Mendocino District Overview

by Greg Picard, District Superintendent

Thomas Henry Peterson, in the late 1800's, never envisioned that his boat works launch would be replaced with kayaks and zodiacs from which today's abalone divers make their trips to harvest "Mother Nature's favorite marine snail." Fourteen two-masted-90-foot lumber schooners were constructed in Little River cove by Peterson to engage in the freighting trade that existed in the "doghole" ports (so small even a dog couldn't turn around in them) along the coast north of San Francisco. Places like Mendocino Headlands, MacKerricher, Westport, and Elk Cove were all sites for mill operations that shipped most of the lumber that was used to build San Francisco before the 1906 earthquake and fire. Today, campers at Van Damme State Park have the privilege of using the Little River beach along with a few upscale houses on property ringing the headlands that once served the boatyard.

In recent years the mysteries of this little known section of coast have been unlocked. Its working communities have given way in part to vacation homes and parks for recreation. Van Damme State Park is only one of the gems that comprise the Mendocino State Parks. Van Damme's canyon rises to take in the famous "pygmy forest" that is relatively unique to the Mendocino Coast. Nearby Russian Gulch State Park is similar to Van Damme with its steep redwood lined canyon that works its way back from the beach to a 36-foot waterfall near the headwaters of Russian Gulch Creek. Jug Handle State Reserve contains another pygmy forest and a hike through five distinct marine terrace layers creating an "ecological staircase" .

Another fascinating trip awaits those who head to Mendocino Headlands State Park. The view from the coast is spectacular and the charm of this preserved coastal town at times makes you swear you had stepped through a "transporter" to coastal New England. Most of the Murder She Wrote episodes were filmed here. The Ford House provides historic information and is run by Mendocino Area Parks Association, and State Parks staff and volunteers. The inland side of the park along the newly acquired 7334 acres of the Big River watershed affords a unique opportunity to travel up an 8-mile estuary trimmed with towering redwoods.

Point Cabrillo Light Station has been recently added to the District and showcases what a Lighthouse and Lightkeepers' residences looked like in the middle 1930s. The unit is open on a limited basis through the efforts of the Point Cabrillo Light Keepers Association which is also involved in a $4 million effort to restore the buildings. The unit is surrounded by a 300-acre bluff headlands preserve with trails established to give grand views of the ocean. (This is the lighthouse in the film "The Majestic").

The northern-most parks along the Mendocino Coast are MacKerricher and Westport-Union Landing; and like the others, both are heavily used in summer. Both offer spectacular views of the coast, and MacKerricher has the added offering of a freshwater lake adjacent to the ocean. For a real hoot, you can rent a horse and ride along the surf at MacKerricher, or simply sit back and paint the landscape spread out around you.
Though the beauty of the coast is breathtaking, several Mendocino State Parks are well inland and provide a retreat among the deep shadows of age-old coastal redwoods. When coastal fogs predominate, these inland parks offer a sunny getaway for locals as well as tourists. Hendy Woods State Park, near Philo, offers overnight camping, with restrooms and showers along the Navarro River. More day-use and primitive camping activities can be found along the 14 miles of Navarro River Redwoods State Park as you follow Highway 128 from Navarro to Highway One. If the woods are too much for you, keep heading south on Highway One and visit Navarro Beach, Greenwood Creek State Beach or Manchester State Park. All have magnificent coastal access with primitive day- use facilities.

Mendocino Woodlands State Park operates through the concession operator, Mendocino Woodlands Camp Association. They offer cabins and tent cabins and the use of rustic dining halls and recreation halls for conferences, retreats, and seminars in facilities constructed by the CCC and WPA during the Great Depression.

Here are a few special highlights of what have we been doing recently to manage these gems of the State Park System:

MacKerricher Haul Road Trail
It has been a long "Haul" these past years to make a revitalized trail connecting Fort Bragg with the MacKerricher State Park coastline. In July 2003 the State Legislature will consider approving a project to repair the Pudding Creek Trestle with State bond funds. Soon, we will begin the design phase in order to be ready to construct in approximately late 2003. This all relies heavily on potential funding being approved by the legislature and the Governor out of money from Proposition 40.
What remains is to move forward with environmental studies and a management plan that incorporates habitat restoration, endangered species management and protection, and appropriate access in the Inglenook Fen Ten-Mile Dunes Preserve . Since the dune complex is protected as a preserve, trail access will likely be minimal and not the traditional paved road surface found on the remainder of the Coastal Trail.

Big River Unit Acquisition and Restoration
On September 28, Mendocino District celebrated the acquisition and protection of 7,334 acres in the lower Big River watershed. The acquisition was literally one that started with local grassroots opposition to proposed logging along the lower Big River. As was felt and heard during the celebration, the outcome was a culmination of many community, political, agency, environmental, and business partners coming together to achieve a common goalthat of acquiring and protecting a magnificent piece of coastal land.
By supporting and accepting the acquisition, the District agreed that the Big River property simply had to be part of the State Park system, despite the current hiring freeze and budget shortfalls. But we also recognized that the obligations and expectations associated with managing this property would be tremendous. (For more on Big River, see .5)

Parks & PALS
In our effort to increase positive community connections and to maintain State Parks relevancy in the face of changing demographics, we joined with the Coast Police Activities League (PAL) to sponsor some fun activities for local children. In May, rangers took kids from local schools on canoe trips in the Big River estuary. Most of these children had never been canoeing before, and everyone had a great time. That same month MacKerricher State Park hosted the First Annual Fishing Derby at Lake Cleone.

Building friendships in the community is more than satisfying strategic initiatives or about nurturing future park bond voters. It is about perceiving uniformed officials as real, helpful and caring people, and not just fun-busters who continually restrict personal freedoms. It is also about subtly instilling the fundamental park values that we, as park employees, all cherish and perhaps take for granted.

Western Snowy Plover Protection
The District recently began to implement new policies and restrictions on state beaches as part of an expanding effort to protect the Western Snowy Plover, a sparrow-sized, pale-colored shorebird listed as a threatened species under the federal Endangered Species Act. Plover nests and eggs are well camouflaged, making it easy for beach visitors to inadvertently disturb or destroy nests and eggs, and the birds are easily scared off nests by predators like dogs.

Changes within the Mendocino District State Parks included prohibiting dogs north of Inglenook Creek all the way to the Ten-Mile River, and prohibiting dogs within 200 yards north of Virgin Creek. Western Snowy Plover nesting areas in the District continue to be monitored and temporary informational and warning signs have been put up alerting beach goers to the sensitive nature of the area.

Protection measures also affect equestrian use, and at MacKerricher State Park's Inglenook Fen Ten-Mile Dune Preserve (see "Restoring the Dunes, p.7), where plover nesting occurs horses are restricted to riding in the wet sand areas only.

Mendocino High School's School of Natural Resources (SONAR)
The School of Natural Resources (SONAR) is a newly created and innovative environmental education program at the Mendocino High School. The goal of SONAR is to provide an opportunity for students to gain knowledge about whole systems in their local environment.

So far, the students and their instructors have worked with the California Department of Fish and Game to collect in- stream data on large woody debris within Little River, in Van Damme State Park. Students have also continued to collect information on the intertidal species off the Mendocino Headlands. Future plans include a comprehensive study of the multiple biomes within the Big River watershed.