Noticias De Anza
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Number 27 Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail March 2005 Bautista Canyon Project Canceled Public Outcry and Rising Price Tag are Deciding Factors in County’s Decision to Terminate Road Expansion Plan decision by the Riverside County received over 300 letters and faxes ABoard of Supervisors to with- opposing the road program. hold funding for the Bautista Canyon Conversely, they received only two Road Improvement Project puts a letters in support of the project. halt to one of the major threats facing Speakers at two public meetings in the Anza Trail. Anza and Valle Vista spoke 2 to 1 in opposition to the project. The March 1 decision ends a 12-year effort by the Federal Highway When the road plan was originally Administration (FHWA), the US approved as part of the Federal Forest Service, and Caltrans to secure Lands Highway Program, $10 million funding to pave an 8.2 mile dirt road was earmarked to be used in 2005. crossing the San Bernardino National With the total cost estimate of $12 Forest. The canyon is one of a hand- million, Riverside County was ful of segments on the Anza Trail that expected to pick up the additional $2 retains a historical landscape with million to help fund the rest of the virtually no development. project. As cost estimates increased Bautista Canyon road runs through to $22.7 million in 2001, the county Riverside County and is the site of A tremendous outpouring of public share increased considerably. The expedition campsite # 56. opposition to the project arrived as final cost would have been $12.7 mil- part of the comment period on the lion to Riverside County. the public, the US Forest Service and Draft Environmental Impact county supervisors opted to stop fur- Statement/ Environmental Impact In light of the tremendous increase in ther work on the EIS/EIR which will Report (DEIS/DEIR). The FHWA the cost and the lack of support by effectively stop any further work on the project. Although the Forest Service was ini- tially supportive of the project, in the end they submitted nearly 300 com- ments on the DEIS/DEIR and requested significant revisions to the analysis that was used in the DEIS/DEIR. Former trail Superintendent Meredith Kaplan repeatedly put the National Park Service on record as opposing the road project as destruc- tive to the Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail. She moni- tored the project from its proposal in 1993 until her recent retirement, and The US Forest Service administers the eight-mile segment of Anza Trail that kept trail supporters informed about runs through the Bautista Canyon segment of the historic route. its status. ¡Adiós Superintendente Kaplan - Gracias Por Su Servicio! hen Meredith Kaplan arrived Win 1992 to begin the planning process on the Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail, little existed of the trail save for a piece of legislation and a little bit of office space at the National Park Service regional office. Thirteen years later, as former Superintendent Kaplan moves on to the next phase of her life, she leaves a dream transformed into a reality. With the help of hundreds of com- mitted volunteers and scores of partners from the public and private sector, Kaplan watched the trail expand in ways she could have never imagined. Although her shared office space remained the same, almost every- thing else has changed. During her For over a decade, Meredith Kaplan served as the face of the Anza Trail. First tenure as trail administrator, she as its planner and author of the Comprehensive Management and Use Plan oversaw the marking of nearly 300 and later as the trail’s first superintendent Meredith was a fixture at Anza Trail miles of recreation trail. Whether it events like the San Francisco Presidio Pasados, shown above. is hiking along the Santa Cruz River Meredith saw the Anza Trail as a trail route. in southern Arizona, exploring tool communities could use to help wildflowers in California's Yuha build trails in areas with few green Meredith will stay active in trail- Desert, or experiencing urban spaces or trail resources. This vision related ventures, working with the parks in the Bay Area, visitors can became a reality when Meredith National Park Service to complete enjoy over two dozen separate trail certified the first official segment of the Comprehensive Management segments along approximately 300- the Anza Trail along the Salinas and Use Plan for the Ala Kahakai miles of the entire trail. River in Atascadero in central National Historic Trail in Hawaii. California in 1996. Meredith had previously worked on Working as the trail’s sole National this project as a collateral duty to Park Service employee for almost a In southern Arizona, Meredith her work with the Anza Trail. decade, Meredith used the power of watched Anza Trail Coalition volun- partnership to expand the trail into teers research, build