Action Alert: Off Highway Vehicles in Henry Coe State Park?

[CNPS-SCV News]

Join CNPS and other advocates On Thursday, February 16, the California State Parks Commission will meet to inform the public about the Off-Highway Vehicle (OHV) Access Project and receive input. The meeting will be held in person - Please come to the meeting and speak!

 

Date:  Thursday, February 16, 2023 
Location:  Pleasanton Marriott, 11950 Dublin Canyon Rd, Pleasanton, CA.  https://goo.gl/maps/Uj1VU2APDuLhWT866

Time: 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

More information here:  https://ohv.parks.ca.gov/pages/1140/files/OHV%20Access%20Project%20_%20Pleasanton%20on%20Feb%2016.pdf

 

If you cannot attend, please email your comments to:  Katie....@parks.ca.gov

 

Here are some CNPS points that you can use in your email or public comments – 

 

• We want to thank the California State Parks for initiating this public engagement process.
• We look forward to working with State Parks on OHV access.
• We think Henry Coe State Park should not be considered as part of this process to search, select, and acquire property to expand OHV recreation.
• Henry Coe State Park is rich in wildlife and plant species.
• Given its biodiversity and importance to indigenous peoples, Henry Coe State Park should not be considered as part of this process.
• Henry Coe State Park’s size (87,000 acres) makes it an important intact refuge for at-risk species, including wildlife such as mountain lions and tule elk, and many species of rare plants. Regional development pressures and climate change impacts make such refugia necessary for survival.
• Preserving Coe as a state park is also consistent with the state’s commitment to conserving 30% of California by 2030 to protect the state's biodiversity into the future.

 

Background

The State Parks Commission meeting flyer says that the public will have an opportunity to learn about the Department’s process for searching, selecting, and acquiring property; discuss OHV recreation opportunities and visitor needs; and discuss "potential locations" for OHV recreation opportunities, including partnerships, leases, and new properties.

 

When CNPS advocated to protect the biodiverse 3,100-acre Tesla Park from designation as an off-road vehicle (OHV) park, Governor Newsom's negotiators required that nearly $30 million dollars be transferred from the General Fund to the Off-Highway Vehicles Trust Fund for acquisition and development of OHV facilities. Immediately, powerful OHV proponents put their sights on Henry Coe State Park. There is no way that Henry Coe State Park should become an OHV park, given its biodiversity and importance to indigenous people. OHV recreation promoters are determined and persistent, and their lobbyists are well funded by the industry. Everyone who loves our state parks will need to be just as determined and persistent if our existing parks and open spaces are to continue as thriving islands of the state's biodiversity and cultural history.

 

Please send even a brief email by Thursday morning, and consider attending and speaking on this important issue.

 

Thank you, 

CNPS Santa Clara Valley Chapter Conservation Committee