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CLEAR LAKE HORIZONS
Fall 2020 C.L.S.P.I.A.
(Continued on page 3.)
Trail Cameras at the ParkWow! It has been 6 months of collecting
video and data of Clear Lake State Park’s natives. The trail
cameras from day one captured the diversity of the park’s animal
life. Highlights of the first six months are: black bears in the
Upper and Lower Bayview campgrounds; numerous bobcat sightings in
all areas of the park; and fox, herons, mink, opossums, raccoons,
and rats showing themselves along the shorelines of Cole Creek and
Kelsey Slough. Deer keep showing us how seasonal they are in the
locations around the park. The raccoons own the shorelines at
night, while the Great Blue Herons take over in the daytime. Having
no campers until early July gave the animals free reign of the
park, but as campers started to arrive it didn’t seem to bother the
summertime animals. Cole Creek campground continued to see large
numbers of fox, raccoons, and opossums, even with campers 30 feet
away. Kelsey Slough camera has also been busy capturing fawns,
mink, hawks, and an amazing assortment of life.
The cameras were tripped more than 10,000 times with 6,006
animal sightings recorded. Raccoons are the most photogenic, with
over 1,400 recordings. Deer came in second with over 1,000
recordings. Please check the chart at the end of the article to see
everything that has been recorded from February 4 to July 31. Just
a note: these are sightings, not animal counts; we don’t have 1,074
deer in the park!The trail camera YouTube videos drew the most
attention on our CLSPIA Facebook site, as we created summaries at
the end of each month. If something was very special, like sighting
our two black bears, a video posting was made soon after the
camera’s data was downloaded. The cameras are checked by Anita and
myself once per
week. Batteries are recharged and installed about every 3 weeks.
Five cameras are now being used, and these have been moved
occasionally due to false trips by weather conditions, bad location
where nothing is being captured, or too many people.
All in all it has been a great addition to the CLSPIA collection
of educational information.
Website Links:CLSPIA Facebook site:
https://www.facebook.com/CaliforniaStatePark/
CLSPIA YouTube Video Channel:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLlt7dpkiufHKItJnP6f9XCj913i-wbAad
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2
A Message from the CLSPIA Board
Ah yes, none of us can remember a time like this: Covid-19,
Covid-19 restrictions, fires and smoke, excessive heat, looming
PG&E PSPS, virtual school, high unem-ployment; and yet
throughout the entire ordeal Clear Lake State Park has remained
open in one form or another. In the beginning (March 2020) the park
was closed to all
camping, the visitor center and diorama were closed, school
programs, junior rangers and nature walks were suspended, but we
could still walk and hike in the park. For many this was one bit of
freedom that helped to maintain our sanity.
The entire park is now open for camping, except for the group
campground, which remains closed indefinitely, but because of the
excessive fire danger, campfires are not permitted. I think all of
us are thankful for the state park and the staff who have worked
hard throughout the spring and summer to maintain the park and keep
our park experience enjoyable. To express CLSPIA’s thanks and
appreciation to both the permanent and seasonal park staff for all
their work this summer, we hosted a lunch at the pavilion, complete
with sandwiches, chips, drinks and home-made ice cream. All the
staff enjoyed the lunch and the ice cream was the big hit for the
hot smoky day.
The board has continued to meet on occasion and business
con-tinues. Our revenue has been severely reduced because of the
decrease in firewood and quagga mussel sticker sales, but we are
hopeful that with fall and the cooler weather the firewood sales
will pick up.
We have some new and long awaited permanent employees at the
park. Terri Lopez is the new “Program Manager for Interpretation
and Education for the Northern Buttes District” with her office in
Oroville, and Kirk Thomas Olsen is the new permanent part-time
“Interpreter I” assigned to both Clear Lake State Park and Anderson
Marsh State Historic Park. Both parks now have a new Supervising
Ranger, Chris Glenn, and the promise of two new rangers fresh out
of the academy that will be assigned to the park once they
successfully complete their field training. The board is looking
forward to working with the staff to reconstitute and revitalize
the volunteer education and interpretation programs that we have
sorely missed these past six months.
