WHISKEYTOWN LAKE SUFFERING IDENTITY CRISIS
LOCAL GOVERNMENT, REDDING LIFESTYLES, REDDING RECREATION, SHASTA COUNTY
December 23rd, 2008
The latest salvo form Whiskeytown National Recreation Area Superintendent Jim Milestone is to rid Shasta Bally of its communication towers utilized for decades by radio, TV and government agencies. In fact, these towers were there before Whiskeytown Lake was filled with water behind the man-made dam. Now the man in charge at Whiskeytown NRA equates Shasta Bally to Yosemite’s Half Dome. The towers mustn’t mar such a pristine mountaintop, according to Jim.
Comparing a man-made recreation area to a naturally beautiful National Park is comparing apples to oranges. If Jim believes he is overseeing a pristine national park, he may want to review the brief history of Whiskeytown NRA. Understand that this lake, beautiful as it is, is part of a huge plumbing project. It impounds clear, cold water diverted from the Trinity River near Lewiston, then pipes it down through Shasta where it joins the Sacramento River near the town of Keswick.
September 28, President Kennedy dedicated Whiskeytown NRA just weeks before his assassination in November, 1963. In his dedication speech, he said “Shasta and its neighbors are assured water and power. They can enjoy new chances for recreational growth, and new access to open space.” Managers have expanded trail systems for horseback riders, hikers and mountain bikers but banned personal watercraft from the lake and closed some roads to 4WD users. Much of the back country is closed this winter, at the direction of the superintendent, due to hazards posed by potential mudslides after last summer’s fires burnt hundreds of acres in the area.
Jim has also made life difficult for some private property owners around the perimeter of the recreation area’s boundaries. If their access road has been gated and locked by NRA employees, property owners must prove, to Jim’s satisfaction, legal deeded access exists across the recreation area’s land. This can be a daunting task, and failure to provide satisfactory records means these properties are effectively landlocked.
As long as Superintendent Milestone keeps calling the recreation area a park, expect further limitations on access and elimination of man-made facilities, such as the towers atop Shasta Bally. It wouldn’t surprise me if this leads to an eventual ban on motor boats and vehicles on the back roads of the recreation area. In my experience, this has been the trend in National Parks across the West.
Visit the Whiskeytown Web cam at the following link: http://www.whiskeytowncam.com/
530-224-6767 or 530-941-7492
BRAD GARBUTT
REALTOR/BROKER ASSOCIATE
REAL ESTATE PROFESSIONALS GMAC
QUARTER CENTURY LOCAL REAL ESTATE EXPERIENCE
