Left to right: Presenting a check to the Clear Lake State Park Interpretive Association for the Outdoor Education Pavilion Fund are Jean Dorn Holdenried and Myron Holdenried. Accepting for Clear Lake State Park Interpretive Association are Madelene Lyon, president; Burl McDaniel, treasurer; Val Nixon, retired State Park ranger; and Ryen Goering, supervising ranger. Photo by Bob Minenna.

LAKE COUNTY – Many efforts are underway in the local community to convince Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger that closing Clear Lake State Park and Anderson Marsh State Historic Park would have a detrimental effect on the environment and the tourism industry in Lake County.

Citizens have embraced this campaign in numerous ways, including signing petitions and sending letters to the Governor’s office.

For the Holdenried family of Kelseyville, the cause of keeping Clear Lake State Park open is personal.

Myron Holdenried, owner of Wildhurst Vineyards and grandson of the donors of the property that became a state park 60 years ago, spearheaded his winery’s efforts to raise funds and awareness.

The family-owned winery, with production facilities and tasting room in the Kelseyville area, recently contributed $3,150 from the sale of cases of wine to the Outdoor Education Pavilion Fund of the Clear Lake State Park Interpretive Association.

During a special sale, each purchase of a case of the winery’s 2006 Reserve Sauvignon Blanc resulted in a $5 donation.

Holdenried quotes his grandmother, Nellie Henderson Dorn, as saying, “My father, Lewis Henderson, always wanted Lake County to have a park on the lake for the public to enjoy. He felt that someday there would be houses around the lake and people would have very limited access to it.”

His grandmother was determined to have the 340-acre property she and her husband Fred Dorn owned be incorporated into the California State Park system.

Lewis Henderson, a Kelseyville farmer who planted some of the first commercial pear orchards in Lake County, was very civic-minded, and served 24 years as District 5 Supervisor.

Holdenried notes, “They all shared a passionate love for nature and the beauty of our area.”

Nellie and Fred Dorn purchased the property in 1918 with an inheritance that came from a great aunt living in New York.

In order to complete the park gift, several criteria had to be met: Nellie Dorn needed to gain approval from the Lake County Board of Supervisors; there was some opposition, including concerns about removing land from the local tax rolls and creating competition for the family resorts about Clear Lake.

Secondly, the land boundaries needed to be rearranged so that the Kelsey Creek outlet could be reconfigured, and finally, assurance provided that there would be easy access from Soda Bay Road.

The gift was completed with all approvals granted in 1948.

Today, the park is a popular destination with numerous trails, 147 campsites, a boat launch and swim beach, and a visitor center with a natural history museum, gift shop and auditorium.

An important part of the Park is the work of the Clear Lake State Park Interpretive Association, chaired by Madelene Lyon. The association trains volunteers and supports a variety of interpretive educational activities, as well as presenting the annual Heron Festival in cooperation with the Redbud Audubon Chapter.

This year the interpretive association will be breaking ground on a new Education Pavilion. This all-weather structure will provide space for an outdoor exploratory classroom that is adjacent to the Park’s visitor center, offering learning opportunities to students and the public that are not available elsewhere.

The estimated total project cost is approximately $180,000, with more than $145,000 raised to date through a combination of grants ($60,000 from the California State Parks Foundation) and individual donations ($85,000).

The interpretive association plans a special park event, “A Wild Affair in the Park,” on Saturday, May 31, 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., to include wine tasting, food pairing, music, and scientific demonstrations, celebrating the Education Pavilion. Contact Madelene Lyon, 279-4395, for more information.

This facility expansion project at Clear Lake State Park is one of the many activities supported by volunteers, organizations, businesses, and local governments that demonstrate the value of keeping Lake County’s state parks open and available to the public.

Local residents will participate in Park Advocacy Day at the State Capitol in Sacramento on April 7 in a major “Saving the Parks” effort. The Lakeport Regional Chamber of Commerce is coordinating attendance and may be contacted for details at 263-5092.

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