All of the board members want to thank our members for their
continued and greatly appreciated support and remind everyone the
park remains open for your sanity walks. Brad Barnwell
Clear LakeHorizons
is published by the
Clear Lake StatePark
InterpretiveAssociation
www.clearlakestatepark.org
Association OfficersPresident - Rich SimpsonSecretary - Brad
BarnwellTreasurer - Julie BerryVerna Schaffer - Editor
Verna Schaffer - PublisherKathy Barnwell - Membership
Brad Barnwell - Publicity
CLSPIABoard of Directors
Brad BarnwellKathy Barnwell
Julie BerryRon Hess
John MaleyPaul Medlin
Bob SchoenherrAnita Benzing
Verna SchafferOleta SimpsonRich Simpson
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3
(Trail Cameras -- from page 1.)
Total Species Sighted February March April May June July34 Acorn
Woodpecker 0 3 8 12 8 3
253 American Crow 1 5 12 54 113 681 Bewick’s Wren 0 0 0 1 0 05
Black Bear 0 1 3 1 0 0
335 Black Bird Species 0 0 123 97 87 2833 Black-crowned Night
Heron 0 12 7 2 0 12
1,074 Black-tailed Deer 253 210 163 123 180 14524 Bobcat 1 2 5
12 2 2
350 California Quail 0 69 148 78 25 3021 California Scrub-Jay 1
4 5 3 4 4
9 Canada Geese 0 0 0 9 0 01 Common Raven 1 0 0 0 0 0
21 Coyote 5 12 4 0 0 018 Dove Species 8 0 3 3 1 324 European
Starling 0 0 10 3 11 0
107 Great Blue Heron 0 17 26 23 21 202 Great Egret 0 1 1 0 0
0
65 Green Heron 0 0 14 12 19 2081 Grey Fox 2 2 17 6 22 32
2 Lizard 0 0 2 0 0 0115 Mallard 12 30 28 33 11 1
14 Mink 0 2 1 2 0 92 Muskrat 0 0 1 0 1 09 Northern Flicker 0 0 2
3 2 23 Oak Titmouse 0 1 0 1 0 1
262 Opossum 5 22 56 41 64 7475 Pied-billed Grebe 0 69 6 0 0 023
Rabbit species 2 4 7 3 7 0
1,407 Raccoon 71 141 339 329 201 32671 Rat species 0 6 5 33 11
16
6 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0 0 2 430 Skunk 0 6 11 3 9 1
7 Spider species 0 2 2 2 1 0647 Squirrel species 19 46 126 111
243 102
3 Towhee species 0 0 1 1 0 199 Wild Turkey 36 53 5 1 4 0
6 Wilson’s Snipe 1 1 4 0 0 0767 Wood Duck 97 383 145 130 8 4
6006
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The Loss of Leona ButtsIt is a sad time for CLSPIA members and
the nature lovers of Lake County with the passing of Leona Butts in
early July of this year. Leona and her late husband D.A. (passed in
2016) were active in many organizations in the county, but we knew
them both as active volunteers with both Clear Lake State Park and
Anderson Marsh State Historic Park, as well as Redbud Audubon.
Leona was an active member of the CLSPIA board from the winter of
1998/1999 to the spring of 2011. She served as the publicity
chairperson and donated hundreds of hours each year to the board
and volunteer programs. As an example of her hard work and
dedication to the park, at the annual fall open house and
celebration of Docent Awards in 2007 she was honored by California
State Parks director, Ruth Coleman, with the presentation of the
Superior Achievement Award, the Volunteer Golden Medallion. Leona
had volunteered 1700 hours of service and had created an award
winning docent manual, slide presentations for birding in the park,
as well as leading nature walks and tours of the natural history
museum. At the presentation of the award director Ruth Coleman
stated in her commendation, “Your peers and thousands of Park
visitors will be forever in your debt for your hard work,
enthusiasm, and generous assistance.
California State Parks extends its heartfelt gratitude.”
As you can imagine, Leona was a personal friend of many of the
past and present CLSPIA board members and volunteers. She was a
hard working dedicated member of the Clear Lake State Park family
and had a good heart. She will be sorely missed. Brad Barnwell
4
This has been a year when CLSPIA has had to throw away the
proposed budget and fly by the seat of our pants. From Covid
closures, to fires, from canceling annual events to no sales from
our Visitor Center, it has been a time to just take a breath and
maintain.
And we have done just that. With thanks to our members, and our
patrons (we promise the Thank-You dinner in 2021 will be better
than ever) we are surviving the missed opportunities to support our
Park financially.
