Whiskeytown National Recreation Area

Happy Halloween (almost)!!! In the spirit of spookiness, what #whiskeytownwildlife are you most afraid of encountering? From all of us to all of you, have a spooky, safe, and happy holiday - and remember, being aware of your surroundings and not exploring the park alone can go a long long long way. Image Description: Mountain lion and rattlesnake. Both of these feared and respected animals can be found within the park. Photos courtesy of our friends over at U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. #whiskeytownnationalrecreationarea #whiskeytownlake

He checks the park's drinking water and wastewater treatment facilities all day every day for five days a week, and what does he do on his lunch break? Watches and listens to the natural flow of water!!! Chris Blevins, one of our three water treatment specialists, took this 15 second video clip of Boulder Creek the other day. Watch and listen to what award-winning author and conservationist Wallace Stegner refers to as "the sound of mountain water." #naturezen #SlowTV #slowdown #whiskeytownnature #whiskeytownnationalrecreationarea #whiskeytownlake Every family, and every individual, should get to know at least one creek or river. Which waterway do you know and why?

CALLING ALL 5TH GRADERS (AND THEIR PARENTS!): download the pass by clicking the photo below, print it, and then go! Not just 4th graders and their families but also 5TH GRADERS AND THEIR FAMILIES can now visit the National Park System and National Wildlife Refuge System for free through the end of the school year. Whiskeytown, White Sands, Lava Beds, Lassen, Curecanti, Cabrillo, okay, yes, fine, there's also those crown jewels called Yellowstone, Yosemite, and Grand Canyon. But whatever park(s) you choose, c'mon man, let's go! #whiskeytownlake #whiskeytownnationalrecreationarea #findyourpark #EncuentraTuParque

Since it's International Bat Week, let's talk about bats, baby!!! Your next door neighbor: "But bats are disgusting. They suck blood like Dracula." You: "Only Vampire Bats do that, silly - and they aren't even found around here."... Why do bats deserve so much attention? Because they are rarely noticed, yet highly influential members of our world’s ecosystems. Almost 20% of all mammal species are bats (20%!!!). Whiskeytown alone has 13 different bat species, and all of them help to keep our insect populations in check (just imagine: if there were no bats, there would be so many more pesky mosquitoes, flies, and nats!). Other bats are important pollinators and seed dispersers. The bat pictured here is a Townsend’s big-eared bat that we found in our Tower House Historic District a few years back. Townsend’s bats have specially adapted ears which enable them to compete in a sort of evolutionary competition with the moths they prey upon. Some species of moths can detect the sonar frequencies that bats typically use to locate prey and either change their flight behavior or even jam the bat’s sonar with a sound of their own! Townsend’s bats outsmart the moths though by whispering their sonar; their big ears help to hear their own echolocating sonar while avoiding detection by the moths. #bats #batsarecool #whiskeytownwildlife #whiskeytownlake #whiskeytownnationalrecreationarea

Whiskeytown National Recreation Area owes its existence largely to local leaders working on the national stage at the right time in history, and arguably the most important local was James K. Carr (1914-1980), a Redding native and water and power engineer (he's shown here aside JFK). The James K. Carr Trail to Whiskeytown Falls, the most popular trail in the park, is named in his honor. Carr had an intimate understanding of the land that eventually became Whiskeytown. In his ...youth, he camped and hiked with his brother Laurence on the slopes of Shasta Bally. In the 1950s, Carr worked for U.S. Representative Clair Engle on Whiskeytown reservoir and dam legislation. And then, when John F. Kennedy became U.S. President in 1961, Kennedy's Secretary of the Interior, Stewart Udall, selected Carr as Undersecretary of the Interior, the #2 position in the department. As Undersecretary, Carr worked behind the scenes to create Whiskeytown as a large and federally managed park rather than a small and locally managed one. He and most of Redding's business and political leaders believed that a Whiskeytown National Recreation Area would be good for the area's economy. The national recreation area was also seen by many as fitting the need for more outdoor recreation opportunities. Carr, the local, was ironically on work assignment overseas when Kennedy dedicated Whiskeytown Dam, but after the president's assassination, Carr did actually dedicate the small but formal Kennedy Memorial at the side of the dam. And then, when the Whiskeytown National Recreation Area bill was up for passage, Carr pulled strings by calling on U.S. Senator Henry "Scoop" Jackson of Washington State, the powerful chairman of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. On November 8th, 2020, Whiskeytown National Recreation Area turns 55 years old. #whiskeytown55 #whiskeytownhistory #whiskeytownlake #whiskeytownnationalrecreationarea #californiahistory Image Description: Redding native James K. Carr walking with U.S. President John F. Kennedy.