and maintain a On her free time, Meredith will con- diverse communities. Using the ten-mile segment of trail along the tinue to explore trails. This summer, Challenge Cost Share program to Santa Cruz River with very little Meredith and her daughter will hike fund many of these projects, she help from the NPS. This trail is now a long distance trail along the helped partners design, construct, a premiere tourism attraction for French portion of the Santiago de and install dozens of interpretive thousands of tourists each year. In Compostella pilgrimage walk. This exhibits along the trail at places like Pima County, recreation planners is the second pilgrimage adventure Picacho Peak, Yuma Crossing State are using the trail to form the back- for Meredith who in 2003 hiked the Park, the Los Angeles River, Santa bone of an extensive network of final 400-miles on the trail in Spain. Clara University, and Fort Ord trails that will link the rapidly grow- Public Lands. Working with ing county. Meredith can still be reached at her Northeast Trees in urban Los email at [email protected] Angeles, she helped fund an 80- Meredith leaves the trail with multi- or by writing to trail headquarters at yard Anza Trail mural along the ple public and private groups in the National Park Service, 1111 banks of the Los Angeles River. Mexico, Arizona, and California Jackson #700, Oakland, California, working to link a 1,200-mile historic 94607. Noticias de Anza 2 Baja California Park Officials Dedicate New Driving Trail lthough over a third of the Anza ATrail lies within Mexico, it was only this fall that United States and Mexican park officials dedicated the first 50-mile stretch of the historic route in northern Baja California. In Algodones, Ciudad Morelos, and Ejido Tobasco, residents and visitors to northern Mexico will see a reminder of the route Anza followed in 1775 and the historical link between Baja and Alta California. The signage follows the historic INAH Director Julia Bendimez Patterson, Oscar Sánchez, Anza (David Smith), route used by Anza in 1775 as he Meredith Kaplan, and Anza Trail Advisory Council member Carlos R. Herrera crossed northern Baja California. (left to right) attended the trail dedication Los Algodones last November. The placement of the signs is the In 2003, Kaplan applied for, and his recent papers describing the first stage in a long-term plan for received, a grant from the NPS expedition route located between increased cross-border cooperation Office of Mexican Affairs for the Colorado River and Yuha Wells. between the two agencies and seg- Spanish language driving signs along ments of the Anza Trail. the trail route in Mexico. Funds were Visitors interested in following the also used to publish a bilingual historic route into Mexico can fol- Beginning in 2001, former guide, La Ruta de Juan Bautista de low the driving route signs along US Superintendent Meredith Kaplan Anza en Baja California . Interstate 8, exiting south on began informal talks with Julia Algodones Road (Exit 166, Highway Bendimez Patterson, director of Baja INAH officials dedicated the new 186). Visitors should cross the border California’s Instituto Nacional de trail route last Thanksgiving. Former and follow the signs marked “San Antropología e Historia (INAH). superintendent Kaplan and Juan Felipe.” The Anza Trail Memorial is Both were exploring ways to tell the Bautista de Anza (David Smith) located in Algodones’ central plaza. history of their related sites and saw spoke about the important historic To see expedition campsite #43, exit the Anza Trail as a way of achieving connections that link the two Algodones by taking the northern- this. Californias. Additionally, Mexican most secondary road that parallels historian Oscar Sánchez read one of the US border. Follow the signs to Ciudad Morelos where there is a trail memorial located along the roadside. Continue traveling west, where the secondary route joins Mexican Highway (MH) 2. In Ejido Tobasco, the Anza Trail campsite memorial is located adjacent to the public park. Continue following MH 2 to Mexicali and rejoin the driving route in Calexico, California. Copies of the guide may be obtained by contacting BC - INAH, Calle K The new driving trail more closely follows the historical trail corridor between esquina con Obregón no. 300, Los Algodones and Mexicali. Visitors can travel the well paved route and see Mexicali, Baja California, CP 21100 memorials at campsites 42, 43, and 44 (labeled on the map). Mexico. 3 Noticias de Anza Cabalgata 2004 - A Week-Long Trek in the Footsteps of undreds of hikers, equestrians, The Cabalgata (Spanish for mounted Hand those simply interested in ride or horse trip) was a collaboration the history of the Santa Cruz River of many people creating an opportu- valley gathered for a week-long hike nity for the public to enjoy the Anza and ride to explore one of the most Trail in a way that Anza himself might scenic portions of the Anza Trail.