New:

A poster about activities on Earth Day 2008 (April 19) in the park [PDF 3 Mb].

The City of Chico has posted environmental documents for bikeway projects at Annie's Glen [PDF 12 Mb] and Sycamore Creek [PDF 1.8 Mb].

Some information about 2008—Year of the Frog.

A report to the Park Commission on invasive plants in the park [PDF 19 Mb].

An article about disc golf in Upper Bidwell Park that was submitted by FOBP for inclusion in Butte Environmental Council's fall 2007 Environmental News

Some photos showing impacts from the disc golf course in Upper Park and a map of the location.

A poster, Wanted (Dead, not Alive) Yellow Starthistle [pdf]

The City of Chico has established a website for the East 8th Street Corridor Improvement Project, a construction project for the street along the southeast edge of Lower Bidwell Park.

Copies of the arborist's report [pdf, 5.5 MB] and the planting list [pdf, 20 KB] compiled from Fig 2.5 of Planting Plan are also available.

Added a copy of the Sierra Club Yahi Group letter commenting on the disc golf project [pdf] proposed in the Draft Master Management Plan

Comments on the Master Management Plan Update and Environmental Impact Report are linked to this page.

We've posted a copy of the arborist's report [pdf, 584 KB] concerning the impact of disc golf on trees at the disc golf courses in Upper Park. This is the same report that appears in the Draft Environmental Impact Report, but this electronic version is more legible than the scanned copy in that report.

The Bidwell Park draft Master Management Plan and EIR are available! They're very large so it's probably better to get a CD version. CDs can be obtained on the 2nd Floor of the Municipal Building for $5. In addition, there are both loaner CDs and hard copies of the Draft Plan and Draft EIR also at the 2nd Floor counter. Copies of the Plan and EIR are also available at CSUC Meriam Library and at the Butte County Public Library.

For those who have high speed Internet access, you can download the documents from the city's website

Join Friends of Bidwell Park in supporting the Chico Creek Nature Center. Buy a brick to help expand the Nature Center in Bidwell Park!

A more complete copy of the City Council resolutions in which Chico formally accepts Annie Bidwell's gift of the park. "We recognize the sacred and binding obligation resting upon us and our successors in office for all time to sacredly observe the conditions and restrictions of the grant"

Also, a 1983 affidavit from Bidwell heir Anne Ellicot Kennedy Anderson protesting the removal of the reversionary clause from the deed to the park. The reversionary clause obliged the city to observe the conditions and restrictions of the grant.

Local citizens appeal Park Commission decision to place Cell Towers in Bidwell Park's Hooker Oak Recreation Area. Read the application and their reasons for appealing here [pdf] (Appeal Denied 11/7/06).

Added a Park Boundary and Viewshed Issues page.

An article, "Bidwell Park: Crown Jewel or Poor Stepchild? -- Perception Versus Reality," reprinted from the Sierra Club Yahi Group newsletter, by Susan Mason

An article, "Bidwell Park In Peril," reprinted from the Yahi Group newsletter, by Josephine Guardino

Added some links to information about oak woodland ecology and restoration.

A printable version of the Keep Upper Park Wild petition

A letter to the Bidwell Park and Playground Commission [pdf] outlines concerns that Friends of Bidwell Park have regarding the current disc golf site

See our Reasons to Keep Upper Park Wild

All contributions to Friends of Bidwell Park are now tax-deductible!

Please send donations to: Friends of Bidwell Park, PO Box 3036, Chico CA 95927

If you prefer, you can make a tax-deductible contribution to us online through the philanthropic organization JustGive.org by clicking on the button below.

How are donations used?

FOBP on-site volunteer hours to-date:

7267 hours of work contributed to volunteer projects in the park.

See our Events Calendar for upcoming volunteer opportunities.

Join our campaign— Order your bumper stickers now!
Also available at:

Pullins Cyclery, 801 Main St., Chico
Sacramento River Preservation Trust, 631 Flume St., Chico

We've taken positions on some controversial issues related to Bidwell Park. Sometimes our positions have been misunderstood or misrepresented by those with opposing views. To help clear things up, we'd like to expose some of the...

Myths About Friends Of Bidwell Park

Myth:: FOBP opposes trails.
Fact:: We don't oppose trails. We regularly support trail maintenance projects and we are happy to see continued access to the park's trail system by hikers, bikers, and equestrians. We do oppose the development of new trails when there aren't adequate resources to properly maintain the existing ones.
Myth:: FOBP is against disc golf.
Fact:: We have nothing against disc golf. We do have concerns with the location of the current 39 hole, 40 acre course in Upper Park. There are very shallow soils in this environmentally fragile area. Native plants and animals are being severely impacted by this intensive use.; We think that disc golf would benefit from a move to a location that could be used year-round; someplace that is accessible to local kids and to people without cars.
Myth:: FOBP wants to restrict access to the park.
Fact:: We encourage everyone to get out and enjoy the park. Backers of development have implied that opposition to their projects somehow denies 'access' to people. Bidwell Park is a public park and everyone is free to explore it to their heart's content. It can be accessible without any need to destroy its natural character.