SAN DIEGUITO RIVER PARK

"DAY AT THE RACES" FUNDRAISER 

 

Please join us for a day of fun at the Del Mar Racetrack!
Saturday, August 30th
Noon - 6 p.m.
$50 per ticket



Your $50 ticket includes your admission, a full course Cabana BBQ lunch, tips on handicapping from experts provided by the racetrack, and private trackside seating. (Please note that parking fees and alcoholic beverages are not included in the ticket price.)  Click here to view and print the flyer about this event.

100% of the proceeds of this event goes to the San Dieguito River Park.  We will use the money to build a viewing platform on the Coast to Crest Trail in the Del Dios Gorge area.  From the viewing platform, trail users will get a great view of the Lake Hodges Dam.  There will be seating, a telescope, and an interpretive sign about the history of the Dam. 

 

You can buy your tickets online by going to www.sdrp.org/donate.htm.  If you choose not to purchase online, please send your check for the number of tickets you wish to purchase to the San Dieguito River Park, 18372 Sycamore Creek Road, Escondido, CA 92025.  All tickets must be purchased in advance by August 22nd. 

PLEASE CONSIDER BUYING A TABLE SO THAT YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY CAN JOIN YOU AT THIS EVENT!  (A TABLE IS 10 TICKETS.)

$30 of each ticket is a tax-deductible donation.

 

Our thanks to the 22nd District Agricultural Association for their generosity in making this venue available at no charge to the River Park, and for working with the River Park to keep costs low so that more of the event's revenue can go toward the Viewing Platform. 

POST-FIRE RECOVERY UPDATE

Many of you may be wondering how the River Park is recovering from the devastating losses we experienced in the October 2007 Witch Fire. We are pleased to let you know that we are making steady progress toward full recovery.

In the last 9 months we have been working with FEMA and our insurance company to replace the park infrastructure that was destroyed.  Our office at 18372 Sycamore Road, Escondido, was fully insured and will be replaced.  Currently plans are being drafted by the architect, Rinehart & Herbst, and permits will be obtained from the City of Poway, in which jurisdiction it is located (despite the fact that the mailing address is Escondido.)  Until the office is rebuilt, the San Dieguito River Park personnel are temporarily renting office space from the City of San Diego at the City's former San Pasqual Water Reclamation Facility at 14103 Highland Valley Road.
* * * * *

 

The Sikes Adobe Historic Farmhouse was owned by the City of San Diego at the time of the fire, but the San Dieguito River Park was in the process of purchasing the site.  The City had insured the Farmhouse.  The purchase was completed in February 2008, and as part of the transaction, the City transferred the right of recovery to the insurance to the San Dieguito River Park.  The River Park hired the historic architecture firm of IS Architecture to re-create the construction documents, based on the previous construction documents that had been used when the Farmhouse was restored in 2004.  We hope to begin rebuilding the Farmhouse this Fall.
* * * * *

 

 

 

The River Park lost numerous trail features, including fencing, kiosks, benches, twelve bridges, and hundreds of signs over more than twenty miles of trails.  Most of these trail features will be replaced using FEMA funding.  Our ranger staff immediately began working after the fire to make sure trails were safe before they were reopened for public use.  Another key task was erosion control, needed as a result of the loss of vegetation.  This work was aided by volunteers from many organizations.  Above is a picture of volunteers from the University of Minnesota helping to rebuild a burned fence.  Many of the trails are still closed because major bridges that were destroyed have not yet been replaced.  Contracts for the reconstruction of the remaining features are being let now, with work to begin after the bird nesting season ends in mid-September.  Please check our website to see which trails are open.
* * * * *

 

62%, or 45,000 acres, of the River Park was within the Witch Fire burn area.  Most of the Park's chaparral (77%) and coastal sage scrub habitat (86%) both of which supported special status animal and plant species, was severely damaged. The conserved lands around Lake Hodges and in San Pasqual Valley have been core population strongholds for gnatcatchers and cactus wrens in San Diego County, supporting 235 pairs of gnatcatchers and 90 pairs of wrens in the 1990s.  As a result of the fire, we are facing the very real potential for local extirpation of populations of gnatcatchers and cactus wrens, 2 of the 3 focal species initially prioritized by the State of California's Natural Community Conservation Program (NCCP) in Southern California!  In addition to this area's importance to gnatcatchers and cactus wrens, the Lake Hodges/San Pasqual Valley area represents one of the largest continuous blocks of habitat in the MSCP area and provides habitat for 27 MSCP target species, including 1 federally and state-endangered species, 1 federally-threatened species, 2 state-endangered species, and 2 state-rare species, as well as several endemic plant species.  Habitat recovery is not funded by either insurance or FEMA.  Fortunately, local, state and federal agencies have made habitat recovery a priority.  Working with our partner, the San Dieguito River Valley Conservancy, substantial grants have been obtained from The San Diego Foundation, US Fish & Wildlife Service Partners for Wildlife program, and USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service for restoration of  cactus scrub habitat and invasive species removal.  A grant from SANDAG is pending.  Partnerships with the Conservation Biology Institute and the Urban Corps of San Diego have enhanced these grant programs.  The primary area of focus is Bernardo Mountain and San Pasqual Valley.  We are dedicated to making a vigorous, ongoing effort to restore the habitat of the endangered and threatened wildlife of the San Dieguito River Valley.

 * * * * *