For the last two years, County parks has been working diligently to improve our customer service. A focus has been placed on the Lopez Lake Recreation Area due to the intense use and the need to serve the 385,000 annual visitors.

Those of you who have visited Lopez Lake in the last year have probably noticed the improvements made to the office building and entry station. what you have not seen inside are the new computer terminals, network server, printers and other technological improvements that have made it easier for us to serve the needs of our visitors. Last winter County parks completed the renovation of the office facilities and added a new phone system that allows callers to receive a message and then go into queuing to wait for the next available agent. This was done to facilitate making campsite reservations. No more calling and hoping you get through. We are now better able to serve our customer needs, truly on a first-come, first-served basis.

The next step in this evolutionary process was to efficiently speed up the process. So we added a T-1 line to speed communications. The T-1 line was installed in preparation of County Parks developing the capability for on-line reservation requests. However, in order to assist customers and potential park visitors, we wanted to better answer any questions they may have before requesting a reservation. We needed to improve our Website! In june of 2002, County Parks newly renovated website went on-line. Our domain name remains the same (www.slocountyparks.com).

Since launching our improved site, we have received thousands of hits and our website is gaining in popularity. With the addition of on-line reservations for overnight camping, business has been brisk. The success of our pilot program has encouraged County Parks to expand the reservation on-line requests to include Day Use reservations. So now, to make it easier for the public to reserve group picnic areas, County parks has included individual and Group Day Use reservations to its on-line capabilties.

In both cases, web surfers can expect a detailed response to their reservation requests within 24 hours. The site is hosted by New Image Technologies, Inc. of San Luis Obispo and managed by Operations Coordinator Mike Baker. the site is being visited an average of 900 times per day. As we thought, the web has become a powerful tool for showcasing who we are and what we do. Now that we are building expanded web services for visitors who want to camp or hold special events, we expect the number of reservations we process on-line to increase significantly.

Lopez Lake - Nobody saw this one coming. At 10:00 a.m. on a quiet mid-September day, local fisherman Thomas Ditzel of Santa Maria, hooked into an unsuspecting denizen of Lopez Lake. The fine fat fellow bit hard on a rooster tail and fought heartily until Mr. Ditzel pulled it from the waters of Marina Cove.
The gigantic pan fish (see photo below) is receiving medial attention because no one can remember a bluegill bigger than that caught at Lopez. After a certified weigh-in, Supervising Ranger Ken Klis has researched the matter so see if the Lopez fish sets a statewide size record for a California Bluegill. The result: our catch missed the state record weight by only one-hundredth of a pound! Somewhere else a 3.8 -pound fish was hauled in. "I think it was a record fish" said Klis. "It's just that the angler waited a few hours before weighing it so it probably weighted more initially." He then added optimistically, "I'm sure a state record lurks out there somewhere." Who knows, maybe an even bigger bluegill is still out there. If a state record could still be hooked, it's probably at Lopez Lake!

Locals frequenting Heilmann Park in Atascadero were curious about the basket-like structures recently popping up around the park. It didn't take long, however, for them to figure out what they were. "Disc golf?" replied a pair of elderly ladies walking their dogs through the park. "What's disc golf?" Head out to Heilmann Park on any afternoon and you will undoubtedly find out. Dozens of disc golf fans throughout tht county have been frequenting the course and have the park humming with activity on a daily basis. Park Ranger Brian Wilder is amazed at the boost in park attendance. "I never thought it would catch on like this. At leas 20 people a day play out there." Disc golf has been a popular activity for many years across the United States. If made its central coast debut locally at Waller Park in Santa Maria.

Parks Superintendent Ernie Del Rio knows a few things about that course: he designed it. H had hopes of designing a similar course in San Luis Obispo County. Last year, Boy Scout Eric Baranek, who wanted to put together a course as part of his Eagle Scout project, approached Del Rio. "The timing was perfect," said Del Rio, "he needed a project and we wanted to get the ball rolling." Baranek completed the course just before summer and it has been a hit since the 18th hole went in.

