California State Parks: Colorado District Newsletter May 2012

Colorado Desert District Newsletter T

R

A

C

K

S May

2012

Inside this

issue

Abby’s new hat Page 23

Keeping an eye on the river, Page 16

ABF celebrates acquisition

of 50,000th acre for ABDSP

Pats on the back, Page 12

(Continued on Page 10)

Photos by Leslie Bellah

Called a “gathering of eagles” by Park supporter Lowell Lindsay, four retired District or ABDSP superintendents (above) stand together before speaking at the celebration of the Anza-Borrego Foundation’s (ABF) acquisition of the 50,000th acre of land for Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. The former superintendents are Mark Jorgensen, Dave Van Cleve, Bud Getty and Wes Cater. Louis T. Busch (below) holds a plaque commemorating the land he and his family have given ABF for the Park. His father was the first donor. Standing next to him are ABF Trustee Diana Lindsay, ABDSP Superintendent Kathy Dice and ABF’s Vice Presi-dent of Land Acquisitions Delores Lukina.

Page 2

Salton Sea State

Recreation Area From the desk of Interpreter I Fredda

Stephens: What is a champion? By definition, a cham-

pion is a person who has defeated all oppo-nents in a series of events so as to hold first place; this is the best competitor or supporter; he or she has met the greatest challenges and proved to be superior; this is a winner, an ar-dent defender of a cause or fight, a true war-rior. The Salton Sea is a real Park Champion.

Now many champions, as we know them, are the people who are rich or famous. The champion species is the charismatic mega-fauna that people love so much such as mountain li-ons, bighorn sheep or bear. Champion places are majestic mountains, oceans and rivers. But the real champ is the Sea. Sometimes seen as unloved and unwanted, the Sea represents all that has gone amiss because of human distur-bance. A cruel trick of nature, a stranded body of water, the diverted Colorado River and tila-pia, a non-native species gone wild. The Sea is a

living lesson in resource management. But against all odds the Sea has survived. It

has harbored millions of birds every year and that makes it a true winner. Scores of snow birds feed our desert economy, enjoying the weather and all of our new facilities.

And the bottom line is that people do care and support our mission; maybe not with big bucks like some other regions, but with their hearts.

We are lucky to have some help these days. The California State Park Foundation’s “Park Champion Program” has lent a hand with our fabulous new garden project. By holding volun-teer work days throughout the year, the foun-dation provides advocates who improve the quality and safety, and protect and preserve our state parks.

March 22 they came out to the Sea to pro-vide help with the renovation of our Native Plant Garden.

The project included installing a whole new drip irrigation system using a satellite weather station. The Smart Programmer picks up and transmits information to the site from local monitors to compensate for weather and soil


LOG JAM: Notes from the District, sectors

Park Maintenance Assistant Lynn Jamerson (second from left) explains some of the pro-cedures to volunteers who are helping to beautify the SSSRA.

Photos by Margaret Oakley

Working on irrigation lines can be a prickly business in the desert—just ask this volun-teer who is working at the Salton Sea State Recreation Area.


Page 3

(Continued from Page 2)


conditions. So when it is raining, it does not water! Pretty smart!

The entire garden was dug up and old pipes were replaced by new rodent-resistant drip lines and PVC piping. The volunteers brought and planted a palo verde tree and seven other native trees to beautify the place.

Special thanks to Park Champion Coordina-tor Margaret Oakley who set up and led the project and to Generation Water, a company from Los Angeles for its dedication and people-power. They brought a crew of six students to help.

Thanks also to Park Maintenance Assistant Lynn Jamerson for all her hard work and our skilled volunteers who also assisted.

Work on our Ironwood Trail replacing plants and signage is slated for the fall.

For more information about the program go to www.calparks.org and click on Park Champi-ons. Projects include trail repair, invasive plant removal, habitat restoration, rehabilitation of historic resources and repair of existing struc-tures. What a great resource for us in these

hard times. Even champions can’t do it without some

support and working together makes everyone a winner.

Palomar Mountain State

Park From the desk of Ranger Jessica Murany: Park Maintenance Worker I Randy Burt was

interviewed about PMSP’s campgrounds re-opening by the North County Times. Visit www.nctimes.com and watch the video link or read the story.

Our Earth Day event was cancelled because

of unfavorable weather predictions. And they were correct with four inches of snow and more to come on the day we had planned to be grooming trails, and mulching and pruning the historic apple trees. Stay tuned, we will

LOG JAM: District, sector notes (cont.)

Photos by Sue Barney

A “herd” of cattle egrets in summer plumage hangs out on a shade ramada at Paddle-wheeler Boat-In Camp at Picacho State Rec-reation Area.

A red naped sapsucker looks with interest at the photographer at PSRA. Their breed-ing habitat is mixed forest in the Rocky Mountains and Great Basin areas. They nest in cavities in dead trees. Like other sap-suckers, they drill holes in trees and eat the sap as well as the insects attracted to it.

Page 4


probably try to have a spring work day soon after we figure out this yo-yo weather.

As stated by Montane Superintendent Nedra Marinez, "Thanks to Rick Barclay, Michael Walsh and the CRSPIA Board of Directors, the donor agreement was signed by CRSPIA on April 7 and mailed to Sacramento for Director Coleman’s signature on the eighth. Once Ruth Coleman signs the donor agreement, we will make an offi-cial announcement."