We have been able to set aside over the course of the past few
years, $31,000.00 to be used for a fu-ture campfire center -- to
hold everything from Junior Ranger programs to evening campfire
talks and gatherings. Your membership dues of $10 and $18 and your
Patron memberships at $100 have helped us accomplish that goal.
Membership, along with firewood sales, sales from the Visitor
Center, and a percentage of mussel sticker sales make up the
majority of our income each year.
Please keep on supporting us, as we support Clear Lake State
Park. There are more good things in store. Until we see you again,
stay safe and stay well.
Julie Berry, Treasurer
CLSPIA Financial Report
Photo by Roberta Lyons
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5
Board ActionsMarch 2020 through June 2020 – no meetings were
held due to Covid-19 and Park closures
The Board approved cancellation of the Wildflower Breakfast and
photo contest via email on March • 13.
July, 2020
Terri Lopez (CAL) reported the following:•
Kirk Olsen started working in April as our new Interpretive
Ranger. He is currently work-• ing on our volunteer program and
creating virtual school programs for CLSP and AMSHP;
Christopher Glenn is our new Supervising Ranger and he started
in early August;•
Two academy cadets have been hired for the Park and they will be
doing their field train-• ing with Aaron at Oroville;
The Board agreed to cancel the annual membership meeting until
restrictions are lifted. The State • Park does not allow group
activities for more than 50 people, and our total current
membership exceeds the maximum allowed.
The planning to re-establish a facility for Campfire Programs
began in the Spring of 2016. CLSPIA • has set aside $31,000.00 to
get this project moving. Terri Lopez had nothing new to report on
this project.
Terri reported that State staff will conduct a walk through
evaluation for our submitted plan to • update trail, directional,
welcome and flora and fauna signage in the park.
The Board regretfully agreed to cancel the Patron Dinner this
year due to the Covid 19 pandemic.•
The Board agreed to purchase a backup pump for the fish tank, at
the request of Wendy Lieberg.•
Due to our increased cost to purchase firewood, it was agreed to
increase the price to $10/bundle • beginning August 1, 2020.
The annual park staff appreciation lunch will be held on August
27, 2020.•
August, 2020
Chris reported on plans to fix up the old concession
building.•
Chris responded to the Board’s concerns about speeding drivers
in the park. He will get some new • signage and alert all
staff.
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6
Clear Lake State Park Maintenance Dedicated Workforce –
2020-2021 projects
The Clear Lake State Park (CLSP) maintenance staff has been
through quite a lot the past few years. With the State Parks
transformation, we experienced a lot of supervision and employees
promoting and moving around to other state parks, along with many
departmental changes. We also went through quite a bit with fires,
floods and most recently the Covid-19 pandemic. One of the best
things to come out of the changing weather, loss of employees and
transformation is teamwork.
The Northern Buttes maintenance team (includes CLSP) has stood
fast and are some of the most dedicated employees I have worked
with in the department. With the ebb and flow of employees, many
fires and a couple floods, CLSP has received a lot of support from
the district. I want to give a shout-out to the maintenance staff
throughout the Northern Buttes district and thank you for all your
support and dedication carrying out the parks mission. I know I
speak for all when I say the parks we are charged with are our
second homes, families; we take pride in protecting, preserving,
and providing a safe clean place for our visitors. Now with
Covid-19, parks maintenance services are more relevant than ever.
We provide clean safe places for people to get outside, recreate
and get peace of mind, making our staff even more ap-preciated: we
love our jobs, we love our parks! This year’s maintenance projects
will focus on customer service elements. One project will be
installing token machines. This year we will see a few token
machines installed in various ADA accessible locations throughout
the park. The token machines will replace the need for quarters and
add an experience to visit-ing the park. Tokens have become very
popular to park visitors who collect them. The token will highlight
CLSP animals; for example bass, hitch, various birds, and maybe our
K-9 Blitz. The token machines make it more convenient for
customers; they put in a dollar and get tokens -- no need to go out
of the park to find quarters. They also make great souvenirs --
col-lect them all!
Another project that is planned this year is installing new
boat-charging stations and in addition, new car-charging stations.
These projects will provide up-graded charging stations for boats
that will look good and perform better. The car-charging station
will provide electric charging opportunities for visitors who may
want to come to Lake County where there are not many car-charging
stations available to the public, possibly making CLSP a
destination. Soon they can get in a quick hike while charging their
electric vehicle.
