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Community Forums Added PDF Print E-mail
Written by Roger   
Sunday, 16 November 2008
Forum
Community Forum Added
We have added a new feature to the Whiting Ranch Community Website - Forums! This new addition will provide a more interactive touch to the community website. We encourage you to visit and use the different forum "Topics" to express your ideas, comments or humorous stories. The forum is rather barren now as it was just born within the last 24 hours. Give it some time, plus some interaction from visitors like you, and this little guy just might grow up into something fun!

 
Trail Maintenance Training PDF Print E-mail
Written by Roger   
Sunday, 05 October 2008
Image
Observing Dried Milk Thistles
The Park Rangers take a handful of volunteers out on Borrego Trail to demontrate the various techniques of trail maintenance, along with identifying non-native and invasive plants that threaten the local native plants.  The group was lead my Sr. Ranger Vicky.
 
Upcoming Volunteer Meetings PDF Print E-mail
Written by Roger   
Tuesday, 02 September 2008
Volunteers - please mark your calendars and plan on attending the following meetings:

  • Limestone Whiting Equestrian Volunteer Meeting

Sunday, September 7, starting at 8a
O’Neill Regional Park Conference Room
30892 Trabuco Canyon Road
Trabuco Canyon, CA 92678

The meeting will go over:

  • New Trails at Limestone Whiting
  • Equestrian Rules and Regulations
  • Equestrian Patrol Shift Sign-in Procedures
  • Open Forum: Volunteer questions, concerns and experiences

A light breakfast will be served. Please bring any questions, concerns and experiences you may have had as an Equestrian Volunteer at Limestone Whiting.

  • Limestone Whiting General Volunteer Meeting with Ranger Vicky

Sunday, Sept 14, starting at 8am
O’Neill Regional Park Conference Room 
30892 Trabuco Canyon Road
Trabuco Canyon, CA 92678

The meeting will go over:

  • Volunteer and Ranger introductions (meet and greet go to know each other)
  • What volunteers would like to do for Limestone-Whiting
  • Limestone-Whiting's needs

A light breakfast will be served. Please bring any questions, concerns and experiences you may have had as Volunteer at Limestone Whiting.

If you have not done so already, please RSVP your first name, last name and email address to:

Angeline Santiago

OC Parks Volunteer Services

714-973-6871

(or use the Contact Us page to RSVP to Angeline via the email form)


 
Alledged Mountain Lion Attack A Fake? PDF Print E-mail
Written by Roger   
Thursday, 07 August 2008
The report of a man being attacked by a mountain lion yesterday (08/06/08) is now suspected as being fabricated.  The man reported that he was "swatted" by a mother mountain lion and sustained a scratch to the arm when he approached 3 cubs.  He said he approached the cubs to pet them because he thought they were cute.

Officials spent hours searching for the mountain lions, potentially to "put them down" (kill) or relocate them to another wilderness area in San Diego.  Officials are now saying that the scratch on his arm does not look like it was from a mountain lion attack, and that there are inconsistencies in his story...  Officials say he could be prosecuted if he is found to have filed a false report.

The park was closed during the investigation but was reopened late in the afternoon.  Foothill Ranch elementary school, which shares a boundary with the wilderness park, was locked down as a result of this event, affecting many children that attend a summer program there (including one of my own).

More details can be found here at KTLA news, or at OC Register or at LA TImes.

 
Gallery Updated - Grand Reopening PDF Print E-mail
Written by Roger   
Sunday, 20 July 2008

ImageImage

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View these and more in the photo gallery.


 
Grand Reopening! PDF Print E-mail
Written by Roger   
Monday, 14 July 2008
Image
Woo Hoo!
Whiting Ranch reopened Saturday, July 12th with a ribbon cutting ceremony at 9:00 am and at least 100 mountainbikers and hikers were standing by to hit the trail.  The trails were soft in some areas and very sandy in others - like trying to ride your bike across the beach...  Most every biker dismounted and pushed their bikes through the sand otherwise you would get seriously punished before reaching the Mustard climb.  There were a handful of trail changes, and the big surprise was Sleepy Hollow was changed back to a multi-use trail after at least a decade of being off-limits to bikers.  This was bitter-sweet news for me, as a hiker/biker, in that Sleepy Hollow was a nice place to get away from the bikers,  but also an absolute treat to ride.  I remember way back when we used to ride that trail when it touched along the "shores" of a pond, then dropped down a steep chute into the oak forest.  Ah yes, that was a great ride.  Today it's a little tamer but beautiful none the less.