Meanwhile, thanks to revenue generation

funding, the campgrounds have reopened to the public April 13 and are now back on the reser-vation system.

Photo by Matt McDonald

In case there is any doubt, this is not a quino checkerspot butterfly, although that is what Environmental Scientist Matt McDonald was looking for when he encoun-tered this Southern Pacific rattlesnake in northern ABDSP. The snake assumed an aggressive position, but Matt didn’t try for a close encounter.


Photo by Leslie Bellah

Interpreter II Sally Theriault speaks at a monthly ABDSP volunteer meeting held at the Uni-versity of California’s Steele/Burnand Anza-Borrego Desert Research Center. District Sen-ior Environmental Scientist Jim Dice who works part-time at the center, hosted the volun-teer group April 16 so people could see the results of the remodeling.


Page 5



Anza-Borrego Desert State

Park The Volunteer Potluck will be held at 6 p.m.

Tuesday, May 15, at the RoadRunner sports center/tennis courts. Hosts Mike and Jan Bige-low will barbecue hamburgers and provide buns and chips. Bring a salad or dessert, a com-

plete place setting and a beverage. RSVP at m j b i g e l o@ v e r i z o n . n e t o r m i k e [email protected] so they can prepare. The ABDSP Botany Society again has thanked

those who donated items for its flea market sales. The Society’s most recent email follows.

“Once again your donations and support have made our booth at the Lions Club flea market a success. You were most generous. At the last sale, we netted a little more than $700, our all-time high. We can now add more supplies and a specimen storage cabinet to the State Park’s botany lab and we have secured a quality series of speakers to offer to the community next sea-son. We purchased a video camera and now record our programs. The copies are available for you or your organization to borrow from the Stout Research Center Library … If the Li-ons Club continues this activity next season, we will most likely be with them, so again we re-quest that you please save your re-useable, sal-able items for us. We will be asking for them again next fall.”

Photo by Larry Hendrickson Photo by Gary Reece

A fire from an undetermined source started and was extinguished April 9 at Scissor’s Crossing. It began about 100 yards north of the Highway 78 bridge, burned under the bridge then turned east, paralleling Highway 78. Several spot fires occurred ahead of the main fire and CALFIRE used a bulldozer on them. A hand line was constructed around the perimeter of the main fire. District firefighters and ABDSP rangers also responded. It ap-pears to have burned less than five acres.


Photo by Jeri Zemon

As the temperature climbs to three digits in the desert parks, it is hard to believe that storms left the high country covered in snow just a few weeks ago.


Page 6



ABDSP’s Visitor Center will be open week-ends and holidays only during the summer, the Park’s off season.

From the desk of Ranger Steve Bier: It has been a very warm and windy winter

here in Anza-Borrego, but May has finally ar-rived so we bid farewell to another desert sea-son.

The mercury entered triple digits in mid-April and continues to rise, chasing the last hardy visitors away. The annual northward mi-gration of snow birds is in full swing and our local gas prices are slowly falling back to less than half a paycheck per gallon.

Despite what your calendar may say, spring has sprung and summer has most certainly ar-rived.

As we look back to the beginning of our sea-

son in October, it has been a relatively safe 2012. Few trail injuries, a couple of missing and overdue hikers and a scattering of health-related events marked the first search and res-cue events for the season.

One individual, missing since Easter Sunday,

is still unaccounted for. Thankfully the other missing hikers have been safely reunited with their families.


PSRA Volunteer Judy Joiner and Ranger Sue Barney share a light moment at Lower Dock. Judy was part of a group of long-term camp-ers at 4S Beach years ago. She began volun-teering at Picacho while she was still work-ing at the State’s EDD office. After she re-tired, she was a park aide and today is a dedicated volunteer, according to Sue. Judy bought a home in Bard (near Yuma) so she could be close to the river and Picacho, her favorite place on it.

Photo by Bob Eisele

Hiking to the top of the Santa Rosa Mountains is a rewarding effort when this panorama of the Coachella is the prize.

Page 7


Footprints CRSP’s Maintenance Park Aides

John Sproule and Hector Ramos are back to work for the season.

Palomar Mountain State Park’s Senior Park Aide Daniel Minshew has returned to work.

Picacho State Recreation Area Su-pervising Ranger Robin Greene has been selected as the new Superintendent for the North Sector of San Diego Coast District. Robin has worked in State Parks for more than 23, serving in the San Diego Coast and Colorado Desert districts.

“Most of Robin’s time has been spent at spectacular Picacho State Recreation Area,” said San Diego Coast District Superin-tendent Clay Phillips.

“Even though she has spent much of her career working in that southeast outpost of the state park system,” he continued, “Robin is no stranger to many of you. She has pro-vided invaluable statewide support and lead-ership in firearms training and many other training programs for most of her career. Robin also played a major leadership role fol-lowing the devastating Cedar Creek Fire.

“Robin’s passion for state parks, profes-sionalism and management skills will serve

A recent ankle injury along Borrego Palm Canyon Trail brought the fire/rescue helicopter, Copter 10, out for some hoist evacuation.

Rangers assisted Borrego Springs fire person-nel in packaging the patient who was hoisted into the hovering chopper and taken to waiting paramedics at the trailhead where she was treated for her injuries and released.

After a rash of large fires in the area prior to October’s arrival, only one additional fire oc-curred during the season. In early April a fire was started (cause unknown) under the Sente-nac Canyon Bridge along Highway 78, causing a brief highway closure (see photos on page 5). Crews were able to quickly contain the fire and road crews certified the bridge sound for re-opening.



her well in her new position as leader of, argua-bly, one of the most complex sectors in the de-partment. I am thrilled to have her join our Dis-trict.”