High Wind Warning - Brandy Creek Beach is closed. If you are out and about in the park today, look up, look down, look all around. Since the Carr Fire, park staff and contractors have cut over 11,000 hazard trees (11,000!!!), but the chance for more to come down without notice is very real. #whiskeytownsafe #whiskeytownnationalrecreationarea #whiskeytownlake

Last call for entering your poem, essay, or free write in our first ever WHISKEYTOWN WRITE OUT COMPETITION. Thank you to Sidney Gotham, Mya Lewis, Gage Lindsey, Fallon Lindsey, Wren Lindsey, Heather Taylor, Natalie Taylor, and Kim Smith for your entries! Entries are due by Sunday, October 25th and can be emailed to me at [email protected]. The idea for this competition is to go to your favorite spot in the park, sit down, relax, reflect, and, well, write! The 1st place... contestant in each age bracket will get their writing published here and in our 2021 newspaper and will also get a $50 gift certificate from Friends of Whiskeytown. Age brackets are 7-12 (Youth); 13-18 (Teen); and 19+ (Adult). If you are seeking a writing prompt, we listed a couple earlier this week. #whiskeytownwriteout #WriteOut #whiskeytownfun #whiskeytownlake #whiskeytownnationalrecreationarea National Writing Project North State Parent Shasta County Office of Education Simpson University Photo courtesy of Stetson University.

Because of the recent increase in Shasta County's COVID-19 numbers, the park Visitor Center is temporarily closed until further notice. As always, for getting your weekly or annual entrance pass, you can stop by the Oak Bottom Campground Store or purchase online at https://www.recreation.gov/sitepass/74295. Also as always, some of our Visitor Center Bookstore products can be purchased at https://store.wnpa.org/.... And as a reminder, the park website (www.nps.gov/whis) has information on everything Whiskeytown - current conditions; camping and hiking opportunities; information on plants, wildlife, and park history; etc. Please be safe and healthy out there! #whiskeytownlake #whiskeytownnationalrecreationarea #whiskeytownsafe

Kennedy Shores! With a view downslope to beautiful Whiskeytown Lake, buy a big one-acre lot and build your dream house! Access to boating, fishing, swimming, and hunting nearby! After #whiskeytownlake and dam was dedicated by U.S. President John F. Kennedy in September 1963, but before the national recreation area was established in late 1965, at least four different corporations purchased substantial property around the lake and made plans and even advertisements (seen here...) for subdivisions. What would we have gained if these housing developments were to ultimately have been allowed near the lake? What have we gained by not having these developments here? Whiskeytown-Shasta-Trinity National Recreation Area turns 55 on November 8th. In the days leading up to this anniversary, you'll see posts from time to time that spotlight the park's establishment and its effect on land, water, and people. #whiskeytown55 #whiskeytownhistory #whiskeytownnationalrecreationarea #northerncaliforniahistory #shastacountyhistory

