New:

See our Bidwell Park Invasive Plants presentation [pdf] as shown at two recent Park Division team leader training sessions.

Soil scientist Andrew Conlin will be leading free, public, guided walks on the Soils, Landforms, and Vegetation of the North State Saturday, April 21st at 9 am, meet at parking area B in Upper Bidwell Park and Saturday, May 19th at the Big Chico Creek Ecological Reserve. More information.

Upcoming — FOBP plans to have tables at these events:

Saturday, May 5th: The Butte Environmental Council 33rd Annual Endangered Species Faire
Thursday, May 10th: Bike Night on the Plaza downtown Chico.

A new version of our printable (pdf) poster with information on how to identify and control puncturevine is on our page about puncturevine. With its sharp, thorny burs that pierce tires, paws, and shoes, puncturevine is the leading cause of bicycle flat tires.

We recently removed about 300 European olive trees from the cork oak tree area within Cedar Grove. Feral (untended) olive trees can be a host for the olive fruit fly, a pest that reduces the value of Butte County's commercial olive crop. Also, because of their density, these olive trees were a security problem for park users.

Before and after photos of olive tree removal

Olive removal, before and after.

Thanks!

We'd like to thank the Bidwell Mansion Community Project for inviting local non-profits to table at their fun run/walk to keep Bidwell Mansion open to the public.

New Internship and Mentorship Program

One Mile dam and footbridge — photo by intern Eddie Wilson

Friends of Bidwell Park (FOBP) are excited about our new Internship Program, which allows students to gain important job, communications and leadership skills while completing independent projects that directly benefit Bidwell Park. With six CSU Chico students already having completed the program and two more recently signed-up, it has quickly proven its value. Read More

Friends of Bidwell Park intern Rick Helgerson mapped and photographed all of the Lower and Middle Park rock dams that were constructed by park users in the summer of 2011.

Puncturevine

The dreaded puncturevine (aka goathead) season is here. Be part of the solution, not the problem!

Four sets of aerial photos of the park made by Chico Photographer Bruce King are part of our continuing effort to document the park from the air. Each set has hundreds of photos and are available online:

Internship Opportunities!

Learn more about Bidwell Park, gain valuable work experience, find out how a non-profit organization operates, plan and lead environmental activities, and more. See Internships for some Friends of Bidwell Park projects. You don't need to be a student to be an intern!

How to contact your City Councilors and Park Commissioners

See our Reasons to Keep Upper Park Wild

FOBP on-site volunteer hours to-date:

13,402 hours of work contributed to volunteer projects in the park.

See our Events Calendar for upcoming park events and volunteer opportunities.

California Pipevine

Learn more.

Bidwell Park Master Management Plan (BPMMP)

The current BPMMP, adopted in June 2008, has many goals and objectives for the park.

O.IP-1. — Control or eliminate undesirable invasive plants that compete with or reduce native vegetation or degrade wildlife habitat.

This BPMMP objective is carried out by the city's volunteer coordinator, Lise Smith-Peters, who organizes numerous volunteer projects. These include restoration of an area north of Caper Acres, ongoing invasives removal projects at One Mile, Cedar Grove, Annie's Glen, and Five Mile, species-focused eradication efforts, and vegetation management projects at picnic sites adopted by volunteers.

FOBP have spent thousands of hours removing privet trees and other invasive species from Bidwell Park, with more than 900 public volunteer work sessions offered to date. Upcoming sessions can be viewed on our calendar.

Friends of Bidwell Park is a 501(C)(3) nonprofit organization. All contributions are now tax-deductible!

Please send donations to: Friends of Bidwell Park, PO Box 4852, 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.

Your help will be sincerely appreciated and go towards our current projects.

The mission of Friends of Bidwell Park is to raise awareness, encourage learning, and facilitate personal and community involvement in the conservation and sustainable use of Bidwell Park.