When we’ve needed somewhere to hike, enjoy the valley’s natural beauty, and teach our kids about conservation, Bothe-Napa Valley State Park has been there for us.
Now the local organization that manages the park is asking us to return the favor after February’s storms brought down more than 100 trees, knocked out water lines, made a mess of the trails, and damaged vehicles and buildings.
Cathie Bennett Warner, board president of the nonprofit Napa Valley State Parks Association, and Jason Jordan, the Napa County Parks & Open Space District’s park steward for Bothe, the Bale Grist Mill and Robert Louis Stevenson State Park, outlined the damage and the extraordinary toll it's taken on the parks’ limited funds and volunteer base.
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While technically state parks, the three Upvalley parks haven't received a cent of state money since being defunded during a budget crunch in 2012. They pay their own way through use fees and donations. Annual expenditures are about $900,000.
The pandemic was hard on the parks' financial foundations, but when Bothe had to close for five weeks after the storms, revenue dropped to zero — just as expenses spiked, including for equipment necessary to clear the biggest downed trees and repair water lines.
In areas inaccessible to heavy equipment, parks workers and volunteers have been doing backbreaking work to clear up the damage.
The crisis underscored the need for more volunteers over the short and long term. The Napa Valley State Parks Association’s leadership is stronger than ever, but volunteers have dwindled due to the stress of the fires and the pandemic.
There have still been valuable contributions from:
-- Kevin Horowitz’s St. Helena Construction, which provided plumbing support and service;
-- Richard Bissett and Paulina Cole’s Quality Incorporated Site Work & Underground, which supplied heavy equipment;
-- Ruthesh “Ru” Naidoo from Cresco Equipment Rentals, who has offered discounts on equipment;
-- Tom Gamble from The Mill Keeper, who helped the parks provide Wi-Fi for visitors, volunteers and staff;
-- longtime Open Space District volunteers, who showed up in force the first Saturday after the storms; and
-- parks staff, who persevered amid rain, mud, sore muscles and frustrating setbacks.
That’s a lot of support, but the parks need more. That’s where readers come in. You can help with your time, your money or both.
There are plenty of ways you can volunteer, whether you’re lugging a chainsaw through brush, volunteering as a docent at the Bale Grist Mill, serving as a trail monitor, or helping with one of the mill’s holiday events.
Learn about those opportunities during an Open House and Volunteer Training Day from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on April 27 at the Bothe Visitor Center. Refreshments will be served.
You can donate at napavalleystateparks.org or buy tickets for the organization’s Sept. 28 Harvest Dinner, where Gamble and The Mill Keeper are on board as Premier Sponsor.
You can also raise awareness of the parks. The next time family or friends from outside the valley come to visit, take them out for a fun day at Bothe or the Bale Grist Mill. They might not know that one of only two functioning water-driven mills west of the Mississippi River is located in your backyard.
Warner said the Napa Valley State Parks Association’s long-term goal is to offer more programs, attract more users (the Vine Trail will help with that), recruit more volunteers, and raise more money.
More, more, more, more. When it comes to celebrating nature and preserving the valley’s most beautiful scenery, that sounds just right.
The Star editorial board consists of Napa Valley Register editor Dan Evans and community volunteers Norma Ferriz, Shannon Kuleto, Bonnie Long, Peter McCrea, Chuck Meibeyer, Gail Showley and Dave Yewell.