California State Park Adventure Pass Livestream Event at Hendy Woods State Park
Story from: Brittani Peterson, Communications and Marketing Division
 Hey there! The sun is shining, and we have some exciting news to share: On Thursday, April 20, at noon, join us from Hendy Woods State Park for a livestream event on social media (facebook.com/CaliforniaStateParks or facebook.com/PORTSProgram), where we will be talking about the California State Park Adventure Pass for fourth graders.
So don't miss out! Tune in and learn about the California State Park Adventure Pass and all the incredible experiences waiting for you in the 19 participating Adventure Pass state parks. See you there!
Bay Area District Staff and Marin County Fire Department Complete Pile Burning at Angel Island State Park
Story and photos from: Naftali Moed, Bay Area District
 Monterey pine piles burn, with a view of San Francisco in the background.
California State Parks and the Marin County Fire Department successfully completed pile burning operations at Angel Island State Park (SP) last Wednesday and Thursday, April 5 and 6. These piles burns were part of the department’s Wildfire and Forest Resiliency Program. The work is aimed at controlling invasive Monterey pine (Pinus radiata) trees and reducing hazardous fuel loads in areas where small pine trees have been previously removed.
Monterey pine trees were brought to Angel Island by early European settlers to the Bay Area and are highly invasive. These fast-growing trees and the layers of needle litter adversely impact native plant species, alter wildlife habitat and can increase the intensity of wildfires. Strategic efforts to manage these trees and preserve Angel Island’s oak woodlands, grasslands, coastal scrublands and the animals that depend on them have been ongoing since the creation of Angel Island SP.
The effort was successful and drew significant public interest, as smoke was visible from around the San Francisco Bay Area. A huge thank you to the Marin County Fire Department and staff at Angel Island SP who worked through many logistical hurdles to make this effort safe and successful.
 Photo 1: State Parks staff perform pile burns at Angel Island State Park. Photo 2: State Parks and the Marin County Fire Department work to gather the pile burns. Photos 3 and 4: Before and after pine removal.
California State Parks Hosts Community Helper Day at Big River Beach in Mendocino Headlands State Park
Story from: Krista Pelikan, Sonoma-Mendocino Coast District
 Top left: Mendocino Fire Department booth. Top right: CAL FIRE lands its brand-new helicopter at the Big River Beach community helper day event. Bottom left: Mendocino County Sheriff's booth and the REACH helicopter. Bottom right: State Parks lifeguards talk to children at the Mendocino Coast Junior Lifeguards booth. Photos from Brandon Burson, Sonoma-Mendocino Coast District.
On Thursday, April 6, 300 children, ages four to 13, experienced the field trip of a lifetime at Big River Beach in Mendocino Headlands State Park and were able to picture themselves as first responders.
The children started the day visiting with local firefighters from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) and the Mendocino Fire Department, and were able to ask a uniformed firefighter questions about their full turnout gear, uniform and what the gadgets do that keep the firefighter safe. The Mendocino Fire Department had its Jet Skis on hand, as well as four-wheel-drive trail equipment that children could climb in and pretend they were using to help to save people.
Additionally, CAL FIRE landed its brand-new helicopter, where the children were able to hop in and ask the pilot about how the helicopter helps to prevent forest fires. Law enforcement agencies' staff, including from California Highway Patrol, the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office, Mendocino County Probation, California Department of Fish and Wildlife and California State Parks, were also on hand to pass out stickers, illuminate patrol lights and answer questions.
State Parks Interpretation and Education Junior Lifeguard Program and heavy equipment operator staff were also part of the event, as well as other local agencies such as the United States Coast Guard, the Mendocino Coast Adventist Hospital Ambulance, Mendocino Area Parks Association, and Police Activity League. Local children were captivated when the medical helicopter REACH 18 made a landing near the end of the event and then immediately took off to respond to a call in the county.
A local child said her favorite part of the day was being able to jump in the helicopter and explore, and another six-year-old girl said she could not decide because there were so many "cool" vehicles to choose from. State Park Superintendent Terry Bertels was on hand to thank local schools and agencies for joining California State Parks.
Events like these help demystify emergency situations for children and allow them to imagine themselves becoming first responders when they grow up.
