Volunteering – Why? And How to get started?
As with many things in life, an opportunity may arise that we hadn’t previously given much thought to. Is volunteering right for you? We can’t answer that question, but if you want to get outside and try something new, you may want to consider answering “What can you do for your parks?”
2017 Project Updates
Various projects have been worked on throughout the year; and while progress is often slow, it is great to see some of these coming to completion.
PPLS Restoration and the Foundation
There are continual questions regarding the status of the Pigeon Point Light House tower restoration project. This article describes some of the history as well as the current status.
Marine Protected Areas along the San Mateo Coast
California’s coast and ocean are among our most treasured resources. The productivity, wildness, and beauty found there are central to California’s identity, heritage, and economy.
Knowing where and what offshore marine resources are protected—and by whom—can be confusing. Here is an attempt to clear the water, so to speak.
Restoring the Fog Signal Building
Salt air works slowly and imperceptibly but constantly to break down man-made structures. People work briefly and intermittently but intently to restore them. Such is the on-going battle at Pigeon Point Light Station State Historic Park.
A General Plan for Pigeon Point
On June 2nd, 2017 the California Department of Parks and Recreation Commissioners unanimously approved the General Plan for Pigeon Point Light Station State Historic Park.
New “Drone” Policy Prohibits Use in Local State Parks
To owners of increasingly popular recreational drones, these remotely controlled flying video cameras provide a new way to explore difficult-to-reach areas and to gain overhead perspectives. But to other visitors to state parks and beaches there are few things that disturb their peace and sense of privacy more than a drone with its whirling blades. The buzzing often sounds to them like an annoying, super-sized mosquito.
2017 Winter Storm Damage
The winter storms have been brutal for many areas of the California coast. On the San Mateo County coast we haven’t been spared our share of damage. After years of drought, the heavy rains, in combination with high tides and storm swells, have washed away cliffs or caused landslides leaving: a park property red-tagged; a stair-case to the beach missing several of the bottom steps; a coastal path trail teetering on the edge of a cliff; and an earthen berm levee severely damaged.
The Elephant Seals are on their Way Back!
Each year, during late October and November, thousands of northern elephant seals make a U-turn from their main feeding grounds in the Bering Sea and in deep offshore Pacific waters. Adult bulls and pregnant cows conclude lengthy round trips to their feeding grounds and, in most cases, head back to the beach where they were born. For us this means back to Año Nuevo.
The Point Arena
is on The Move!
The Point Arena, a two-masted wooden steam schooner, was built in San Francisco in 1887. For 26 years she plied the coast between Vancouver Island in Canada and San Pedro in California, transporting hundreds of tons of lumber and other products annually between small ports like Pigeon Point and the markets they served along the coast.