San Dieguito River Park started the New Year closing escrow on 636 acres of rolling meadow and oak land in the backcountry, east of Lake Sutherland. These important purchases closed several gaps in the publicly owned land along the San Dieguito River. Now there is added urgency to the San Dieguito River Valley Conservancy's Fundraising Drive, which was launched last month to acquire the remaining, adjacent Lake Sutherland property.

Take a look at some of the fun things to do in the park in the next few weeks -

Saturday January 30, 12:30-2:30, Bicycle with Ranger David Hekel.

Saturday, February 5 from 8 - 10 a.m. "Hike with the Hounds" - That's right, your leashed dogs are invited to the Park.

Saturday, February 12, take a heart-healthy hike while learning about native plants and Kumeyaay recipes.

There are Trail Maintenance Work Parties on the second Sunday of each month, and Habitat Restoration Work Parties on the third Saturday of each month. (These are great ways to earn school service hours and scout badges!)

And don't forget, the Sikes Adobe Historic Farmstead is open for docent tours every Saturday and Sunday afternoon from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.

Don't miss the February 23rd deadline to sign up for Volunteer Patrol training. The San Dieguito River Park now has 22 miles of trails, and several more miles will open next year. We need new Volunteer Patrol members to hike, bike or ride the trails. Training for new Volunteer Patrol begins this spring. Registered volunteers will receive training on March 5th and 12th. Volunteer Patrols commit to come out to the Park once a month to walk or ride on the trails. The Volunteer Patrol increases the River Park's official presence on the trails. The Volunteer Patrol keep their eyes open for problem areas along the trail, assist the public, and identify and report concerns to the Park Rangers. If you are interested, please set aside March 5 and 12 in your calendars, and call Barbara Baker at 858 674- 2275 x 14 for more information and/or to register.

Volunteers are also needed for other jobs at the Park - so if you are interested in doing some occasional volunteer work, or in a more long-term commitment - there is something for you here.

Join Barbara on the trail as she muses about how our history is made.

"I worked my way up to Raptor Ridge, a romantic name worthy of its title. The valley views offer much of the same glimpse that early settlers had. What about their stories? Recorded by what they left behind, their records weren't all written. Farming implements, day to day living items, even their garbage, are now considered artifacts."

Barbara has set up a learning experience at the San Diego Archaeology Center for those who are interested in turning these types of musings into knowledge. On Saturday, April 9th, the San Diego Archaeological Center will host "Artifact Interact". The session runs from 10:00 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. and includes a tour of the Center, talks and materials concerning the collection, and a hands-on approach to archaeology.

Mitigated Negative Declaration is issued for Lake Hodges Bicycle/Pedestrian Bridge. The proposed bridge, for pedestrians and bicyclists only, will be 990 feet long and 12 feet wide. Built with a technologically advanced "stress-ribbon" design, it will have only two piers in the lake. It will be located approximately 1000 feet west of the I-15 freeway bridge at Lake Hodges. Comments on the MND are due by February 16, 2005

Most of the Park's trails fared well after the recent rains. But it didn't seem that way at the worst of it, when all that could be seen of the trail were just some fence posts sticking up out of the water.

But the next day, the water dropped considerably. These pictures are from the Mule Hill/San Pasqual Valley Trail, which is completely passable now. The only big damage was to some of the fences along the trail.

The San Dieguito River Valley Conservancy has launched a public fundraising campaign to purchase the 353-acre Lake Sutherland East Property. This stunning property would link properties recently acquired by the Conservancy and the San Dieguito River Park Joint Powers Authority with City of San Diego owned land around Lake Sutherland.

Your tax deductible donation would help us raise the $400,000 needed to add this resource-rich property to the River Park and as a link on the Coast-to-Crest Trail. Learn about Lake Sutherland East and how you can partner with us to secure this property.

Many River Park supporters may not know that the River Park has converted from a print-based news distribution to an e-mail based distribution only. Therefore, please forward this e-mail to anyone you think would be interested. Then they can sign up for themselves if they wish to continue receiving the San Dieguito River Park's RiverScape newsletter. Thank you!