Public Meeting May 17, 9 a.m., Hilton in Scotts Valley

As you will learn in this blog from the Audubon Society, http://www.audublog.org/?p=10530, environmental organizations including the US Fish & Wildlife Service, Audubon and The Center for Biological Diversity are NOT happy with the General Plan proposed to guide the future of Big Basin State Park. Their research demonstrated that the significantly expanded impact by visitors and their activities on the Park would most certainly destroy any chance to maintain Marbled Murrelet habitat, no less expand the number of nesting sites, thus assuring the extinction of this most remarkable bird. The VWC Environmental Committee presented comments expressing concerns about the sever impacts caused by the expansion of areas open to mountain bikes, dogs and other public uses – with potentially inadequate supervision from Park Rangers and other staff due to on-going insufficient funding for the Parks – so we are very concerned about the comments provided by these three distinguished organizations that have been ignored in designing the preferred Plan.

We hope you will take a look at the Audubon comments, at the Plan itself (available online at  www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=21312, or at our local libraries), and then comment on it online, or come to the public meetings – a briefing at Big Basin on Thursday, May 16, 11:30 (must have 4-wheel drive vehicle), and then the California State Park and Recreation Commission meeting at the Hilton Hotel in Scotts Valley to comment on the Plan and the EIR on Friday, May 17, 9 a.m. in the Forest Conference Center. Bring a friend and speak out to protect the wildlife of the Park.