition Era” exhibition shares the fascinating local stories of the dairy ranchers, farmers and winemakers who collaborated to distribute alcohol along the Central Coast during Prohibition. Bottom left and right: In addition to informational panels, the “Dog Boats and Rum Runners in State Parks” exhibition includes artifacts from the 1920s, including cartons of grape juice that could be turned into wine at home, discreet corkscrews and a copper still.
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