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New Año Nuevo Staging Building

If you have ever been on an elephant seal tour at Año Nuevo, you have seen the very small, and leaky, staging building where visitors and rangers gather before leaving for the walk. The building had a useful life, but was showing its age and could no longer serve the docent and ranger needs or handle the scores of visitors that enjoy the park. Sparked by a very generous docent donation, CSPA raised the necessary funding to replace the building. Construction started fall of 2024, and it was officially opened in December of 2024 for visitors before the year's winter season. Please book a tour and come see the building that your CSPA donations help to create.

(Photo: CSPA archive)
“Life Cycle” Boardwalk

CSPA established a fund, seeded by a generous gift from an anonymous donor, to buy materials to replace a dilapidated boardwalk near the interpretive panel in the nature preserve that explains the elephant seal’s life cycle. The old, uneven boardwalk sometimes flooded because it rested directly on drainage ground that became a temporary marsh in the rainy season. The new, 265-ft-long boardwalk is elevated and complies with ADA standards.

(Photo: courtesy CA State Parks /M. Merritt)
Telescopes at Bight Beach

Park interpreters and docents routinely set up portable viewing scopes for visitors to observe the seals and birds on Bight Beach and Año Nuevo Island. The portable scopes were purchased by CSPA some years ago, and some were in need of replacement. A permanent installation of weather-proof telescopes was proposed by park staff and readily funded by CSPA. The mounting stand accommodates both standing adults and young children as well as people in wheelchairs.

(Photo: CSPA archive)
Equal Access Boardwalk Extension & Bench

A CSPA donor funded an extension of the equal access boardwalk at Bight Beach and construction of a new bench. This project is an excellent example of what can be accomplished by the enthusiastic cooperation of State Parks staff, CSPA and its donors, and volunteer builders. Patricia Lessard’s gift to CSPA paid for the materials, while volunteer Jim Mazzone designed and constructed the deck extension and bench.

(Photo: CSPA archive)
Repair of a Franklin Point Deck

Volunteer Jim Mazzone also donated his time to repair the footings of an observation deck at Franklin Point. CSPA paid for the materials. Erosion of the sand beneath the original platform had left it slanted and structurally weakened.

(Photo: courtesy Cindy Rocha)
Earlier Examples

CSPA has funded substantial improvements at Año Nuevo SP over many years. Some examples are: (1) fully funding the Equal Access Van for transporting visitors who are unable to walk to the nature preserve, (2) contributing to the Equal Access Boardwalk at Bight Beach (pictured), (3) contributing to the Interpretive Center in the old barn, and (4) funding the walkway of pavers outside the barn that covers and protects a site of archaeological importance (a solid surface of concrete or blacktop is not permitted by law).