REDWOOD NEEDLES

Presented by the Sierra Club Redwood Chapter Newsletter, The REDWOOD NEEDLES

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Napa Group endorses proposals for two new State Parks

By John Stephens, Napa Group Conservation Chair

Napa Group has started a campaign to promote two new State Parks in Napa and Solano counties&emdash;Green Valley Fault State Park and Aetna Springs Resort State Park.

Green Valley Fault State Park would be the first State Park in California devoted to an active earthquake fault. The Green Valley Fault runs northerly from the Vallejo watershed area through Wooden Valley and continues toward Lake Berryessa with steep escarpments on its eastern side. The proposed park would straddle the ridge line to the east of Napa and to the west of Fairfield adjacent to Napa's 850-acre Skyline Park and the City of Vallejo's watershed area.

At least one other attempt was made to convert the land into a State Park. In the 1974 Napa-Solano Skyline Project Feasibility Study, the State Parks and Recreation Department concluded that the proposal did "not offer natural or cultural heritage values of statewide significance" for inclusion into the Park System. They contended that the rolling oak woodlands plant community was fairly common in the state at the time, the area had little historic value, and it did not have a unique geologic feature.

The perception of oak woodlands has changed since 1974. Fourteen thousand acres of oaks are lost each year in California due to urban sprawl and the cutting for prime firewood. In addition, scientists have discovered oak woodlands are in decline throughout the state because oaks are not regenerating enough to replace aging, mature stands.

The state has had a sixty percent increase in population since 1974, yet few State Parks have been added. Vacationers must book reservations months in advance. Clearly, there is a need for additional State Parks for the public to use.

The Green Valley Fault looks like a classic geology textbook photograph of a fault. It is still considered active. We do have a unique, dramatic geologic feature. Eventually we envision this will be just the first of who series of Earthquake Fault State Parks in California.

Moreover, this would be a cost-effective proposal. The Vallejo watershed is in public hands. The 850 acres of Skyline Park are already State owned. An entrance, parking, and infrastructure are already developed. Miles of trails are in place and in good condition, with easy access. It has picnic and tent camping facilities, RV overnight hookups, an equestrian arena, a meeting hall, and an educational California Native Plant Society public garden and nursery.

The Green Valley Fault State Park would be a one-of-a-kind park cele-brating a unique aspect of the land we live in.

Although the fault cannot be seen from Skyline Park, visitors may wish to visit Skyline Park for day hikes. Take Highway 29 to the Imola Exit in Napa. Go east 3.1 miles to the end of Imola where the road turns left. The park entrance in on your right. $4/car day use. Skyline Park: 252-0481.

The historic Aetna Springs Resort has also been endorsed by the Napa Group for inclusion in the State Park system. The eastern most stand of virgin, uncut Coastal Redwoods in Napa County is thought to be on the property. Features include: three buildings which are attributed to Bernard Maybeck, designer of the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco; an outstanding 1880 wooden two story hotel called The Winship which looks like it is straight out of an old west movie; and one of the oldest public golf course in California, built in 1890, and still in operation. The historic resort has been classified as a Historic District. The buildings and redwoods deserve the more judicious husbandry of the State rather than that of a private, for-profit company.

Aetna Springs is located at the terminal of the Oat Hill Mine Trail from Calistoga. The Napa County Land Trust has been working with local landowners to allow preservation and access to the trail. We envision an Aetna Springs State Park eventually linking with the Robert Louis Stevenson State Park via the Oat Hill Mine Trail.

We propose the State consider re-establishing Aetna Springs historic use as a conference center similar toAsilomar. Establishing Aetna Springs as a state park would restore three important examples of the Arts and Crafts architectural style; preserve a rare virgin stand of Redwoods; enhance wildlife preservation via a wildlife corridor to the U.C. Clare Reserve; and provide for more hiking opportunities for the present and far into the future.

Your support is needed

Currently the State has a four billion-dollar surplus&emdash;this may be the best time in the last thirty years to create new state parks in Napa and Solano Counties. We ask the public to send letters of support to newspapers and to local governmental bodies for endorsement. For more information, contactact John Stephens, 258-0106.

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