CSU, Chico News

Jeff Mott, director of the Big Chico Creek Ecological Reserve (BCCER), announced the completion of a nature trail guide that is posted on the reserve Web site under "Public Use" and available to the public.

Paul Maslin, retired from the Department of Biological Sciences, designed and constructed the trail with the help of Mott, volunteer Bruce Gallaway and two CSU, Chico graduate students, Mark Lynch and John Rowden. Maslin created the trail guide.

The trail is a combination of old and new. It originates at the kiosk at the BCCER headquarters and follows an old road for approximately 0.2 miles. The rest of the 0.7 mile trail is newly constructed.

BCCER will offer natural history hikes this spring. For these guided hikes, participants meet a docent at the Park and Ride on Highway 32 and carpool to the BCCER.

People who wish to hike on their own can visit the BCCER Web site, click on "Public Use" and complete a permit application. Those hikers who are not part of an organized hike must park on Highway 32 and walk in.

The BCCER contains almost 3,950 acres of diverse canyon and ridge habitats and protects 4.5 miles of Big Chico Creek. It was created with the purchase of the Simmons Ranch in 1999 and the Henning Ranch in 2001. It is owned by the California State University, Chico Research Foundation and managed by the Bidwell Environmental Institute.

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This entry was posted on Friday, February 23rd, 2007 at 9:14 am and is filed under 2007 Spring.