Visitor Service’s Senior Park Aide Marcia Lay-Obst and Park Aides Sharon Hill, Sharon Crosswhite, Grace Duarte-Ballou and Petra McCrory have returned to work at CRSP.

Sarah Reisman has begun to work at CRSP as a Park Aide.

Associate State Archaeologist Sue Wade announced, “I am pleased to let staff members know that we have hired a new Asso-ciate State Archaeologist (PI) Larry Tift. Larry has been working part time on spe-cial-funded projects for the past year as an Ar-chaeological Project Leader. He will continue working part time on several projects including Begole Archaeological Research Center collec-tions management and Cuyamaca Reforestation survey. Larry has more than 25 years of experi-ence in Southern California archaeology and a love of our District’s Parks. He, his wife and two children live in San Diego. Please take the op-portunity to say ‘welcome’ if you see him.”

There is a photograph of Larry on page 8.

Page 8

LOG JAM: District, sector notes (cont.) (Continued from Page 7)

hawks kettling up over the Borrego Valley. Not enough to blot out the sun, but an impressive sight to see.

Thanks to all our staff and volunteers who

made this season another safe and enjoyable desert experience.

Colorado Desert District The Colorado Desert Archaeology Society

(CDAS) sent a thank you to the District’s Park Maintenance Worker II Scot Martin, ABDSP

Our flower display decided to take the 2012 season off, likely due to the lack of rain, warm temperatures and strong winds.

Several days this season we encountered 50 to 70 mile-per-hour winds in the Borrego Val-ley.

Even with the winds and lack of rain, wildlife

has been abundant. Several ewes, along with their new season lambs, were encountered along Borrego Palm Canyon Trail during April. Many happy visitors took away photo memories of the baby sheep playing in the creek bed.

On the southern edges of the Park a team

from the University of California at Davis, con-ducting a long term predator survey, captured and collared a female mountain lion near Jacumba. She will be tracked and monitored by satellite GPS.

And this seasons Swainson’s Hawks: more

than 4,800 hawks were counted on their north-ern trek. Our best day saw more than 600

Photo by L.Louise Jee

Good office mates are hard to find, but Envi-ronmental Scientist Matt McDonald has found a great one: he’s quiet, keeps the fly population down and is very neat. This side-blotched lizard, Uta stansburiana, took up residence in Matt’s office after losing the end of his tail; maybe he feels the rest of his tail has a better chance of survival indoors. (Continued on Page 9)

Photo by Sam Webb

Larry Tift has accepted the position of As-sociate State Archaeologist (PI). For the past year, Larry has been working part time on special-funded projects as an Archaeo-logical Project Leader. He will continue working part time on several projects in-cluding Begole Archaeological Research Center collections management and Cuya-maca Reforestation survey.

Name your favorite

books so we can read

them too!

Page 9

Let’s be kind to the

Earth:

Kick the Bag Habit Here are additional reasons for us

to kick the paper bag habit: A full-grown tree absorbs about

13 pounds of carbon dioxide per year. Every ton of wood grown in a forest removes 1.47 tons of carbon dioxide, replacing it with 1.07 tons of oxygen, according to the Going Greener Guidebook.

Manufacturers often use aluminum sulfate, a suspected reproductive toxin, to make paper. And, to give bags a consistent color, factories use dyes which contain a mix of chemi-cals that can include chlorine, associ-ated with the release of dangerous toxins known as dioxins.

We welcome input from readers. Please send your earth-saving ideas to [email protected].

Photo by Erik Thompson

The Never Ending Story’s Rockbiter is living happily at Cuyamaca Rancho State Park, a good place for someone whose diet consists of rock.



Photo by Heidi Addison-Bier

Cuyamaca Rancho State Park’s Harper Spring is picture-perfect at this time of year as this photo of Arroyo Seco shows.

Ranger Jennifer Rodriguez and six student ath-letes for their help in placing 12 marker rocks along the Morteros Trail.

CDAS will donate $300 to the Borrego Springs High School Athletic Fund in apprecia-tion of this assistance and the students will get

Community Service credit. And CDAS thanked Scot and Jennifer

for logistical assistance during the dedication ceremony in Blair Valley April 15.

Retired Associate State Archaeologist Joan Schneider wrote, “I am overwhelmed by the willingness to help CDAS get the interpretive trail markers placed at Morteros Village site. You all made it possible. Thanks, thanks, thanks. This project has been in the planning stages for a long, long time, but it was YOU who actually made it happen.”

Page 10

ABDSP celebrates 80th year (continued)

The Anza-Borrego Foundation (ABF) hosted a celebration of the 50,000th acre of land acquired for Anza-Borrego Desert State Park March 23. Nearly 300 people at-tended the event at ABDSP’s Visi-tor Center’s Nierenberg Plaza. ABF has been acquiring land for 45 years and has been the non-profit cooperating association for the Park since 2003.

The story began when Wes Cater, who was the ABDSP supervisor (they now are superin-tendents; years ago they were called supervisors and area managers) from 1965 to 1968, was told to form an organization that would acquire land for ABDSP. Temecula resident Doctor Horace Parker, author of the original Anza-Borrego De-sert Guidebook, organized and held the meeting in Wes and his wife, Celeste’s, home.

