Moments in Time with Dave VanCleve: How General is a General Plan?
David Van Cleve has many ties to Anza-Borrego Desert State Park and Anza-Borrego Foundation. In the 1980s, he was an environmental scientist in the San Diego regional office, where he collaborated with park staff on many significant natural resource projects. In 1989, he was selected to serve as the superintendent of the state park. In 1994, his responsibilities were expanded to include management of six other state parks (Mt. San Jacinto, Cuyamaca Rancho, Palomar Mountain, Salton Sea, Picacho, and Indio Hills) in addition to Anza-Borrego. After retiring from state service, he worked for The Nature Conservancy as Ecoregional Director for the South Coast Ecoregion and added over 1,000 acres to the park. Currently Dave serves as the President of Anza-Borrego Foundation. Each month, Dave will fill in some important issues in the history Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, which often dove-tail with the history of ABF. We are grateful for his wealth of knowledge of the Park and willingness to share with us!
In the late 1960s, the director of California’s Department of Parks and Recreation recognized that Southern California was underrepresented in the number of state park units compared to Central and Northern California. Add in the fact that Southern California, dominated by Los Angeles, San Diego, and the Inland Empire, has a vast human population. These residents, along with visitors to the Southland, wanted to have access to a variety of parks.
Add to that the tug-of-war between conservation and recreation. Many people favor the role that parks play in the protection of flora and fauna, scenic landscapes, and cultural sites. Parks can offer solitude and quiet, clear skies, and vital rivers and streams.
Other folks want to be able to recreate in their parks. Backpacking at Mt. San Jacinto, horseback riding at Cuyamaca Rancho, whitewater rafting at Auburn, photography at Anza-Borrego, fishing at McArthur-Burney, and motorcycle riding at Ocotillo Wells are all high-value recreational opportunities. And many, indeed most, people enjoy recreation as well as peace and quiet.
The Parks Director had a vision for developing recreational opportunities at Pt. Mugu State Park, northwest of Los Angeles. Pt. Mugu is a beautiful rolling landscape that includes two rivers, oak woodlands, chaparral, and five miles of beach. Due to its proximity to Los Angeles, there was a lot of interest in how the park would serve the people of California.
The director proposed motorcycle trails, a model-airplane flying area, and other facilities. Unfortunately, some of these areas were in sensitive environmental sites and in zones that were ideally suited to quieter activities. Also, the public believed that its voice was not being heard.
There was such an outcry that state legislation was introduced that required the preparation of a General Plan (GP), not only for Pt. Mugu, but for every unit of the State Park System. The General Plan would begin with an inventory of resources, both natural and cultural, that would help dictate where facilities could be located and which recreational activities would be appropriate and where they could best be located. And a public process was mandated so that all citizens could be heard—the result at Pt. Mugu was a much more modest plan than the director had envisioned, primarily because the public had spoken.
Over the next three decades, many General Plans for park units were completed. Still, Anza-Borrego Desert State Park never rose to the top of the priority list. We argued that Anza-Borrego was the state park that actually needed a plan the most. The diversity of natural and cultural resources, the wide range of activities available, and the tremendous involvement of the public in the park all made it a worthy candidate. Our argument was, “There is one unit in California’s park system that could easily be a National Park, due to its size and quality.” The only real argument of decision makers was that those same qualities would make it a time-consuming and expensive process
Finally, a brilliant young attorney, Michael Mantell, was selected as Undersecretary for Natural Resources in Sacramento. In this assignment, he also served as the supervisor of the State Parks Director. He also controlled some of the purse strings for several pots of state money. Mantell started funding the General Plan effort at modest levels, and we were on our way. In 2003, after years of effort, public hearings were held and the General Plan was approved. Significant results were the addition of more wilderness and new cultural reserves to the park. Determining land use in general terms is a typical outcome of a General Plan. A GP, for example, does not say, “There should be a riding and hiking trail from the Lucky 5 Ranch to Mason Valley.” It will usually say there is a need for more trails, and a trails plan should be developed.
A General Plan is, well, just that – general. The plan called for more detailed plans to be developed in short order – an interpretive plan, a plan for roads and trails, and so forth. The park now has a roadmap for its future – one that puts into action the mission of Anza-Borrego Desert State Park.
Want to read the Park’s General Plan? You can find it here.
Photo: Karl Kirkman