Anderson Marsh State Historic Park is a

California State Historic Park List of California State Historic Parks — a division of the California Department of Parks and Recreation, for historic sites in California. List * Anderson Marsh State Historic Park * Antelope Valley Indian Museum State Historic Park *Bal ...

and

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

preserving a tule marsh, archaeological sites of the

Pomo people The Pomo are an Indigenous people of California. Historical Pomo territory in Northern California was large, bordered by the Pacific Coast to the west, extending inland to Clear Lake, and mainly between Cleone and Duncans Point. One small gr ...

, and historic ranch structures. It is located in Lake County,

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, United States. Anderson Marsh is located at the head of Cache Creek on the southeast corner of Clear Lake, the largest natural lake completely within the borders of California. The park is between the cities of Lower Lake and Clearlake on State Route 53, north of Calistoga in the

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are m ...

country. The park is open year-round.

Natural history

The Anderson Marsh Park contains of native bunch grass-covered hills,

oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...

woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with trees, or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the ''plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade (se ...

, and Tule ''(Schoenoplectus acutus)'' marshes. It protects several

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

s including: freshwater

marsh A marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p Marshes can often be found a ...

wetland A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The p ...

native Native may refer to: People * Jus soli, citizenship by right of birth * Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory ** Native Americans (disambiguation) In arts and entert ...

grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses ( Poaceae). However, sedge ( Cyperaceae) and rush ( Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes, like clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur na ...

California oak woodland California oak woodland is a plant community found throughout the California chaparral and woodlands ecoregion of California in the United States and northwestern Baja California in Mexico. Oak woodland is widespread at lower elevations in coastal ...

s, and

riparian A riparian zone or riparian area is the interface between land and a river or stream. Riparian is also the proper nomenclature for one of the terrestrial biomes of the Earth. Plant habitats and communities along the river margins and banks a ...

s. Aquatic and terrestrial wildlife include: large mouth bass, bluegill, catfish, crappie, the north-

western pond turtle The Western pond turtle (''Actinemys marmorata''), also known commonly as the Pacific pond turtle is a species of small to medium-sized turtle in the family Emydidae. The species is endemic to the western coast of the United States and Mexico, r ...

bat Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera.''cheir'', "hand" and πτερόν''pteron'', "wing". With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most ...

gray fox The gray fox (''Urocyon cinereoargenteus''), or grey fox, is an omnivorous mammal of the family Canidae, widespread throughout North America and Central America. This species and its only congener, the diminutive island fox (''Urocyon littor ...

frog A frog is any member of a diverse and largely carnivorous group of short-bodied, tailless amphibians composing the order Anura (ανοὐρά, literally ''without tail'' in Ancient Greek). The oldest fossil "proto-frog" ''Triadobatrachus'' is ...

garter snake Garter snake is a common name for generally harmless, small to medium-sized snakes belonging to the genus ''Thamnophis'' in the family Colubridae. Native to North and Central America, species in the genus ''Thamnophis'' can be found from the ...

s, mink, muskrats, opossums,

raccoon The raccoon ( or , ''Procyon lotor''), sometimes called the common raccoon to distinguish it from other species, is a mammal native to North America. It is the largest of the procyonid family, having a body length of , and a body weight of ...

, river otter, skunks, and

toad Toad is a common name for certain frogs, especially of the family Bufonidae, that are characterized by dry, leathery skin, short legs, and large bumps covering the parotoid glands. A distinction between frogs and toads is not made in scient ...

s. Approximately 151 different bird species, both migrating and resident, have been identified in the park.

History

The Southeastern

Pomo The Pomo are an Indigenous people of California. Historical Pomo territory in Northern California was large, bordered by the Pacific Coast to the west, extending inland to Clear Lake, and mainly between Cleone and Duncans Point. One small ...

Native Americans, one of the largest groups of

indigenous peoples of the Americas The Indigenous peoples of the Americas are the inhabitants of the Americas before the arrival of the European settlers in the 15th century, and the ethnic groups who now identify themselves with those peoples. Many Indigenous peoples of the A ...

pre-Columbian In the history of the Americas, the pre-Columbian era spans from the original settlement of North and South America in the Upper Paleolithic period through European colonization, which began with Christopher Columbus's voyage of 1492. Usually, ...

