Olompali and China Camp still under threat

What can you do?

Marin State Parks are looking for a solution to a dilemma. Four Marin state parks were on the list of 70 state parks scheduled for closure next July 1, which means there are only a few months left in which to act. Once a park closes it could take a year or more to be reopened. Personnel will have been reassigned, budgets set, equipment moved.

Two of Marin’s four state parks have a one-year reprieve—they are being rescued by federal parks. Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA) is providing resources to keep Samuel P. Taylor open and Point Reyes National Seashore is assisting Tomales State Park.

However, Olompali State Historic Park and China Camp State Park are still on the closure list.

If closed, both parks will be left unguarded and unmaintained. The 700-acre Olompali, with its year-round stream, is little-visited now but was inhabited continuously from about 6,000 B.C. until the 1850s by native peoples. These people found the unique location within a bowl-shaped area bounded by Mount Burdell with its many streams and the expansive marsh and slough system of the Petaluma River to have ideal conditions for fishing, hunting, gathering and basket-weaving. Today, near the barn, visitors can find “Kitchen Rock,” a large boulder used as a mortar in which the original inhabitants ground acorns and seeds into flour.

Native American tribal leader Camilo Ynitia, who was later granted the property by the Mexican government, constructed an adobe on the land in about 1837. This adobe dwelling was later protected by the Burdell family, who incorporated it into the structure of their 26-room mansion (photo at left by Fred Davis), which was severely damaged by fire in 1969. State Parks acquired the site in 1977 after intense grassroots organization by local preservationists and the County of Marin. Volunteers and park staff at Olompali have since reconstructed several Miwok dwellings and have created a native plant garden. Sections of the adobe are still protected, although deferred maintenance on all the historic buildings at the Park has taken its toll. Now, these decades of effort are threatened by  park closures.

Conversely, China Camp State Park, which is the only California State Park with an historical Chinese fishing village museum (photo at left by Rene Rivers), is heavily used by hikers, runners, picnickers, campers and mountain bikers from around the Bay region. The access road through the park belongs to the County of Marin and most users park along the roadside rather than in the fee parking lots, so even if the park were officially closed it would very likely continue to be used—but not patrolled, cleaned, or maintained. In the early 1970s, local neighborhood activists sought help from MCL to save China Camp from development by Gulf Oil and preserve this land for all state residents.

At the well-attended November meeting of the Marin Open Parks Coalition, hosted by Assemblymember Jared Huffman and Dr. Thomas Peters of the Marin Community Foundation, a number of potential park funding solutions were floated, such as regional vehicle fees, a ballot measure, state tax return donation boxes, charging for parking along the county road through China Camp, mountain bike fee passes, county-wide state park passes, and so on.

Danita Rodriguez, the Marin District Superintendent of California State Parks, said that operating Olompali only two days a week would cost $55,000 annually, while keeping the park open full-time would cost $265,000. If China Camp were to be kept open five days a week, the annual cost with one enforcement employee would be $355,000, while seven days would require two enforcement personnel and would run $595,500. Estimates include salaries for one seasonal and one maintenance employee for both scenarios, as well as operating expenses such as water service and trash collection.

What can you do?

• Join the effort to publicize the fact that these parks are closing. Use Facebook, Twitter, or forward this web page link. Many people are not aware of the pending closures.
• Lobby the County of Marin and encourage its participation in keeping these two parks open.
• Participate in Marin State Parks Association efforts to inform residents and raise funds.
• Follow efforts to support state parks at the California State Parks Foundation.

Back to top