I recently spent the day at Cuyamaca Rancho State Park where I served and where a couple of our mystery novels are set. It was nice to be back and retrace old ground I hadn’t seen in many years. All the people I knew there had moved on and the damage of the Cedar Fire in 2003 had pretty much changed the landscape. It’s coming back slowly, and there was much more growth, especially of pines, than I ever expected. One of the places I made a point to check out was our native stone headquarters building, the old Dyar House. It dates back almost 100 years and sadly was destroyed by the fire. The Cuyamaca Rancho State Park Interpretive Association is trying to raise enough money to rebuild it, but they already have their hands full paying the salary of two state employee staff members. California finances are pretty pathetic these days, especially as it relates to State Parks. Recruitment for ranger staff is especially difficult, and the 800 law enforcement rangers I worked with in the nearly 300 park units throughout the state is now down to half of that number even with aggressive recruitment efforts. Of course, the state can’t afford to fill all those historic position levels anyway, but it would be nice if they could at least fill the ones they have the money for. Dyar House RuinsThe Dyar House is a sad symbol of what a once great park system has become. I hope someday it will be restored once again. If you are interested in donating to the Dyar House rebuilding fund or other support of the park’s needs, contact the Cuyamaca Rancho State Park Interpretive Association at: Cuyamaca Rancho State Park Interpretive Association (CRSPIA)
PO Box 204 Descanso, CA 91916 http://crspia.org/index.php
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Greg
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