Bridgeport Covered Bridge Rehabilitation Project at South Yuba River State Park Honored
Story from: Shelly Dildey, Northern Service Center
 The restored Bridgeport Covered Bridge at South Yuba River State Park. Photo from Michael Jasinski, Northern Service Center.
The Bridgeport Covered Bridge Rehabilitation project at South Yuba River State Park has received recognition by the California Preservation Foundation Board of Trustees and American Society of Civil Engineers Region 9 Board of Governors.
In 1862, the Virginia Turnpike Company constructed the Bridgeport Covered Bridge as one of many bridges in California built to provide crossings over the mountain canyons and river valleys of the goldfields. The Bridgeport Covered Bridge utilized a design patented by William Howe that featured a pair of Howe trusses on either side of the bridge deck, connected with laminated bottom (deck) and top (roof) chords stitched together with bolts and spiked nails, and wrought iron tension rods at each truss bay. Burr trusses—built of segmented arches—were constructed on both the inside face and outside face and supplement the Howe truss. The arched Burr trusses, along with the placement of shakes, give the Bridgeport Bridge its distinctive appearance. Builders used locally harvested hand-hewn Douglas fir timbers. The wrought iron rods were forged in different foundries from all over the world.
The bridge was determined in 2011 to be structurally unsafe due to flood damage and deterioration and was closed to public access. In August 2014, two steel-framed towers and tension cables tied back to the riverbank and deadman anchors were built to temporarily stabilize the bridge.
Joint efforts by local private citizens and government agencies, including the Save Our Bridge Committee, the Sierra Gold Parks Foundation, Nevada County, the South Yuba River Citizens’ League, the Nevada County Regional Chamber of Commerce, and California State Parks, worked together to fund and restore the Bridgeport Covered Bridge and maintain it as a unique resource to the community. In 2017, the restoration effort received total funding in the Governor’s Budget.
Parks awarded the rehabilitation and stabilization project to Spectra Company of Pomona, California, and construction started in spring 2019. Wood shakes were removed from the walls and roof, and part of the floor deck was removed to allow for structural work.
A temporary modular bridge, inserted through the historic bridge cavity, supported the structure and work platform instead of using traditional shoring placed in the riverbed. Stabilization scope largely involved the master bridgewright and his crew replacing failed timber elements within the truss assemblies and tensioning the iron rods. All the historic wrought iron tension rods but two at each end were replaced with weathering steel rods, which duplicated the appearance of the originals. The rehabilitation scope entailed a new roof assembly and wall shakes. New accessible parking, the path of travel across the bridge, new fee collection and safety guardrails were also included in the work.
Following the devastating Paradise Fire in 2019 that burned the Honey Run Covered Bridge in Paradise, California, the Bridgeport Covered Bridge remains one of only eight standing historic bridges in California. In November 2021, the Bridgeport Covered Bridge was reopened to the public.
State Parks staff who assisted with this project include:
- Gil dela Pena – Northern Service Center (NSC) architect
- Shelly Dildey – NSC architect
- Andy Sutter – NSC civil engineer
- Larry Jones, Michael Krakower and Doug Gadow – NSC structural consultants
- Mike Brown – Project manager
- Michael Jasinski – Project historian
- Andrew Shimizu – Historian
- Dionne Gruver – Project archaeologist
- Chris Kimsey – Archaeologist
- Roy Martin – Environmental scientist
- Joel Bonilla – California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) specialist
- Rod Tuttle – NSC state’s representative
- John Rebenstorff – Inspector
Congratulations to everyone involved in restoring this important piece of history.
Basic Visitor Services Training Group 48 Participate in Scenario-Based Training at Black Butte Lake
Story from: Lindsey Phillips, Training Section
 Cadets, field training officers and headquarters staff at Black Butte Lake participating in scenario-based training ahead of their entry into the field. Photo from Jeremy Alling, Training Section.
Basic Visitor Services Training (BVST) Group 48 had a chance to venture off campus this week and participate in a series of scenario-based training exercises at Black Butte Lake, between Tehama and Glenn Counties, outside the town of Orland, California.
Twenty field training officers (FTOs) from as far south as San Diego Coast District and as far north as the Cascade Sector of Northern Buttes District gathered at Black Butte Lake to ride along with the 30 cadets of BVST 48. Over the course of two days, teams of cadets and FTOs completed over 650 individual scenarios, none of which would have been possible without the help of our amazing actors.