“We had no money and look what we have today,” Wes said remembering the meeting.

An Anza-Borrego Committee was formed under the Desert Protective Council then later became the Anza-Borrego Foundation.

Bud Getty, Area Manager from 1972 to 1981, was instrumental in the acquisition of the en-trance to Coyote Canyon, Middle Willows, Tur-

Photos by Sam Webb

Nearly 300 people gather to celebrate the acquisition of the 50,000th acre for ABDSP, the Park’s 80th birthday and ABF’s 45th anniversary of its founding.

key Track, Santa Catarina, Hawk Canyon and much of the Carrizo area. He also started the wilder-ness system in Anza-Borrego in 1974.

Howard Bailey, a cowboy who owned land above Coyote

Canyon, told Bud he had a few days to come up with money for his land or it would be sold to someone else. Bud called William Penn Mott, Jr., who was then DPR’s director, and he




ABF President Ralph Singer and ABF Ex-ecutive Director Conrad Kramer discuss their plans for the evening.

Name your favorite


them too!

Page 11

ABF has been ABDSP’s friend for 45 (cont.)


Retired Area Manager Bud Getty, Celeste and Retired ABDSP Supervisor Wes Cater and Dorene Clement enjoy a moment before the festivities March 23.

got the money for that acquisition. Dave Van Cleve was ABDSP’s Superintendent

and then Colorado Desert District Superinten-dent from 1989 to 2004. One of his first steps was to encourage ABF to hire an executive di-

rector. Linda (Nordstrand) Tandle was hired and worked from her home. Dave also came up with the idea of an educational division of ABF which now offers programs from lectures to field trips to week-long excursions. Van Cleve also envisioned a research center and school camp in Anza-Borrego. ABF now has nine employees, offices and gift shop.

Dave’s land interests were larger parcels and those that would connect ABDSP’s land to other state parks. While he was superinten-dent, ABF acquired the Lucky 5 Ranch and Tul-loch Ranch.

Mark Jorgensen was ABDSP’s superinten-dent from 2001 to 2009. From September, 2005, through February, 2006, he also served as Acting District Superintendent.

“My predecessors said, ‘If it is right, do it’ so that is what I did,” Mark reported.

He was instrumental in acquiring the 3,400-acre Vallecito Ranch with its ranch house, air strip and cultural resources. This acquisition, which connected the mountains to the desert floor, was purchased with cooperation from many agencies.

ABDSP Superintendent Kathy Dice, ABF’s Vice President of Land Acquisitions Delores Lukina and ABF’s President Ralph Singer pause after Delores received honors from Director Ruth Coleman and ABF for the many hours she has donated to help purchase land for the Park.

ABF’s Institute Coordinator Briana Puzzo and Director of Development Paige Rogowski take a breather during the cele-bration. Paige came back to work at ABF March 19 and the event was March 23.


Page 12

Smiths, Pat Gerdsen receive medallions

ABDSP and District volunteers were hon-ored at the annual Volunteer Gala March 27 at the RoadRunner Club. Paleontology Society Volunteers Pat Gerdsen and Jimmy and Judy Smith received Medallion Awards for superior achievement. Jackie Caffeé, Mike Medema, Ann Nourse and Don Rideout received Poppy Awards for exemplary volunteer service.

Jimmy and Judy Smith have given nearly 3,000 hours. They have worked to help develop an educational program for elementary school stu-

dents in San Diego and Imperial Counties. They organize staff for the Fifth Grade Camp tours, prepare the educational content and lead tours. In the program’s six years, the Smiths have taught more than 2,300 students. Their participa-tion in the return of the Kidwell invertebrate fos-sils nearly doubled the size of the ABDSP collec-tions. Both served on the Society’s Steering Committee and Judy was a regular member and chairperson and supervised the Paleontology Laboratory. The Society named Jimmy a life member.

Pat has donated 3,002 hours. She has mas-tered invertebrate identification and distribution


Paleontologist Lyn Murrary presents the Medallion Award to Judy Smith (above) that honors her and her husband, Jim, and to Pat Gerdsen (right) at the annual Volunteer Gala held at the RoadRunner Club March 27.

Among the volunteers whose names will be added to the 2,000-hour plaque that hangs in the Visitor Center are (front row) Verlene Ota, Ted Caragozian, Bob Juers, Mary Jo Church-well and Jeanne Johnstone. In the back row are Hank Barber, Toni Alexander, Lou Bahar, Bonnie Clapp and Harvy Miller.


Name your favorite


them too!

Page 13

Volunteers gave 30,828 hours in 2011 (cont.) Stout Research Center Library with a collection of more than 3,200 books. When she first came to work in the Stout Research Center Library, software had just been purchased and she stud-ied it, learned how to use it and wrote proce-dures for other library volunteers.

For the past four years she researched new software. It has been Jackie’s hope that all Dis-trict employees would be able to access the da-tabase and order books from their own desks. She spent endless hours traveling to learn about and discussing other systems—often at her own expense. She organized videoconference train-ing sessions with volunteers for the new data-base which the librarians are now using.

Ann has donated 3,998 hours: 2,454 hours in Paleontology and 1,544 hours at ABDSP’s Visi-tor Center. She participates in all aspects of Pa-leontology, but her specialty is vertebrate fossil preparation. Ann has visited many natural his-tory museums to view their laboratories and observe their preparation techniques and has brought many new and useful ideas back to the Laboratory. Ann is a life member of the Society and received a certificate of appreciation for outstanding preparation laboratory work.

