Sunday, May 5, 2019
- Host Hotel: Walnut Creek Marriott.
- Forum Registration
- Welcome and Evening Reception at the Hotel
- Presentations by General Managers Robert E. Doyle (EBRPD) and Ana María Ruiz (Midpen)
Monday, May 6, 2019
Parks: Preservation, Awareness, and Resiliency
Concord Hills Regional Park, Concord
♦ Breakfast at Hotel
Presentation by Ana Alvarez, Deputy General Manager, EBRPD and Brian Holt, Chief of Planning and GIS, EBRPD
♦ Tour and overview of future Visitor Center at Port Chicago Naval Magazine National Memorial. EBRPD partnership with National Park Service
♦ Overview of Concord Naval Weapons Station Reuse Plan and future Concord Hills Regional Park Land Use Plan
The East Bay Regional Park District (EBRPD) has partnered with the City of Concord and the National Park Service to provide a new regional park in Concord on the former Concord Naval Weapons Station. The adopted Area Plan provides for the development of over 12,200 new housing units, over 6.1 million square feet of commercial floor space, and a variety of community facilities and city parks.
♦ Lunch at the Greathouse Visitor Center, an underground mine chamber
Presentation by Anthony Ciaburro, Assistant General Manager – Chief of Police, EBRPD
♦ Tour of Black Diamond Mines and historic Rosehill Cemetery
The East Bay Regional Park District began acquiring land for Black Diamond Mines Regional Preserve in the early 1970s. Today, most of the former mining district is within the Preserve’s nearly 6,096 acres. The area is an ideal location for hiking, picnicking and nature study. Although little remains of the coal mining communities, a historic cemetery serves as a monument to the lives of the former residents.
Big Break Regional Park, Oakley
♦ Tour of Big Break Visitor Center
♦ Outdoor activities: kayaking the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, hiking on levee-top trails; boat ride on official Police marine boat
♦ Reception and Dinner under the stars
♦ Presentation by Jonathan B. Jarvis, Executive Director of UC Berkeley’s Institute for Parks, People, and Diversity. Served as the 18th Director of the National Park Service from 2009 until 2017.
Big Break Regional Shoreline is a part of the great 1150-square-mile Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. The water flowing past Big Break through the Sacramento and San Joaquin-the State’s two largest rivers-drains half of California and creates the largest estuarine environment on the Pacific coast. This area is also referred to as the “Inland Coast.”
Tuesday, May 7, 2019 – Option 1
Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District
Landscapes of Discovery: Bridging Past & Present in Open Space
♦ Breakfast at Hotel
♦ Tour and overview of the summit, history, planning, and restoration
♦ Lunch
At 3,486 feet, Mount Umunhum is one of the highest peaks in the Santa Cruz mountains and features spectacular 360-degree views that include much of the Bay Area. From 1957 to 1979, the summit was the site of the former Almaden Air Force Station where it served as part of a network of radar stations. The area opened to the public in 2017 and is now a regional destination for nature lovers and outdoor recreationalists.
Bear Creek Redwoods Open Space Preserve, Los Gatos
♦ Overview and guided hikes
♦ No-host dinner in downtown Los Gatos. Transportation will be provided
♦ List of restaurants for “dinner on your own” [PDF]
Preview Midpen’s newest Open Space Preserve before it opens to the public. The preserve features shaded fir and redwood forests, cool perennial creeks. Shaped by the San Andreas Fault, the resources and beauty of this landscape attracted native people, then timbermen, socialites, and scholars; and was the scene of a fierce conservation battle.
Tuesday, May 7, 2019 – Option 2
East Bay Regional Park District
Tour of two unique nearby National Historic Sites
♦ Tour the homestead of playwright Eugene O’Neill, which is surrounded by Las Trampas Regional Wilderness (an East Bay Regional park).
♦ Tour the homestead of conservationist John Muir. Includes a tour of the home and grounds
♦ Lunch in the Muir orchard.
