American River Parkway Foundation Public Affairs
The American River Parkway Foundation is constantly searching for solutions to issues that are impacting the American River Parkway.
Current Issues
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Sacramento District, is currently working on the American River Levees upgrade project. This project’s goal is to add up to 11 miles of improved bank protection to reduce identified risks along the Lower American River. However, some community members have expressed concerns about the potential for tree removal and increased erosion. ARPF submitted a letter with our concerns and suggestions to the US Army Corps.
To learn more about the project, visit the US Army Corps of Engineers Sacramento District Website or American River Trees.
Illegal Camping
There are an estimated 500-3,000 illegal campers along the full 23-mile stretch of the Parkway. The lack of action from our local leaders to address this issue drove the Parkway Foundation to submit a Demand Letter to the County of Sacramento and City of Sacramento in January 2022 pressing for coordination and action on finding solutions. Since the submission of our letter, we have connected with local leaders, business leaders, other Parkway advocates, advocates for the unhoused and media. We also held a clean-up for local leaders so they could get a firsthand perspective of the destruction that’s taking place on the Parkway and discuss solutions.
Fire Mitigation
In 2021, more than 200 fires burned over 15% of the Parkway. Most of those fires were human caused.
To highlight the devastation, the Parkway Foundation developed the Parkway in Peril video, which was released during a panel discussion about solutions to solving this issue.
The Parkway Foundation also formed the American River Parkway Fire Safe Council, a group of 60 organizations focused on implementing fire mitigation solutions outlined in a 2015 study that was commissioned by the County of Sacramento.
The American River Parkway Foundation hired Deer Creek Resources, a wildfire safety organization, to develop a Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) for the Lower American River. This CWPP will allow American River Parkway stakeholders to prioritize wildfire risk reduction activities and access funds to carry them out.
Open Space Management
Portions of the Parkway not in any of the 11 established recreation areas (i.e. Discovery Park, River Bend Park, Rossmoor Bar) are considered open space. The Parkway Foundation is attempting to work with the County to assume responsibility of vegetation management of the open space so that the County can continue to focus on established recreation areas as the priority.
This was also included in our Demand Letter.
Executive Director Dianna Poggetto and Board Member Karen Doron discuss the Parkway Foundation’s support for the County’s recent illegal camping ordinances on the caveat that the County continue to make finding shelter for the unhoused a priority. Poggetto discusses recent actions from the Parkway Foundation to address illegal camping. Doron urges the community to keep their minds open when it comes to shelter proposals.