She actively participates in the paleontology certification training, has lectured in the Enrich-

in the Park. Under her guidance, the invertebrate fossil collection grew to nearly 15,000 specimens. Pat had been doing this alone, but now has six volunteers under her leadership and tutelage.

In the past year, she visited nearly all museums that house fossils collected from the region be-fore ABDSP was a state park. In each she photo-graphed specimens, thereby increasing the un-derstanding of ABDSP’s fossil record. She also was on the Society’s steering committee and served as chairperson. Pat created the educa-tional support committee, which assists volun-teers with financial aid to study paleontology and geology. She also is a liaison with visiting scien-tists and the Society.

For more than 13 years, Jackie has headed the



ABDSP and District staff serve dinner to the volun-teers at the gala and Inter-preter I LuAnn Thompson came dressed for the job.

Those who were present to receive diamond pins for working more than 1,500 hours are Mary Olson, Marsha Boring, Grace Clark, Jackie Caffeé, Joanne Ingwall, Richard Ing-wall and Ann Keenan.

Carolyn Steele, Bill Barker and Marilyn Dick-son were members of the volunteer group who received emerald pins for donating more than 1,000 hours.


Page 14

Hours equal nearly 15 employees (cont.)

ment Seminar Series and has served on the steering committee, two years as secretary.

Mike served on the steering committee, in-cluding a stint as interim chair. When state budget concerns resulted in a hiring freeze and several vacant ranger positions, Mike suggested using volunteers to help keep heavily-used re-mote areas cleaned of litter and ground fires and the Adopt-a-Wash program was born.

Don has worked at the Visitor Center and as a volunteer naturalist for several years and was interested in starting a Park Botany Society from the beginning. He was instrumental in organizing it in 2008 and has served as chair. He headed three Botany Festivals which have been tremen-dous successes as educational opportunities and fundraisers.

Names that will be engraved on the 2,000-hour plaque are Toni Alexander, 2,023; Lou Ba-

har, 2,143; Hank Barber, 2,110; Ted Caragozian, 2,111; Bonnie Clapp, 2,089; Mary Jo Churchwell, 2,194; Linda Gilbert, 2,124; Jeanne Johnstone, 2,043; Bob Juers, 2,010; Harvy Miller, 2,084; Verlene Ota, 2,003, and Norbert Sanders, 2,066.

Volunteers who received diamond pins for donating more than 1,500 hours are Marsha Boring, 1,612; Jackie Caffeé, 1,553; Grace Clark, 1,504; Linda Gilbert, 2,134; Joanne Ingwall, 1,712; Richard Ingwall, 1,704; James Jacobs, 1,812; Ann Keenan, 1,571; Mary Olson, 1,608 and Ruth Otis, 1,519. Volunteers who received emerald pins for more than 1,000 hours are Bill Barker, 1,214; Marilyn Dickson, 1,087; Brian Fallgren, 1,231; Mac McNair, 1,199; Peg Poitras, 1,053; Ron Poitras, 1,070; Carolyn Steele, 1,007, and Bob Wilderson, 1,062.

Ruby pins for more than 500 hours of service went to Mark Armstrong, 623; Joe Cormier, 535; Mary Delaney, 565; Tony Feathers, 561; Jon Gilbert, 582; Norm Gallagher, 513; Lowell Lindsay, 562; Lisa Pridmore, 552; Stan Rohrer, 519, and Linda Roller, 590.

Volunteers who received sapphire pins for donating more than 250 hours are Kristen Bonde, 252; Nathan Bonde, 256; Nick Criss, 273; Nancy Erhardt, 395; Bob Emery, 394; Alyce Golding, 276; Dave Jones, 263; George Jeffer-son, 442; James Landers, 497; Jan Mowrey, 311; Anne Meech, 456; Buzz Mushet, 442; Bill Parker,


Mike Medema (left) and Don Rideout (right, looking at his award with ABDSP Su-perintendent Kathy Dice) r e c e i v e d P o p p y Awards.

Lisa Pridmore, Joe Cormier and Linda Roller were among those who gave more than 500 hours of service. They received ruby pins. (Continued on Page 15)


Name your favorite


them too!

Page 15

They give so much in so many ways (cont.)


Paleontologist Lyn Murray (above) presents Ann Nourse with the Poppy Award for ex-emplary volunteer service. ABDSP Superin-tendent Kathy Dice and Jackie Caffeé (right)after Jackie received her Poppy Award.

292; Joe Raynoha, 342; Lisa Spoon, 283; Hugh Vance, 333; Larry Vescara, 348, and Gabriel Vo-geli, 351.

