Maggie Hallahan

The 'Path Forward Strategic Plan' is a five-year roadmap for the California Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) designed to strengthen departmental operations and protect natural and cultural resources for future generations. Structured around eight themes—Employee Development, Natural and Cultural Resources, Organizational Culture, Equity, Operations, Systems, Public Safety, and Administration—the plan is guided by principles of justice, equity, diversity, inclusion, collaboration, and access. It aims to empower the workforce, enhance public experiences, and inspire diverse engagement with California's park system.

This document is a Public Draft of the Big Basin Redwoods State Park General Plan Amendment, which updates the May 2013 General Plan. The amendment is prompted by the extensive damage caused by the 2020 CZU Lightning Complex Fire and is guided by the Reimagining Big Basin Vision Summary (2022), the Cornerstone Document (2023), and the Big Basin Facilities Management Plan (2025). It incorporates specific site recommendations for rebuilding and future development across key park areas. Strategic priorities include developing new overnight camping and related facilities at Lower Sky Meadow; establishing various camping options and facilities at Upper Sky Meadow; proposing staff housing and operational areas at Saddle Mountain; and creating a mixed Tribal use area with a cultural center and staff housing at Little Basin. The amendment also addresses the inclusion of future acquisition parcels around Saddle Mountain.

The workshop focused on discussions about the California Historical Resources Information System (CHRIS). The primary parties involved include the Office of Historic Preservation, Department of Parks and Recreation, the CHRIS information centers, the California Department of Technology, and Falon. The OHP is developing a single system to automate and integrate business and workflow processes used at OHP and the nine information centers. The Department of Parks and Recreation has agreed to host the enterprise system based on the Arch's open-source data management platform through its Microsoft Azure Cloud environment. Tasks include identifying stakeholder user types, defining data management workflows, developing a data model, identifying system integrations, and extracting and transferring data.

The meeting of the State Historical Resources Commission included discussions and training related to the National and California Register programs. The commission acknowledged the impact of the year's events on the staff and operations. The registration unit processes nominations each year, some of which are for districts containing numerous properties. The unit also reviews applications for federal tax credits and analyzes historic properties, working to improve public relations and accessibility.

The workshop focused on the fundamentals of the registration process, including how nominations are vetted, submitted, and assigned. Discussions covered the seven aspects of integrity, thresholds of measurement, and criteria considerations. Specific attention was given to how the public can build solid and defensible National Register nominations. The workshop also addressed the support provided to private property owners who object to nominations.