Disc golf is played much like regular golf, only you throw a plastic disc, much like a Frisbee, into baskets or "holes." The holes vary in distance and the game can be quite challenging. "It's not as easy as it looks," said first timer David Conner from Paso Robles.

While it may take practice to make it to the competitive level (yes, there is a Professional Disc Golf Association) the novice can have a great time learning the game. "I have seen kids in strollers out there as well," said Del Rio. "It's a great family sport." It is hoped that interest in the course will sprout a disc golf club and possibly tournament play. the course will continue to develop and time will tell. Until then, as the disc golfers say, "aim at the chain!"

When it comes to solving chronic pest problems at Morro Bay and Dairy Creek Golf Courses, the facilities have quite simply gone to the birds! What golf course staff and the Golf Course Resource Committee have discovered is that Mother Nature may have the answers to some of our best control problems. By installing bird boxes at the two County operated golf courses, we have reduced some nagging pest problems.

At Dairy Creek Golf Course, staff built and installed eight large nesting boxes two years ago to provide shelter for local barn owls. the objective was to enlarge the barn owl population, which in turn would help reduce the excessive rodent population found on this site.

Barn owls are nocturnal feeders with exceptional vision and hearing. They forage open fields searching for mice, ground squirrels, gophers and other small mammals. In the spring, the females nest and rear their young. during this period hunting activities are especially high since the adults must gather enough food to feed the every-hungry owlets. The captured prey is torn apart and swallowed- bones, skull and all. the indigestible parts are formed into pellets and disgorged at the roosting site or about the nest. During annual nest box cleaning operations at Dairy Creek, staff has noted that most boxes contained up to 8 inches of pellet material, indicative of the abundant harvest achieved by these beneficial birds. These "cats with wings" are certainly earning their keep in the maintenance of Dairy Creek Golf Course and are a valuable component of the facility's pest control program. Many new barn owls are now enjoying their golf course-front homes and are actively patrolling the property at dark. Whooo-Whooo!

Another success story involving pest control and our feathered friends is happening at Morro Bay Golf Course. Here the pest is one with a more annoying nature, at least for summertime golfers and visitors to Morro Bay State Park. during those long summer days, the annual outbreak of salt marsh mosquitoes takes place and drives most visitors straight for an insect repellent bath.

Over the years, staff has attempeted many different options to combat this local problem with limited success. the Golf Course Resource Committee then invited Dr. Richard Davis, biologist with California State Health, to address the group about this problem. Dr. Davis suggested employing tree swallows as a potential solution to the mosquito problem.

Tree swallows are a migratory species and appear on the California Central Coast in spring in search of nesting sites. In the fall and winter they form migratory flocks and head to the southern coast of the United States, Mexico and Central America. This migration pattern matches perfectly the time when mosquitoes appear at Morro Bay Golf Course (June - September). Equally important, tree swallows capture insects during daylight hours, whic is exactly when golfers are out to play. The swallows forage over land and water feeding on other flying insects such as beetles, midges, crane flies, horseflies, moths, grasshoppers, dragonflies and mayflies. It appeared that this species was going to be a good match for the mosquito problems at Morro Bay. In the spring of 2002, staff constructed and installed seventeen nest boxes at Morro Bay Golf Course for tree swallows. by April, swallows began appearing and by midsummer the birds were abundant and could be seen swerving and dipping ghrough the air gathering their daily diet of flying insects. Consequently, the mosquito population of the golf course during this past summer was very low and quite tolerable. What ap leasant change from past years! When golf course staff performed the annual fall cleaning of the next boxes, they noted that about 80% of them had been inhabited during the previous summer. After only one year, the tree swallow program appeared to be a great success.

The barn owl and tree swallow programs are examples of integrated pest management programs used at your county golf courses as part of the Audubon Cooperative Sancturary Program of Golf Courses. this program is designed to protect and enhance wildlife habitat and natural resources on golf courses. Morro Bay Golf Course is one of only ten golf courses in California to achieve the coveted "Certified Sanctuary" rating in the Audubon Cooperative Program. Dairy Creek Golf Course is well underway to achieving the same "Sanctuary" program status.