People who worked more than 200 hours in 2011 and received V.I.P. cards were Paulette Ache, 264; Lou Bahar, 376; Hank Barber, 246; Marsha Boring, 239; Janice Bigelow, 207; Mike Bigelow, 380; Bill Burwell, 232; Steven Byrum, 222; Ted Caragozian, 233; Mary Jo Churchwell, 604; Lee Collins, 223; Mary Ekelund, 291; Brian Fallgren, 233; Tony Feathers, 224; Pat Gerdsen, 273; Jon Gilbert, 454; Linda Gilbert, 858; Norm Gallagher, 346; Joe Hopkins, 313; Donna Hop-kins, 227; Joanne Ingwall, 345; Richard Ingwall, 244; James Jacobs, 343; George Jefferson, 442; Robert Keeley, 548; Sandra Keeley, 627; Ann

Keenan, 226; James Landers, 312; Paul Larson, 570; Rosemary McDaniel, 475; Mac McNair, 220; Anne Meech, 233; Buss Mushet, 237; Ann Nourse, 251; Peg Poitras, 272; Ron Poitras, 278; Lisa Pridmore, 305; Judy Smith, 346; John Strong, 424; Beth Shugan, 236; Mel Sweet, 544; Karin Vickars, 330; Hugh Vance, 318; Larry Ves-cara, 315; Gabriel Vogeli, 334; Astrid Webb, 405; Sam Webb, 367, and Bob Emery, 206. These 48 volunteers accounted for 16,112 ser-vice hours, or an average of 336 hours per vol-unteer. Receiving 100-hour pins were Steven Byrum, 242; Joanne Cohen, 130; Lee Collins, 238; Maria Espinoza, 142; Susan Hancock, 113; Jerry Hendry, 143; David Lasley, 141; Ron Paylu, 223; James Peeler, 139; Joan Schneider, 100; Brian Sund, 117; Linda Sund, 183; Sue Vescara, 147; Deanne Carl, 105; James Carl, 103, and Don Endicott, 159.

At left volunteers who re-ceived sapphire pins for giving more than 200 hours are Nancy Erhardt, Bob Emery, Alyce Gold-ing, George Jefferson, Bill Parker, Anne Meech and Lisa Spoon. Joanne Cohen (right) was the only one from the 100-hour group who was present.


Library volunteers prepare

for new software for us

Volunteer librarians are learning t There is a self-check out sheet on a shelf on

the west side of the library (619) 318-1126 or and instructions on how to use the computer if no one is there.

Page 16

By Leslie Bellah After passing acres and acres of

brown, dry, barren desert hills, it is almost a shock to see the deep color of the sculpted hills around Picacho State Recreation Area. And when the lush, green, native vegetation appears bordering the magnificent Colorado River, it is really breathtaking.

It had been almost a decade since I had been to our picturesque river Park. I took a friend from Yuma, Ari-zona, who had never been and he was amazed at how beautiful it is.

We examined every place that had river access; we looked at the docks, campsites, roads and restoration re-sults; we drove, we walked, we sat and watched the river and we loved every minute of it—there’s nothing as enjoyable as being in the desert with a river at your feet. We investi-

Picacho is great water, desert combination


Picacho Peak (above) is visible from most of Picacho State Recreation Area. A fisherman (above, right) begins his day on the Colorado River. The state’s pontoon boat is ready for action at the Lower Dock (bottom right).

gated as much of the nearly 7,000 acres and almost ten miles of waterfront as we could in one day and came away filled with peace and gratitude for the beauty we had ex-perienced.

Since I work for Resources, I was especially interested to see how the restoration projects looked. The area that was done in the mid-90s is an absolutely perfect example of native riparian vegetation.


Name your favorite


them too!

Page 17


Restoration enhances experiences (cont.)


A boat leaves Upper Dock for a day of fishing on the river.


The beginning of a restoration project looks barren and empty on the right of the road (above). At left is thick, lush, native vegetation that has filled in where non-natives were removed years ago. Below is another view of trees and shrubs that were planted after non-natives were removed.

Fascinating terrain (above) contrasts beautifully with the cool riparian areas and the serene Colorado River. Two rangers, two maintenance people, and devoted and en-ergetic camp hosts all work together at this Park.

The latest effort was accomplished by the District Resource Crew: Park Maintenance Worker II Scot Martin, Park Maintenance As-sistant Daniel Aceves and Park Maintenance Worker I Michael Tabanao, and SSSRA’s Park Maintenance Chief I Chad Rowan, District State Park Equipment Operator Gregg Johnson and Picacho’s Park Maintenance Assistant Georgia Schneider.

Every bit of non-native vegetation has been removed, but it is not yet beautiful (see photo at top of page). More than 200 trees were

planted a few weeks after our visit by Friends 4 Picacho, Park staff and volunteers.

As we drove north and could see areas that have not been touched, the contrast was ex-treme. Speaking of driving, the dirt roads were smooth and easy to drive, thanks to Gregg Johnson’s work blading the roads to make campsites accessible from north to south.

The whole Park is remarkably clean and well kept, thanks to the efforts of Supervising Ranger Robin Greene, Ranger Sue Barney,





Page 18

Georgia, Maintenance Mechanic Bill Cardinal, and devoted camp hosts who return each year.

Things aren’t as easy at Picacho as they are at some other parks; the staff members use gen-erators for electricity, have a well for water and have to bring most everything in and out of the Park. It seems idyllic when the weather is nice, but tune in when the flash floods have ravaged the roads, campgrounds and docks or when the temperature climbs way more than 100 degrees. The people who work here have to love it or they wouldn’t be able to put up with it.

About 100 years ago there were miners and others who lived and worked at Picacho with-

It’s a perfect way to spend a day (continued)


A boat quickly heads up river near PSRA’s Upper Dock and within minutes the serenity re-turns. There are many small, quiet lakes on both sides of the river.

out wells, generators or vehicles to drive in air conditioned comfort. The Picacho Mines monu-ment says there were 700 miners; the State Park website says 100; other websites say from 100 to 2,500. The real truth is that it was an extremely difficult life which is easy to forget while having lunch under an umbrella and con-templating the river on a warm, but not hot, spring day.