Wednesday, May 8, 2019
Shorelines: From Industry to Parklands
Point Pinole Regional Shoreline, Richmond
♦ Breakfast at Hotel
Presentation by Erich Pfuehler, Legislative and Government Affairs Manager, EBRPD
♦ Tour of Point Pinole, a former dynamite and gunpowder factory, and overview of projects: Atlas Road Bridge, developed in 2017 over a major railway; Dotson Family Marsh, a natural habitat restoration and improved public access for an adjacent under-served community; future Visitor Center; and corporation yard
♦ Outdoor activities: fishing, biking, and bird/nature walk
Point Pinole Regional Shoreline is a 2,315-acre parkland right next to densely populated urban cities Pinole, Richmond, and San Pablo. Trails lead through breezy meadows with wildflowers in season, through aromatic eucalyptus woods, or along bluffs and beaches on San Pablo Bay.
Miller/Knox Regional Shoreline, Richmond
♦ Lunch near fresh water Lagoon along the SF Bay
Presentation by Carol Victor, District Counsel, EBRPD
♦ Tour and overview of the history of the park and strategic community partnerships to provide access for all to the Bay
♦ Walk to Ferry Point and view historic remnants of the old ferry pier, and pump house
A beautifully situated shoreline picnic area, a secluded cove with swimming beach, a fishing pier at a historic site a hilltop with excellent panoramic views of the North Bay Area and a model railroad museum – all these attractions are part of 307-acre Miller/Knox Regional Shoreline in Richmond.
McLaughlin Eastshore State Park, Oakland, Emeryville, Berkeley, Albany, & Richmond
♦ Tour of Albany Beach
McLaughlin Eastshore State Park is one of the most outstanding achievements in the history of open space protection. It is the result of decades of citizen efforts to protect San Francisco Bay as a public open space resource. Over 4,000 major stakeholders and interested parties reached a substantial consensus on the future uses and improvements for the park. The newly designated State seashore is a recreational facility harmonious with its natural setting. It is located in the midst of one of the most highly urbanized areas of California. EBRPD manages this park on behalf of California State Parks.
♦ Tour of Judge John Sutter Regional Shoreline and Bridge Yard Building
♦ Reception and Dinner in Bridge Yard Building
♦ Presentations by Robert Doyle, General Manager, EBRPD and Sam Hodder, President and CEO of Save the Redwoods League
The historic newly-renovated Bridge Yard Building, located in Oakland at the foot of the east span of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, was once a repair facility for railroad cars that traveled over the Bay Bridge. It now serves as the recreational anchor with interpretive and recreational programming, concessionaires (food/dining, equipment rental, etc.), and event space.
The planned 170-acre Judge John Sutter Regional Shoreline park was once a commercial and industrial zone utilized by the U.S. Army and the Port of Oakland. This new park is a magnificent gateway to the City of Oakland and provides new shoreline access with stunning views of the San Francisco Bay.
Thursday, May 9, 2019
Urban Wonderments: Challenges and Opportunities
Dumbarton Quarry, Fremont
♦ Breakfast at Hotel
Presentation by Jim O’Connor, Assistant General Manager – Operations Administration, EBRPD
♦ Tour and overview of new campground projects and amphitheater
♦ Overview of Regional Parks Foundation, Patterson donation and Coyote Hills along the route
When it’s complete, Dumbarton Quarry will be a 91-acre regional park with more than 100 campsites, an amphitheater, event center, restrooms, and an expansive meadow with views of San Francisco Bay, the East Bay hills, and the Peninsula. The park will connect the 30,000-acre Don Edwards refuge with 980-acre Coyote Hills Regional Park, providing an important link in the San Francisco Bay Trail plus miles of hiking opportunities amid the wetlands and grassy hillsides of the southern East Bay shoreline.
Ardenwood Historic Farm, Fremont
♦ Tour of a fully functioning 1850’s farm and the historic Patterson House
♦ Train ride on an old farm train that once connected local farms to towns and cities
♦ Overview of Monarch butterflies overwintering in eucalyptus grove
♦ Lunch at Ardenwood
♦ Concluding remarks from Robert Doyle, General Manager, EBRPD and Ayn Wieskamp, Board President, EBRPD
Ardenwood Historic Farm was originally owned by the George & Clara Patterson family from the 1850s. It was turned over to the City of Fremont in 1978, and the East Bay Regional Park District has operated the property as a fully functioning, turn-of-the-last-century farm since 1985. A visit here is a journey back to the time of the 1850s Patterson Ranch a prosperous, 19th-century country estate with a beautiful Victorian mansion and elaborate Victorian Gardens.