Comments Due By December 15

The California State Parks Planning Division has proposed a 60,000 acre Tejon State Park, which would develop 75 campsites and 40 picnic sites, trails and an interpretive program plus an equestrian center and dude ranch concession on land currently owned by the Tejon Ranch Company.

The proposal is part of a sweeping “vision” document issued October 28 to expand California’s state park system with acquisition and recreational development of land throughout the state. Public comment is due by December 15, but four public presentations have already been held in the Sacramento/Chico area and one in Visalia Wednesday, Nov. 19 with little public notice. Visalia city government officials were reported to have protested that they received insufficient notice about the meeting to study how aspects of the plan would affect their area, according to a report in the Visalia Times Delta. The Mountain Enterprise did not receive notice about the proposal.

In an interview Tuesday, Nov. 18 Stuart Hong, a manager in the state parks planning department, said the state will “cooperate with partners to acquire 60,000 acres for a new park at the south end of the Central Valley,” but he had no details about costs. “That level of analysis is being handled privately by park system executives and property owners and I do not have details,” Hong said.

There was no answer and no message at the telephone number for the “press relations” office he gave for further details.

Download the plan from Community FYI at www.MountainEnteprise.com. You can send comments about the plan to centralvalleyvision@parks.ca.gov.

This is part of the November 21, 2008 online edition of The Mountain Enterprise.

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