It was a day well spent—spending time with friends and enjoying one of the most beautiful and peaceful places on this planet.

When we returned to Yuma it was to a headline in the Yuma Sun that read, “Picacho State Rec Area to close July 1.”

Canoeists, campers, boaters, kayak-ers, hikers and day-use visitors all en-joy Picacho State Recreation Area. These folks are camped at Taylor Lake, north of the Park’s entrance. One group had kayaks and another had a boat they fished from while qui-etly floating around on the lake. A four person staff and dedicated volunteer camp hosts keep the park clean and peaceful.


Page 19

Diana Lindsay’s sky art book wins award

Stout Research Center Library

has more videos, new books

Lots of new books have been pouring in to the Stout Research Center Library. In addition, several new video and audio tapes have come in. There are books on history, science, fire, interpretation and even some fiction! Come and see what’s new on the shelves. Volunteer librarians continue to catalog and shelve books as they make progress with the new data-base, Alexandria.

There is a self-check out sheet on a shelf on the west side of the Library and instructions on how to search for books on its computer.

Ricardo Breceda: Accidental Artist, the recently published book about the artist who created the metal sculptures found in Borrego Valley, has received a gold medal for cover design for the 2012 PubWest Book Design Awards, ac-cording to Sunbelt Publications.

ABDSP Volunteer Sam Webb took the pho-tographs shown on the cover of the book, re-ported Author Diana Lindsay. She noted that Sam is an ABDSP archaeological site steward.

The PubWest Design Awards were devel-oped 28 years ago to recognize superior design and outstanding production quality of books. The award, a custom engraved medallion and certificate, will be presented to Sunbelt Publica-tions at the PubWest 2012 Conference in Oc-tober at the Keystone Resort and Conference Center in Keystone, Colorado.

Sam tied the past to the present with his two photographs. The top photograph shows the ancestral lands where elephant-like gom-photheres once roamed millions of years ago and where Breceda’s life-like sculptures now

stand. The bottom photograph captures Bre-ceda telling first-grade students enrolled in a dual language program at Borrego Springs Ele-mentary School how he made the gompho-theres.

Friends 4 Picacho plants

trees, begins fundraising

On Earth Day, Friends 4 Picacho, Park staff and volunteers planted more than 200 native trees in the denuded area of Picacho State Rec-reation Area where non-native tamarisk trees were removed (see photo at top of page 17).

The advocacy group has a website, friends4picacho.org and is working to raise the funds required to keep the recreation area open.

The website names Naturalists at Large, Convair Water Ski Club and the San Diego As-sociation of Geologists as organizations that frequent and support PSRA.

Friends 4 Picacho is working with a non-profit 501(c)(3) sponsor so on-line donations will be tax deductible.





Page 20

By Lou Bahar Paleontology Society

Many of the season’s activities are drawing to a close; the high season for students visiting the Stout Research Center Laboratory ended in March. The Paleontology Society volunteers hosted more than 700 students from San Diego and Imperial counties. The 5th Grade Camp Pro-gram, funded by the Anza-Borrego Foundation, and a concurrent program funded by the Desert Protective Council, brought students through the Vertebrate Paleontology collections for presentations in paleontology and geology plus a hands-on experience of uncovering “fossils” from sand tables. Tours also were given to two university classes with 76 students, a group of 53 soils scientists plus ten members of the AmeriCorps mustard eradiction team. Volun-teers contributed 140 hours to host the guests and show them around the Stout Research Cen-ter.

While the students were touring, normal pa-leontology activities continued. The annual field camp discoveries included 33 sites, each produc-ing one or more fossil specimens, a bit more

Paleontology Society prepares for summer

than the usual amount. During the first two days the area covered was the same as the prior season. On the final day we surveyed an area that previously had only sparse coverage and discovered a four-foot tusk of a proboscid-ean (elephant-like animal). Several trips were made to this new area to preserve the tusk. It finally was removed from the field in early April—in time to beat the oncoming heat.

While visiting the tusk to preserve it, we found other fossils that represent several spe-cies: along with the usual horse material we recovered coral, shell, a partial jaw of wolf, and a partial horn core and vertebra of what may be the first, or at least earliest, fossil record of bighorn sheep in the Park. We believe the sedi-ments of the area are younger than most of the sites we have worked in that section of the de-sert. Further study may reveal a more exact age of the sediments and fossils.

Many volunteers return to cooler areas in late March and in April, so the annual Paleon-tology Bash is held before they leave. This year


District Paleontologist Lyn Murray awards Volunteers Sandra and Bob Keely the Omni-present Award, stating they are all around, all the time, helping whenever and wherever they are needed.


Lyn awards Volunteer Linda Gilbert the Ubiq-uitous Award in recognition of all the work she has done on the fossil database.

Name your favorite


them too!

Page 21

They gave more than 11,000 hours (cont.)

the event was hosted by Linda and Jon Gilbert, and was very well attended, as usual. Paleontol-ogy Society Certificate of Excellence awards were given to Linda Sund for field work, to Jon Gilbert for laboratory work and to me for cu-ration.

In addition, District Paleontologist Lyn Murray created two special awards for recogni-tion of work beyond normal activities. The Ubiquitous award was presented to Linda Gil-bert for her incredible effort in organizing and

(Continued from Page 20) correcting the database for our fossils. Sandra and Bob Keeley received the Omnipresent award for their unceasing efforts as field lead-ers and for help in improving the invertebrate collection through road trips to other institu-tions and in curation.