(Continued on page 7)
Heidi Cantrall, PMW-1 retriev-ing a trash can at Kelsey
Creek
Campground
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I think we can all agree we have seen many days in which we have
had to adjust or adapt to the unexpected changes that have become
our way of living. Our endurance continues to be challenged as we
rely on our inner strength not to falter. Our reliance on one
another grows, our need to be among others grows and the desire to
once again enjoy nature calls to us.
During these months, the staff at Clear Lake State Park have
been ensur-ing the park is cared for. They have continued to
provide their services and worked through the constraints that have
been directed under the pandemic, as well as shifting their
attention to provide assistance to the latest fires that had
threatened the surrounding communities.
The question now is what happens from here? The management of
the park -- employee recruit-ment and supervision; maintenance of
the infrastructure and park grounds; resource protection; visitor
education and community engagement -- all continues to strengthen
and grow. Though we are not able to provide all of the visitor
services that we have seen before, we are continuously moving
forward in preparation when we are able to. At this time the
Visitor Center remains closed.
The exciting announcement is two new employees have started work
at Clear Lake State Park and within the newsletter you will be
introduced to them. The Interpreter position is a newly added
position, and will be working on the interpretive and educational
programs for the park along with volunteer management. The
Supervising Ranger position has been filled and we are looking
forward to the fresh perspectives he brings to the operation and
management, and soon we will see two new Rangers joining the park
staff.
Between serving as the Cooperating Association Liaison (CAL) and
being the Northern Buttes District Program Manager for the
Interpretation and Education, I have a lot of enthusiasm and I am
very optimistic that our partnership with the park’s Interpretive
Association is only going to grow in strength. This developing
collabora-tion between us will enable opportunities in the
interpretive and educational programming to be offered at the
park.
As I view the blue skies that we haven’t seen in several weeks,
I find we are going to see many wonderful things yet to come.
Terri Lopez CAL
CAL Report
7
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(Park Maintenance -- from page 6)
Other projects include installing benches in various locations
for visitors, upgrading the trail signage, repairing the board-walk
with new treks, and installing a new modular home for employee
housing. These projects, along with our usual op-erations of
keeping the park safe and looking great on a daily basis, are our
ongoing goals for 2020 - 2021. Whatever arises -- floods, fires,
Covid-19 – whatever it is, the maintenance team is ready to jump
in, roll up our sleeves and do our best.
Thank you CLSPIA for your support. Wendy Lieberg, Park
Maintenance Chief 1 Northern Buttes District - Clear Lake State
Park
8
Patrick Daly- PMA working along with district staff.
Introducing: Chris Glenn, Supervising Ranger
I was a junior ranger in 1989 at Van Damme State Park. I have
worked for state parks for almost 16 years. I am married with three
kids. I have one dog, one rabbit, one pig, seven chickens, one
dwarf goat, nine ducks (and ducklings if anyone wants them). I
enjoy roofing, pouring concrete and good BBQ. I like the great
outdoors and all the wildlife in it. I am happy to be part of Clear
Lake State Park and the Northern Buttes District. I plan on working
very hard for everyone. Thank you very much for this
opportunity,
Introducing: Kirk Thomas Olsen, Interpreter I Kirk was born and
raised in Ventura, California. Where he grew up was north of the
town, an area locals called the Rincon. His family lived right on
the ocean and there were chaparral-covered hills on the other side
of the 101 highway.
Being so close to the Pacific Ocean and what was then
undeveloped land provided a natural environment to grow up in,
learning to appreciate nature. Kirk saw all kinds of marine life on
the beach, in tide-pools, and just offshore. In the hills, right
behind the beach, there were jackrabbits and red-tailed hawks. This
gave him his appreciation for nature and the natural world.
He would probably have become a marine biologist except for the
challenge of being terrible at any kind of math beyond simple
Algebra. He went to the only Junior College in the western U.S.
that trained Zookeepers but left after being bitten by a lemur.
Kirk then did some internships that led to jobs with California
State Parks.
Kirk worked as a Park Aide and Park Interpretive Specialist at
Donner State Park, Hearst-San Simeon State Park, Fort Ross State
Historic Park, Salt Point State Park, and Plumas-Eureka State
Park.
