Washoe Meadows Community v. Cal. Dept. of Parks and Rec. CA1/5

I. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

The Department has the authority to “administer, protect, develop, and interpret the property under its jurisdiction for the use and enjoyment of the public.” (Pub. Resources Code, § 5003.) The Commission, located within the Department (Pub. Resources Code, § 530), has responsibility for establishing “general policies for the guidance of the director [of the Department] in the administration, protection, and development of the state park system” (Pub. Resources Code, § 539) and setting “comprehensive recreational policy” for the state (Pub. Resources Code, § 540). In 1984, the State of California acquired 777 acres of land encompassing a 1.5-mile stretch of the Upper Truckee River in the southern section of the Tahoe Basin. The Department was charged with managing this property in a manner promoting its environmental and recreational values. The Commission divided the parcel into two units: 608 acres designated as Washoe Meadows State Park (State Park), whose purpose was to preserve and protect a wet meadow, and 134 acres designated as the Lake Valley State Recreation Area (Recreation Area), to allow for the continuing operation of a preexisting…