The party marked the end of the first year of Lyn’s work as District Paleontologist and we spent a few minutes reminiscing about the year and his work in years past. We restrained from the usual roasting that is bestowed on the Dis-trict Paleontologist, having had three years of retirement parties for George Jefferson with the attendant commentary.

Finally there was the Annual Volunteer Award Banquet hosted by the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. Paleontology Volunteers received many awards with the more than 11,000 hours they contributed (see page 12).

Though the weather turns warm, the activity of cleaning and preparing specimens collected during this and previous seasons continues in the laboratory. Similarly, the work of identify-ing and cataloguing them continues in curation. Many indoor activities are available to keep the volunteers busy through the summer. Lyn presents Volunteer Jon Gilbert an award

recognizing his outstanding laboratory work.

Volunteer Lou Bahar receives an award in honor of her many hours of work in curation.

Volunteer Linda Sund receives a certificate of excellence from Lyn for her hours of con-tribution in the field.

Page 22

There are unforeseen dangers in field work

Hypothermia—From DPR’s Tailgate Meetings People who are exposed to lower tem-

peratures risk injuries a serious loss of body heat which could result in brain damage or death. Here’s how to protect yourself:

�Dress in layers of cotton or wool. Pre-serve an air space between the body and outer layer of clothing, helping to retain body heat. Protect feet, hands, head and face; Nearly half of body heat can be lost through the head, so keep it covered.

�Keep dry. Wetness increases the chance of cold stress. Always have extra clothing available in case you get wet. Keep your feet dry, they are very susceptible to frostbite.

�Take a break. When fatigued, your body loses its ability to retain heat, causing cooling then hypothermia. Drink warm, sweet, caf-feine-free, nonalcoholic drinks and soup.

�Learn what to look for as effects may not be evident to victims. Symptoms are un-controllable shivering, a cold sensation,

slower and maybe irregular heartbeat and a weakened pulse. As it worsens, severe shak-ing or rigid muscles may be evident. Victims also may have slurred speech, memory lapses and drowsiness. Cool skin, slow, ir-regular breathing and exhaustion occur as the body cools and that requires immediate medical attention.

�Eat right. A proper diet provides nutri-ents to withstand cold stress.

�Don't work alone; look out for one an-other and be alert for cold stress symptoms.

�Frostbite, freezing of the body’s fluids, can occur without hypothermia. The most vulnerable body parts are the face, ears and digits. Symptoms include coldness and tin-gling, followed by numbness; changes in skin color to white or grayish-yellow; initial pain which subsides as it worsens and blisters. Frostbite causes irreversible tissue damage and requires immediate medical attention.

Photos by Jim Dascoulias

Many office personnel don’t realize the dangers in-volved for those who work in the field. Park Mainte-nance Supervisor Jim Das-coulias was inspecting ABDSP’s Wilson Trail when he came across two coast horned lizards and a go-pher snake (above). None of those posed a threat, but a dangerous encounter, although the slowest moving, he said, was with the rock monster at right.

We’re looking for District staff members who will share their ten favorite books to be

published in TRACKS. Please send your book list

with short reviews to lbel-

[email protected].

Page 23

ABDSP volunteers see Kumeyaay center Twenty-one ABDSP vol-

u n t e e r s v i s i t e d t h e Kumeyaay-Ipai Interpretive Center of Pauwai (Poway) March 20. Volunteer Bob Emery organized the visit to the five-acre site.

The Friends of the Kumeyaay, the San Pasqual Band of Indians and the City of Poway have been working together to develop a vision for the property and to start on the development of a replica Kumeyaay Village.

The visit was important to the volunteers because they learned more about the Kumeyaay people who also lived in ABDSP in the past.

Photos by Sam Webb

ABDSP Volunteer Bob Emery (above), who lives in Poway and recently served as its mayor, talks to a group of fellow ABDSP volunteers about the Kumeyaay-Ipai Interpretive Center where he also volunteers. Some members of the visiting group from the desert pause in a replica of a typical round Kumeyaay house made from native vegetation (left). Others listen to a docent outdoors on the five-acre site which is believed to

have been part of a 30-acre Kumeyaay village along Poway Creek about 300 years ago. The Kumeyaay people have lived in what is now San Diego County and Baja California for millennia. They have grown crops, hunted, held religious ceremonies and raised families in river valleys.

Colorado Desert District 200 Palm Canyon Drive Borrego Springs, CA 92004

TRACKS

TRACKS Colorado Desert District Newsletter

Gail Sevrens, Acting District Superintendent Colorado Desert District Leslie Bellah, TRACKS Editor Borrego Springs, CA 92004 (760) 767-4037 Fax: (760) 767-3427 E-mail: [email protected]

Anza-Borrego Sector……………………………………….....…….....Kathy Dice, Superintendent Anza-Borrego Desert State Park® Montane Sector……………………………………………..……..Nedra Martinez, Superintendent Cuyamaca Rancho State Park Palomar Mountain State Park

Salton Sea Sector……………………………..……...………Paul Reisman, Acting Superintendent Indio Hills Palms Picacho State Recreation Area

Salton Sea State Recreation Area

California State Parks: Colorado District Newsletter May 2012

Documents

abfs vice

cuyamaca reforestation

associate

mary jo churchwell

ipai interpretive

desert protective

received emerald

received sapphire