By Norman La Force
Photo credit: Corral Hollow Creek in Tesla Park, courtesy of Save Tesla Park.
For nearly three decades, the California State Parks Department has attempted to expand the Carnegie Off-Road Vehicle Park that straddles Eastern Alameda and Western San Joaquin Counties by adding the area known as Corral Hollow or “Tesla Park.” The Sierra Club, along with Friends of Tesla Park and the Sustainability, Parks, Recycling, and Wildlife Legal Defense Fund (SPRAWLDEF), has opposed this expansion because it would cause valuable habitat areas to be destroyed by off-road joyriding, as the lands of the existing Carnegie Park have been.
A few years ago, the State Parks department completed an environmental impact report (EIR) on allowing off-road vehicles into Tesla Park. A number of organizations and entities sued, including the County of Alameda, which recently won a major legal victory. The court agreed with the County that State Parks had failed to prepare an adequate EIR, especially since it did not include a non-motorized alternative.
This is a victory for wildlife and habitat, but it is not the end of the story. State Parks can attempt another environmental impact report, and if deemed adequate, could have their expansion approved.
In 2019, Governor Newsom refused to sign a bill that would have given State Parks the authority to sell or transfer the area to another park agency, or place a conservation easement over the land to protect it. Local groups have already gathered the funds to purchase and permanently protect the land, they just need Newsom to allow them the opportunity.
Late last year, Newsom signed an executive order supporting the protection of California’s biodiversity. We need to help Newsom understand that saving Tesla Park would directly align with this goal.
Tesla Park is a biodiversity hotspot, recognized by generations of scientists and confirmed by ongoing research. The area is home to a multitude of threatened, endangered and special status plants and animals, and sensitive vegetation habitats. Furthermore, it provides a critical habitat corridor connecting Mount Diablo and the Diablo Range. The land is also important to descendants of California Native American Tribes for its archeological and spiritual features, including sacred ceremonial and burial sites. Tesla Park is the quintessential biologically diverse, culturally significant landscape that must be preserved.
Governor Newsom can take administrative action and re-designate Tesla Park for conservation with no motorized vehicle recreation. You can urge him to do so by sending him a short message using Sierra Club California’s recent action alert, or by sending your own personalized letter to the following address:
Governor Gavin Newsom
1303 10th Street, Suite 1173
Sacramento, CA 95814
By permanently preserving Tesla Park, we can combat climate change and achieve our goal of protecting 30% of the state’s wildlands by 2030. Allowing Tesla Park to be destroyed by air-polluting, greenhouse gas-emitting, environmentally destructive motorized recreation would be a step backwards in our fight against climate change and our mission to protect biologically rich and culturally important lands.