North Coast Redwoods District Burn Team Continues to Grow
Story from: Breezy Akeson, North Coast Redwoods District
 North Coast Redwoods District Burn Crew before they loaded up for the pack test. Photo from Erin Gates, North Coast Redwoods District.
State Parks’ Wildfire and Forest Resilience Program, held on Wednesday, May 10, is the first of this year’s biannual fire refresher trainings for red-card recertification.
Burn crews from across the state tuned in to a Zoom seminar for the bulk of the day before splitting off by district for the pack test and shelter deployment. Forty employees came together at Fort Humboldt State Historic Park in the North Coast Redwoods District, representing roads and trails, facilities and maintenance, natural resources and cultural resources, and including the variety of subdisciplines contained within each program.
For some members of the crew this was their first day meeting everyone, while others have worked together for years. Experience ranged from those still looking forward to their first fire season to those who had done multiple prescribed burns and wildland fire responses. North Coast Redwoods District now has over 40 red-card certified employees.
Forester II (Burn Boss) Lathrop Leonard led the crew in the arduous pack test—a physical fitness standard for wildland firefighters consisting of 3 miles walked in 45 minutes with a 45-pound pack. Experienced crew members boosted morale with friendly competition and words of encouragement as the crew trekked repeatedly around the track, helping newer crew members maintain the unnatural pace. The pack test was followed by shelter deployments led by Environmental Scientist Intern Katrina Henderson, who did an excellent job ensuring crew members maintained communication even while under their shelters.
Training wrapped up with an informal after-action review and left everyone looking forward to prescribed burning of more acres together this year.
Students Hit Trail Again at Trione-Annadel State Park
Story and photo from: Dave Duplantier, Bay Area District
 Interpreter I Ryan Forbes teaches students returning from their hike about the mountain lions that inhabit the area.
For the second consecutive year, fourth graders in the Santa Rosa Unified School District are experiencing Trione-Annadel State Park, thanks in part to funding from Friends of Trione-Annadel State Park (FOTA), the designated nonprofit association supporting the park and its activities. FOTA is covering the bus transportation costs so the students can get access the park. Many of these students come from lower-income families who would otherwise not be able to afford the transportation fees.
Last year, almost 750 fourth graders were led on guided trail hikes in the park over a three-month period. The Bay Area District provides interpretive personnel to guide the students and make their time educational and safe. After the hikes, students meet back at the picnic area to have lunch and debrief their experiences and adventures. Topics include uses of native plants/trees, wildlife and creatures in the park, local geology, the Indigenous peoples who inhabited the Sonoma County area and the importance of maintaining and caring for these vital open spaces for future generations.
The students often see newts, lizards, deer, wild turkey, various birds, frogs and squirrels; even a baby rattlesnake or two have been spotted. On a recent hike, some fresh mountain lion scat on the trail made for an excellent teaching tool. Another exercise on the trail involves having the kids be completely silent and still for two or three minutes to experience the sights and sounds of the park.
Here is some feedback from the students:
- “This was the first time I've ever been in a forest.”
- "I’ve never heard quiet like this!”
- "I can’t believe this beautiful place is so close to where I live.”
Finally, students are given a reusable CamelBak water bottle donated by CamelBak and facilitated by FOTA.
We again want to thank FOTA for providing the funding and support for the program.
Adventure Pass Livestream Event at Millerton Lake State Recreation Area on Friday, May 26
Story from: Daniel Williford, Interpretation and Education Division
 The Adventure Pass Exploration Live! is a monthly livestream event aimed to educate fourth graders, their families and the general public about the California State Park Adventure Pass. This month’s livestream event will take place Friday, May 26, at noon, at Millerton Lake State Recreation Area (SRA) and can be viewed on both State Parks' Facebook page and the Parks Online Resources for Teachers and Students program Facebook page.
The California State Park Adventure Pass program is a three-year pilot program that waives day-use entrance fees for fourth graders and their families for a full year to 19 select state parks.
Since the start of this program in 2021, almost 37,000 fourth graders have signed up for their free Adventure Pass. Since September 2022, over 18,000 fourth graders have signed up for the Adventure Pass, and there is still time to see this number grow! This year’s fourth graders have until Aug. 31, 2023, to enjoy their Adventure Pass.
