California’s Crop-Rich Central Valley Set to Open State’s 281st State Park

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Gov. Gavin Newsom and state officials announced that California will open its first new state park in a decade this summer.

The 1,600-acre (648-hectare) Dos Rios tract in the state’s crop-rich Central Valley is set to open June 12 as California’s 281st state park.

This community has been underserved in terms of parks. The San Joaquin Valley has the lowest per capita open space and parks compared to any other region in the state. That’s why this is so profound. -CA Gov. Gavin Newsome

The park sits at the confluence of the Tuolumne and San Joaquin rivers. The area is known for its dairy pastures and vast almond orchards.

Visitors can use the park for hiking and picnicking, with plans for swimming and boating access in the future.

Dos Rios is not just a park but a community treasure offering peace, adventure, and a vital connection to nature. -Ali Manzo, a Central Valley native, and California State Parks interpreter

Manzo joined the governor, First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom, and civil rights icon Dolores Huerta in announcing the new park.

The Earth Day announcement comes as Newsom unveiled new targets for cutting greenhouse gas emissions on natural lands. The plan sets out to reduce the risks of wildfires, expand forest cover, and restore wetlands.

Newsom said the targets would move the state closer to achieving its mandate of carbon neutrality by 2045.

“These are stretch goals, unquestionably,” the Democratic governor said. “The good news is we’re making real progress.”

Newsom did not say what success would look like for implementing the targets. His administration would not say how much the plan would cost the state.

Even as California faces a massive projected budget deficit, the state has spent roughly $9.6 billion on efforts to address climate change using the state’s natural lands since 2020.

The targets come from a law Newsom signed in 2022 requiring the state Natural Resources Agency to work with other agencies to create a plan to reduce emissions from natural lands.

By 2045, the plan aims to reduce the risks of wildfires across nearly 53,000 square miles (138,000 square kilometers) of land. Through methods that include burning vegetation, wildfires can be more intense.

The state plans to plant 4.2 million trees, manage and restore 1.6 million acres (647,000 hectares) of grasslands, and protect more than 233,000 acres (94,000 hectares) of wetlands and seagrasses along that timeline.

Natural Resources Secretary Wade Crowfoot called the plan “a big deal” because the state has focused much of its climate policy on reducing emissions from other areas, such as the energy sector, and less from natural lands.

We know we have to reduce pollution significantly. Still, we also need to improve the health of our landscapes by removing carbon dioxide from the air. - Natural Resources Secretary Wade Crowfoot

In recent years, the state has approved the eventual phasing out of the sale of new fossil fuel-powered cars, lawnmowers, large trucks that transport goods through ports, and diesel-powered trains.

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