California, lived in the area of present-day Anderson Marsh State Historic Park, and their descendants continue to do so nearby. Anderson Marsh's

archaeological site An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline of archaeology a ...

s provide artifacts of the Pomo people. Some sites are among the oldest found in California, dated at over 10,000 years old. After recording 43 prehistoric sites, John Parker nominated the area to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

and began a campaign to have the sites acquired as a new State Park. John Grigsby homesteaded in 1854 with his family, and built a small house. Scotsman John Still Anderson, with his wife and six children, bought the property from Grigsby in 1884, built what is now known as the Ranch House, and ran a dairy and raised beef cattle. Their descendants lived in the Ranch House until the 1960s. The State Historic Park was named after John Still Anderson in 1982 after the State of California acquired the Anderson Marsh.

Visitor attractions

Activities

The park offers

bird watching Birdwatching, or birding, is the observing of birds, either as a recreational activity or as a form of citizen science. A birdwatcher may observe by using their naked eye, by using a visual enhancement device like binoculars or a telescope, by ...

, hiking, a bluegrass musical festival, and interpretive programs, including a historic ranch home.

Anderson Marsh Interpretive Association - AMIA

The Anderson Marsh Interpretive Association (AMIA) was formed in 1984 by park staff and other volunteers. The primary objective of the association is to promote the education and interpretive activities of the park. AMIA also funds projects including:

habitat conservation Habitat conservation is a management practice that seeks to conserve, protect and restore habitats and prevent species extinction, fragmentation or reduction in range. It is a priority of many groups that cannot be easily characterized in te ...

and restoration work, trail accessibility construction and maintenance, interpretive displays and written information, facilities, historical objects rehabilitation, and acquiring interpretive items.

Closure proposal

Anderson Marsh State Historic Park is one of 70

California state parks The California Department of Parks and Recreation, more commonly known as California State Parks, manages the California state parks system. The system administers 279 separate park units on 1.4 million acres (570,000 hectares), with over 280 ...

scheduled to close in 2012 by California Governor

Jerry Brown Edmund Gerald Brown Jr. (born April 7, 1938) is an American lawyer, author, and politician who served as the 34th and 39th governor of California from 1975 to 1983 and 2011 to 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected Secretary of ...

. The park will close July 2012 to achieve part of the $11 million budget reduction for the 2011/2012 fiscal year. This park and 47 other state parks were previously slated for closure in 2008 for financial reasons,"CalParks.org: 2008 Park Closures Announced"
but was saved from closure.

References

Books

*Anderson, John Still, & Dickson, J. D. (1878)
Decisions in the Court of Session from 1800 to 1878 in cases concerned with the agriculture of Scotland
Edinburgh: W. Blackwood and Sons. *California. (1975)
The fish and wildlife resources of Anderson Marsh, Clear Lake, Lake County
acramento, Calif. State of California, Dept. of Fish and Game. *California. (1984)
Anderson Marsh project and proposed natural preserve proposed primary historic zone
Sacramento. *California. (1989)
Anderson Marsh State Historic Park general plan
acramento? State of California, the Resources Agency, Dept. of Parks and Recreation. *California. (1996)
Anderson Marsh State Historic Park
Sacramento, CA: California State Parks. *Scholz, S. (1997)
An interpretive trail guide to the natural features of Anderson Marsh State Historic Park
Clearlake, CA: The author. *Scavone, K. (1999)
Anderson Marsh State Historic park: a walking history, prehistory, flora, and fauna tour of a California state park
.l. Bradford Creek Publishers.

Videography

*White, G., Fredrickson, D. A., Thomas, D., Fredrickson, V.-M., Levinson, B., Thomas, T., & Huffman, M. (1994)
Sharing the neighborhood for 5000 years the people of the lake and the uplands
acramento California Dept. of Transportation. *Howser, H. (2001)
California's gold
#3001, Clear Lake. os Angeles, Calif. Huell Howser Productions.

Notes

External links

Anderson Marsh State Historic ParkAnderson Marsh Interpretive Association
{{Protected areas of California, SP 1982 establishments in California Archaeological sites in California California State Historic Parks Grasslands of California Historic house museums in California History of Lake County, California Marshes of California Museums in Lake County, California Native American history of California Nature reserves in California Parks in Lake County, California Pre-Columbian archaeological sites Protected areas established in 1982 Landforms of Lake County, California