This month, the livestream event will be a visit to Millerton Lake SRA. We will find out what an Adventure Pass holder can do at this special place, where the San Joaquin River flows out from the Sierra Nevada foothills and into the Central Valley. The Adventure Pass Exploration Live! event will also share what the Adventure Pass is and how to get one, along with a call to action for fourth graders to sign up for the Adventure Pass and explore the Adventure Pass parks throughout their fourth grade year. Please join us on this adventure to Millerton Lake SRA!
To learn more about the Adventure Pass, visit www.parks.ca.gov/AdventurePass.
Clear Lake State Park Hosts First-Ever Kids' Fishing Derby
Story and photos from: Tiana Cicco, Northern Buttes District
 Left: Derby Winner Juan Infante caught the winning fish, a 16-inch largemouth bass. Top right: Clear Lake State Park (SP) Ranger James Morris teaching his daughter, June, how to fish. Bottom right: Clear Lake SP Interpreter Tiana Cicco running the registration booth.
Clear Lake State Park (SP) hosted its first-ever Kids’ Fishing Derby on Saturday, May 6. The event was a wild success and over 30 families showed up to see which of their kids could catch the biggest fish.
Clear Lake SP Volunteer Taylor Johnson spearheaded the event by soliciting donations of fishing poles, lures, live bait, tackle boxes and much more from our generous local fishing shop, Lakeport Bait and Tackle. Donated items were raffled off and given away as prizes to the winning kids.
State Parks Rangers Chris Glenn, James Morris and Trevor Irace roved around the park, providing kids with expert fishing tips. Camp host Terry Skelton and Lifeguard Nick Dobusch helped kids rig up their fishing poles with lures and bait while I, a park interpreter, ran the registration booth with volunteers from the Clear Lake SP Interpretive Association.
As it happens, the fish were very shy that day and, out of all the kids participating, only three fish were caught. The winning fish was a 16-inch largemouth bass, and Juan Infante, who caught it, was awarded with a brand-new fishing pole. The fish’s elusive attitude did not prevent the kids from having a blast, and many came away from the derby with a deep love of fishing instilled in their hearts.
We are looking forward to making the Kids’ Fishing Derby an annual event and seeing what slippery surprises are in store for us next year.
Southern Natural Resources Spring Guild Meetings Resume
Story and photo from: Austin Jelinski, Southern Service Center
 A group photo at El Capitán State Beach, where they saw the effects of storm damage on the campground entrance road, coastal access trail and beach staircase.
The Southern Service Center was excited to resume the tradition of organizing the Guild Meetings, following a pandemic-induced four-year hiatus. These meetings serve to foster closer collaboration, working relationships and scientific discussions between California State Parks natural resources staff in Southern California.
This meeting was graciously hosted by Senior Environmental Scientist Nat Cox and the Channel Coast District, and it included staff from the Coastal and Desert Division Districts, Southern Service Center and headquarters’ Natural Resources Division. In total, 52 individuals attended the meeting, making this one of the largest Guild Meetings yet.
The meeting commenced on April 13 at La Purísima State Historic Park in Lompoc, California, with a cultural resources tour of the mission archive collection. Afterward, staff were guided on a hike where we discussed management efforts of a historic pine grove, as well as challenges working with and granting site access for PG&E maintenance crews. The hike concluded at the site of an endangered plant species, Vandenburg monkeyflower (Diplacus vandenbergensis), where Nat discussed the ongoing effort of veldt grass removal to protect the site.
The following day, the discussion centered around sea level rise adaptation and coastal access. Staff visited several sites to observe the damage from the 2023 winter storms and atmospheric river events, which wreaked havoc on many parks throughout the state. At El Capitán State Beach (SB), we saw the effects of storm damage on the campground entrance road, coastal access trail and beach staircase. The meeting concluded at Refugio SB, where we witnessed the effects of coastal erosion and sea level rise on a historic palm grove.
Thousands of Fish Released Into Lake Oroville
Story and photo from: Amanda Sellers, Northern Buttes District
 Chinook salmon released into Lake Oroville on Monday, May 15.
The population increased by 122,000 at Lake Oroville on Monday, May 15 … not the population of humans but Chinook salmon.
Released into the lake to grow and develop into adult salmon, these fish were added to the lake at the original Loafer Creek boat launch and also at the new Loafer Point ramp. At the new ramp, the fish were carefully taken out of the tank by nets, carried to the boats by hand and placed into the live holding tanks. They were then boated out to the main body of the lake and released.
This project was completed by the Oroville Fish Hatchery, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and the California Department of Water Resources.
  Email photos to the WeeklyDigest@parks.ca.gov.
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