Like the wrinkles on a face, fire lines and dozer lines tell stories. They are familiar sights around Whiskeytown, even before the 2018 Carr Fire. Fire lines and dozer lines are two of the main tools firefighters use to manage a wildland fire. They are designed to remove one leg of the fire triangle of oxygen, fuel, and ignition source, and to slow or stop the progress of a fire. Since a wildland fire, once started, is it’s own ignition source, and since both fire and firefig...hters need the oxygen in the air, all that is left to tackle in the triangle is fuel. A fire line is dug by hand crews using shovel, pick, and other specialized hand tools. Hand crews work to create a line three feet wide, digging down six inches or more to remove the fuel-heavy topsoil. If the terrain allows, bulldozers are brought in to quickly build or widen the lines (the fire line then becomes a dozer line). These lines need to be wide enough to prevent smoldering, burning, or spotting by embers blowing or rolling across them. After the fire comes the long recovery phase. Here at Whiskeytown during the Carr Fire and even earlier this month during the Zogg Fire, fire lines and dozer lines were built through areas of historical and archeological significance and ecological concern. Teams from the National Park Service as well as from the interagency Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) team assessed the situation and strategized plans for protecting and restoring sensitive areas. You can see some of the protection efforts by visiting the Tower House Historic District here in the park. Working with our partners, Whiskeytown will continue to strive to provide the public with a picturesque natural environment for recreation while also managing for the reality of wildfire and the protection of human life and property. Image Description: this photo taken from Mule Town Road shows a dozer line on the slope of Kanaka Peak at the park’s boundary. The dozer line was created during the Zogg Fire. NPS Photo.

Just seven more days to enter your writing in our first ever #whiskeytownwriteout competition. Thanks to Heather Taylor and Kim Smith for submitting their essays already! Age brackets include Youth (ages 7 to 12), Teen (ages 13 to 18), and Adult (ages 19 and up). Winners in each category will get their writing published in next year's park newspaper and will also get a $50 gift certificate to our Visitor Center Bookstore, courtesy of Friends of Whiskeytown. You can write ANYT...HING you want so long as it relates to Whiskeytown and so long as you write it in Whiskeytown. You can write on your own notepad or you may pick up a booklet (shown here) at the Visitor Center, open Thursday to Monday, 10 am - 4 pm. Thanks to National Writing Project for inspiring this competition. #whiskeytownnationalrecreationarea #whiskeytownnature #whiskeytownfun #WriteOut Need a prompt to get started? How about one of these... 1. Walk to Guardian Rock Vista Point or hike to Whiskeytown Falls. Pause there for five minutes, and use your senses to experience the location. Write about you experience. What is nature telling you? 2. Go to the Tower House Historic District and meander along the self-guiding interpretive trail. After reading about some of the people who lived and worked there, create a fictional story about one of them.

Scurrying lizards are a common sight at Whiskeytown. Most commonly seen are Western fence lizards (lower photo), Sceloporus occidentalis, but occasionally a Shasta alligator lizard (upper photo), Elgaria coerulea shastensis, may catch your eye. Alligator lizards are larger than fence lizards, with smoother scales and a more tapered head. Both lizards are highly variable in color, but male fence lizards have a bright blue belly. Alligator lizard moms give birth to live young, while fence lizards lay eggs. Both lizards eat invertebrates such as insects and spiders, but the larger alligator lizard may also eat eggs and small vertebrates, including fence lizards! NPS Photos/Lisa Johnston. #whiskeytownnature #reptilesarecool #reptiles #whiskeytownlake #whiskeytownnationalrecreationarea

With Halloween just a couple of weeks away, we thought we'd share this spooky photo of a ray of sun hitting the Levi Tower Grave. The grave is located within our Tower House Historic District. Levi Tower himself (1820-1865) owned the property in the 1850s and had a successful orchard operation. He also owned his namesake hotel, which was located at the junction of Highway 299 and Trinity Mountain Road (the road to French Gulch). Thank you to Erika Puckett for this photo. #spookycalifornia #whiskeytownhistory #whiskeytownnationalrecreationarea #whiskeytownlake