He has been a guide at Hearst Castle and Vikingsholm at Emerald
Bay State Park. He has an A.S. in Wildlife Biology from Feather
River College and a B.A. in Environmental Education from Prescott
College in Arizona. Kirk worked for six years to become a permanent
state park employee and is thrilled to have this wonderful
opportunity to provide interpretation to park visitors at Clear
Lake State Park.
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9
2020 Member ListA big THANK YOU to the 61 paid members listed
below! Please check the list for your name to be sure we have your
2020 membership renewal. As a volunteer group, our mission of
education and in-terpretation is funded through membership dues,
fundraisers, and sales from firewood, quagga mussel stickers, and
our Visitor Center store. All funding sources have either been
reduced or eliminated this year, and the reduction in program
expenses does not make up for the lost revenue.
If your name is not on the list below, please consider renewing
your membership now - and help us to increase our membership by
sharing this newsletter with your friends!
Thank you for your continued support. We hope you are able to
get out and enjoy the beauty, sights and sounds of autumn in the
park! Kathy Barnwell, Membership
INDIVIDUAL members
Kelly F. Cox Barbara Harris Darlene Hecomovich Bella Kluyt Elyse
Mengle Susan RodeVerna SchafferJanice Stokes Marilyn Waits Vicki
Winkle
FAMILY members
Bill & Roberta Beat Cathy Dion Donald & Margaret
Eutenier Virginia Graziani Bob & Beth Keiffer Mike & Dena
Keithly Susan & Roberto LozanoJeff & Jayne Lyon Tom &
Pam Lyon Sheila O’Hara & William Fre-drikssonEllie Perinoni
& David House
Patrick & Janet Peterson Kathleen & Thomas Scavone Jim
& Susanne Scholz Stephen & Nancy StetzerChuck & Joan
Sturges Janet & Robert Swedberg Yvonne Walters BUSINESS
members
Joanne Jameson Twin Pine Casino & Hotel
PATRON members
Bradley & Kathy Barnwell John & Julie BerryHenry
Bornstein & Gae Henry John & Betty Brookes Bernie &
Lynn Butcher, Tallman HotelKim & Olga Clymire Kim & Charlie
Eadie Pam Harrington Leanne & Jim Harvey
Myron & Marilyn Holdenreid Larry & Kathy JansenWilliam
& Mary Kettenhofen Madelene Lyon Harry & Roberta Lyons Pam
& Gary Maes John & Vicki Maley Pat McFarlandSandy MouraTom
& Val Nixon Keith & Denise Petterson Russ & Joyce
PorterfieldCameron & Sharon Reeves Carolyn & Skip Rohner
Deb Sally & Ken LingBob Schoenherr & Anita Benz-ingRich
& Oleta SimpsonBob & Nancy Smith Jay T. Smith Bobbi &
Neil Towne Sean & Jeannette TowneLisa & Paul
Vartabedian
One of the 81 fox sightings capturedon the trail cameras.
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Clear Lake State ParkInterpretive Association5300 Soda Bay
RoadKelseyville, CA 95451
2020 CLSPIA Membership FormClear Lake State park Interpretive
Association (CLSPIA)
NAME
_________________________________________________________________
PHONE _______________________________
ADDRESS
_____________________________________________________________
E-MAIL _______________________________
*ANNUAL CLSPIA MEMBERSHIP FEES for 2020 (Please check those that
apply) [ ] Individual ($10) [ ] Family ($18) [ ] Business ($50) [ ]
Patron ($100) [ ] Contribution [ ] Gift Membership (for
another)
PAYMENT (Please check one): [ ] Check [ ] VISA Card [ ] Master
Card or online at www.clearlakestatepark.org
CARD # ______________________________________________________
EXPIRATION DATE _______________________________ SIGNATURE (if using
credit card)
_____________________________________________________________________________________
INTERESTED IN VOLUNTEERING at the PARK? (Please check any and
all)
[ ] Park Newsletter [ ] Board of Directors [ ] Wildflower Brunch
[ ] Special Events
Clip and Mail to -- CLSPIA -- 5300 Soda Bay Road, Kelseyville,
CA 95451
* MEMBERSHIP CARD ENTITLES MEMBER TO 10% DISCOUNT ON VISITOR
ITEMS. Note: If you are reading Clear Lake State Park Horizons for
the first time and find the goals and activities interesting enough
to pursue further, we would welcome your inquiry into becoming a
volunteer docent. It really is lots of fun, as well as highly
educational. If you are interested, please call the Ranger’s office
at 279–2267.