South Skyline Association

Mr. Dave Keck
General Plan Team
Northern Service Center
1725 23rd Street, Suite 200
Sacramento, CA 95816

Re: Castle Rock State Park General Plan

Dear Mr. Keck:

Thank you for inviting the public to give input on the important issue of a general plan for Castle Rock State Park. It is good to see how much interest there is in one of the most beautiful natural resources in the area. The South Skyline Association represents approximately 200 residents and owners along Skyline Blvd for the 18 miles between Black Road and Old La Honda Road. This region includes Castle Rock State Park. For the last 29 years the Association has concerned itself with issues of local fire and rescue, safety, zoning, and conservation.

The Castle Rock Planning process has been of great interest to us. We have been briefed frequently by members of the Citizens Advisory Committee and published relevant articles in our quarterly newsletter. In the January newsletter to our members, we included a comprehensive survey to query members about their participation in and attitudes toward local parks and open space, including Castle Rock State Park. The results from 74 comprehensive responses were compiled.

Survey results show that Skyline residents are frequent users of the parks for a variety of recreational activities. In Castle Rock State Park alone, members reported 1108 family visits per year: 970 visits for hiking and jogging; 30 visits for equestrian use; 11 visits for camping; and 97 visits for rock climbing. These members expressed considerable concern for the future of the Park.

The survey also showed that SSA members make a significant contribution to the care, maintenance and patrol of local parks. Volunteers reported 1740 hours per year of volunteer work in local parks, of which 502 hours were spent in Castle Rock State Park. In addition to the time spent in maintenance and patrol, local residents in South Skyline Fire and Rescue and Las Cumbres Fire and Rescue routinely respond to emergency situations within the Park that cannot be handled by the one ranger on duty. South Skyline residents serve as eyes and ears for the Park. Within the last two years, residents who responded to the questionnaire observed 45 problems within Castle Rock State Park and reported 23 of them.

The most urgent problem noted for Castle Rock was the parking situation along Skyline Boulevard and the turnout that serves as a parking lot. The boundary between park land and highway appears to be blurred in the minds of the Park visitors, resulting in toddlers and strollers wandering onto the highway. We know of at least one tragic death of a pedestrian in this area. Immediate action should be taken to reduce this dangerous situation.

Much concern was shown for the low level of ranger patrolling in Castle Rock State Park, resulting in an atmosphere where violators of Park rules feel that they can get away with mountain biking on closed trails and defacing rocks, even in closed areas. Ranger support should be increased now, and continue to increase with usage. It is unconscionable to further develop the Park without parallel planning for additional staffing.

Most important for the general planning process was the members’ strong commitment to "giving preference to preserving the ecosystem" and limiting the types of recreation within the Park to "present use." Given the impact of present users, along with the specific problems they create and the ability to cope with these problems, there is no justification for expanding the types of existing use in any way. This policy would serve to prevent the conflicts that have developed from hikers, joggers, bikers and equestrians sharing trails on MROSD lands and in other parks, thereby avoiding another enforcement headache for Park staff.

The South Skyline Association has long been an advocate of parks acquiring land only from willing sellers. Therefore, we encourage the State to maintain its position of acquiring property from "willing sellers."

Finally, we wish to introduce a new issue of which we believe you are not yet fully aware -- the threat of damage from feral pigs. They are now well established on nearby MROSD preserves, and residents inform us they have entered Castle Rock State Park. Our members agreed that action is needed to manage the spread of these non-native, destructive animals. All public agencies as well as residents of the Skyline area will need to work together on a comprehensive plan to successfully deal with this menace.

We realize that planning for such a spread out park such as Castle Rock is no easy task, and we appreciate the work and dedication of the park planners and members of the Advisory Committee over the past several years. We look forward to a continued partnership in preserving a unique park for the public.
Sincerely yours,

Judith H. Lovell, President
South Skyline Association
12366 Indian Trail Road
Los Gatos, CA 95033-8241

cc:
Stu Langdoc, Chair, Advisory Committee
Jan Anderson, Park Superintendent
Ian Campbell, Chair, Parks and Recreation Commission
Bruce McPherson, State Senator
Fred Keeley, Assemblyman
Dave Vincent, Superintendent