Fire damage was still very obvious in most places, but there were pockets of untouched (or mostly untouched) areas as well.  I tried to take pictures (which will be posted to the gallery when I get a break from work), but the urge to ride was simply overwhelming.

Other points of interest - CBS and Fox News showed up to cover the grand reopening, one of which was stationed at Four Corners.  Did anyone catch the coverage on TV?

Stay tuned for the photos...

 
Official Open Date Announced PDF Print E-mail
Written by Roger   
Thursday, 03 July 2008
The county has announced an official opening date for Limestone/Whiting Ranch: July 12th, 2008.  They are also looking for volunteers to help with the various activities surrounding the opening.  If you would like to volunteer please contact Adopt-a-Park at (714) 973-6871 for instructions.

To read the full article on the county website, click here.  Hopefully we will see you on the trails and/or volunteering!

 
Tentative Opening Date! PDF Print E-mail
Written by Roger   
Sunday, 15 June 2008
Ranger Vicky informs me that Whiting Ranch is tentatively scheduled to open mid-July.   She also says they are looking for volunteers to be stationed at each of the park entrances for the purpose of providing updated park information, including trail reroutes and the importance of staying on the trails.  If you would like to help out, and are already a park volunteer, please contact Vicky using the "contact us" tab at the top of the page.

So lets hear it, I know you are all thinking it...  WOO HOO!  At least it will be nice and hot for that mid-July climb up Mustard.  Have you been staying in shape since the closure of Whiting???  Not me, so if you see my body collapsed on the trail just kick me over to the side so I won't get in everyone's way...

Check back for updates.

 
March 2008 Update PDF Print E-mail
Written by Sr. Park Ranger Vicky   
Saturday, 22 March 2008
ImageThe park needs time to heal so the wildlife can re-habituate. Staff needs time to make the park safe for the wildlife and the public. The rainy season brought major erosion damage to many of the trails. Staff is working hard to re-open the park as soon as possible.

FIRE DAMAGE:

  • 4,000 acres of park land
  • Hundreds of mature Oak and Sycamore trees
  • 12 kiosks
  • 2 Bridges destroyed, 3 partially damaged
  • Over 200 trail signs
  • 1.5 Miles of barb-wire fencing
  • 100 linear feet of split rail fencing

WORK TO BE DONE:

  • OCFA (Orange County Fire Authority) grading over 10 miles of fire roads
  • Trail signs will be replaced
  • 75 water bars and trail steps need replacing
  • 100 ft of split rail fence to be installed
  • 10 miles of single track trails cleared of debris and re-graded
  • Removal of non-native vegetation

As you can see, we have our work cut out for us. Meanwhile, please continue to respect the park closure and giving us the time to heal the land.

THANK YOU!

Vicky
Senior Park Ranger

(Check out more pictures from Vicky in the photo gallery!)
 
Vague Status Update... PDF Print E-mail
Written by Roger   
Wednesday, 27 February 2008
We have not heard very much information regarding the status of Whiting Ranch lately.  Sr. Park Ranger Vicky says they are busy dealing with erosion control and clearing debris.  No scheduled volunteer activities are planned at this time either.  We also attended the Volunteer Adopt-A-Park Program Orientation Meeting meeting at O'Neill park recently and while there were a number of new and returning Whiting Ranch volunteers on hand, little was said regarding the park status, nor when it might open up again.

We have observed a fair amount of activity in the park though.  Whether it's ranger and county vehicles in the parking lots, or even in the residential streets that share Whiting as their back yard (ours included), or workers spotted on the hill tops, they are in fact out there working to get the park open.

Please let us know if you have any park updates or know of any volunteer activities - we'll pass along the info to the community.

Thanks!

 
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