Over the two days, non-peace officer staff from Accounting, Capital District, Human Resources, the Law Enforcement Emergency Services Division, Personnel, Santa Cruz District and the Training Section endured hours of inclement weather to provide the cadets of BVST 48 an idea of what to expect when they enter the field in a few short weeks.
The Training Section would also like to thank the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for its generosity. We have held similar training exercises at Black Butte Lake for several years, and their hospitality makes this complex training, with so many moving parts, go smoothly.
Division of Boating and Waterways Inland Boat Operator Course at Millerton Lake State Recreation Area
Story from: Steve Barber, Central Valley District
 Left to right: Mark Hofer, Andrew Ahlberg, Steve Barber, Libby Machado, Erin Kothlow, Luisana Muniz, Lauren Plunkett, Cameron Dice, Brandon Champieux, Ryan Gray, Cameron Morrison, Dylan Goode and Todd Friedman. Photo from Eduardo Gonzalez, Central Valley District.
The second offering of the Division of Boating and Waterways (DBW) Inland Boat Operator course, exclusively taught to and by state park peace officers, is ongoing at Millerton Lake State Recreation Area (SRA). Guest instructors consisted of representatives for the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary and Lt. Doug Powell of the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office, now a retired annuitant with DBW. Nine students met the instructors at Millerton Lake SRA from April 10 to 14, for 40 hours of basic inland boat operator training directed to rangers and permanent lifeguards assigned to aquatic state park units.
The course instructs the basics of vessel operation, boat patrol, trailer towing, vessel launch and recovery, state law and authority, vessel inspections, aquatic rescue and swimming assessments, search and rescue, and marlinspike (knot-tying), and introduced boating under the influence and boat accident investigation. The training is a California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training course.
The following districts were represented at the class with students:
- Central Valley
- Diablo Range
- Gold Fields
- Inland Empire
- Northern Buttes
- Ocotillo Wells
The course is being primarily instructed by Superintendent Andrew Ahlberg (Ocotillo Wells District), Supervising Ranger Todd Freidman (Ocotillo Wells District), Ranger Mark Hofer (Northern Buttes District) and Supervising Ranger Steve Barber (Central Valley District). The cadre of instructors was certified to teach the Inland Boat Operator course by DBW during the first offering at Folsom Lake SRA in March 2022.
Additional annual courses are planned for the future to capture newly assigned and existing rangers and lifeguards assigned to inland aquatic park units.
 Students complete 100-yard swim test. Photo from Steve Barber, Central Valley District.
 Top left: Lake Oroville SRA Rogue Jet patrol boat on Millerton Lake. Photo from Eduardo Gonzalez, Central Valley District. Top right: Students demonstrate how to conduct a side vessel tow. Photo from Eduardo Gonzalez, Central Valley District. Bottom right: Students conduct the serpentine and three-point turn towing training iterations. Photo from Eduardo Gonzalez, Central Valley District. Bottom left: Ranger Brandon Champieux (Ocotillo Wells District) demonstrates how to throw a rescue ring. Photo from Steve Barber, Central Valley District.
Protect California Waterways by Becoming a Dockwalker
Story from: Communications and Marketing Division
 Join us in one of our free 2023 Dockwalker trainings and become a Dockwalker. Dockwalkers are partners who inspire and educate boaters and other water enthusiasts to be safe and environmentally sound while boating in California. These partners distribute boater kits with educational materials anywhere where boaters are and while visiting marinas, boat launch ramps, boat shows and boating events.
Dockwalkers are trained to safely engage members of the public and the boating community to adopt clean boating practices. Dockwalkers share clean boating information with boaters and distribute educational 2023 California Boater Kits, while visiting marinas, launch ramps, marine supply stores, boat shows special events, or wherever boaters are. "Dockwalker" is only a general term because you are not limited to "walking the docks" to talk to boaters about safety and clean boating practices. Remember safety and the environment go hand in hand.
Since 2000, more than a 1,000 Dockwalkers have taught 100,000 boaters about oil, fuel, sewage, trash and marine debris prevention. Participation in the program, including the training sessions, qualifies as community service.
Anyone from 15 to 100 years young with an interest in water quality and sharing clean boating information (regardless of your background) can become a Dockwalker!
Click here to learn more about the Dockwalker Program.
  Email photos to the WeeklyDigest@parks.ca.gov.
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