♪♪ Spanning 23 miles and 4800 acres, the American River Parkway has been called "Sacramento's Urban Gem."

It is home to many species and provides recreational opportunities for thousands.

Often, it is also at the center of debates regarding homelessness and the environment.

Dianna Poggetto of the American River Parkway Foundation joins us to talk about the importance of the parkway.

Diana, as the foundation's executive director, share with us, what does the American River Parkway mean to our region?

Well, thank you for having me.

I have to say, we are so fortunate to have the parkway in our community.

Where else in the United States do you have an open space with a ro- with a river that runs through the urban core?

There is nothing like it.

So, you know, first and foremost, the parkway is a flood conveyance zone.

It is for Folsom Dam to release water, but it's also that recreational habitat that we all love.

So, we are so fortunate to have it.

4800 acres to go explore right in our backyard.

Hmm.

And beyond the numbers, give us a sense of the scale and diversity of the parkway.

So, you have the topography that changes.

You have Discovery Park, which is right there at the confluence of the American and Sacramento Rivers.

And as you go up towards Folsom Lake, you have different topography.

You have the red rocks, the clay banks.

You have swings.

You can- You've got golf courses.

You can go rafting down the American River.

You can go fishing.

Think about the salmon fishing that exists.

Equestrian trails.

You know, there's so much to see and do, plus the old tailings from the mining days, because that's what the parkway used to be.

It was all for mining.

Hmm.

Really?

'Cause- Uh, 'cause it does raise the question, how did the parkway itself come to be established in the first place?

So, when you think about the history of the parkway, it was, first, Native American- the Nisenan- and then it went to agriculture, mining, back to agriculture.

And in the sixties, Sacramento County and, actually, the city of Sacramento both said, "We need to make this a... a park."

And William Pond, who was the actual director of Regional Parks, said, "Let's go after some federal money," and that's what they did.

And that's how they started being able to buy sections of the land to create what we now know as the American River Parkway.

And when you think about other areas of the country, what else comes to mind that has such areas that have such significant urban parkways, such as Sacramento does with the American River?

So, it's not necessarily an urban parkway, but New York, of course, has Central Park.

San Francisco has Golden Gate Park.

Austin has their park system.

But there's nothing that compares to the river that runs through it.

San Antonio, they man- they have a river, but they- it's manmade.

So, you know, the difference is that this is a natural urban river, which is why it's unique, because the parkway is considered a natural and scenic river because of its recreational abilities.

Not because it's this beautiful river that runs through, but it's because of its recreational abilities.

You know, you said something in response to me just a moment ago I want to come back to.

My experience with the American River Parkway is primarily within the urban core of Sacramento, and you mentioned it's also rural.

Give... give people a sense of what that transition looks like, and it runs from where to where?

So, the... the parkway in which the county manages and what the foundation works on runs from the confluence of the American and Sacramento Rivers up to Hazel Avenue.

And through there, you actually go through four municipalities.

You have the city of Sacramento, the unincorporated of Sacramento County, the city of Rancho Cordova, and a little bit of Folsom, which is why the American River Parkway itself is governed by something called the "Parkway Plan," which is actually a piece of state legislation.

So, in order to do anything on the parkway, it has to comply with the Parkway Plan.

OK, all right.

But primarily, you can't go build houses on the Parkway.

Well, I'm sure...

I'm sure that the people that use the parkway on an ongoing basis really appreciate that.

- Right.

- And what activities is the parkway typically known for and used for?

-So, you have cycling because we have a class A bike trail.

There are runners.

There are marathon runners.

You have equestrians, fishermen, birdwatchers, kayakers, paddlers of any type.

Um, you have just people out looking at nature.

You have dogs.

You have people that also come out and enjoy a... a picnic out on the parkway or a family reunion.

And then, of course, you have Discovery Park that's utilized for concerts the- that are- benefit the whole entire region.

Mmhmm.

And... and specifically for childrens and... and... and families, are there any particular activities that they tend to be attracted to the most?

So, for children, there are also a number of organizations- Effie Yeaw Nature Center, the fish hatchery- that provide educational classes- Soil Born Farms, River... River Bend Outdoor Education.

So, they could go there through school for field trips.

But for families, it's great rec- I mean, it's great to go out and be able to explore just what is out on the parkway.

What are the tailings?

Where did they come from?

You know, what are the native plants?

And what are- You know, if you're out there, you're going to see a coyote, most likely.

You're going to see jackrabbits.

You're going to see turkeys, especially when it's mating season.

So, the wildlife and the natural wildlife they're going to be able to see is just phenomenal.

Hmm.

Uh, you... you use the word "tailings."

What is that?

So, tailings are the old mining and the old rocks, which were leftovers from the mining days.

So, whether that was mining done through the Gold Rush or mining done through, like, a granite or teichert, those are the... the big cobbles that are left throughout the entire parkway.

Okay.

Okay.

And you're talking about a lot of interaction with the parkway.

But I got to ask, how- Do people within this region really know about all of the amenities that the parkway has and... and utilize it, uh, as much as, say, people in New York utilize Central Park?

I say no to that.

And we- the foundation commissioned a survey in December of 2019 and it was throughout the entire Sacramento County and we found out that about 90% of residents of Sacramento County did not know the parkway as the entire parkway, all 23 miles.

They might have known Discovery Park or they might have known, like, Sunrise, where you can go raft, but they didn't realize they all connected via the bike trail.

So, that is... that is a... a key that we're trying to educate the community about, what the parkway has to offer and how to access the parkway.

Hmm.

Well, what do you think- Just from your perspective, because you're in and around the parkway on a constant basis, what do you think is one of the coolest amenities of the parkway that's the most underutilized by the people that live here?

I would say definitely going down to the red rocks.

And I say that because they're flat red clay rocks- I've never heard of Red- OK.

I've never heard of these Red Rocks.

Where are they, and... and what's that all about?

They're actually in William Pond Park and they're down off the equestrian trail, kind of next to the river.

But you- There's a trail that you can walk on and there are these great flat rocks.

You can go out into the river, sit there.

But you're just like, "I'm in Sacramento, and these clay rocks are here."

What- You would expect to see them in Moab or something, you know, because they're... they're so red, but you have that.

But then, you can go up a mile and you have a different complete topography, which is what makes the parkway so unique.

If you went up to River Bend, it's very, very, uh, I would want to say tons of mining tailings.

And so, you're walking on very uneven ground.

But down at William Pond, it's all smooth and you have these great big flat red rocks.

OK, you've given... you've given us one discovery today.

Anything else that comes to mind that you wish that people, uh, used more or... or were more aware of that you think is really cool?

I would say definitely also being in Discovery Park.

Discovery Park is really unique because, one, you're at the confluence of the Sacramento and American River.

And so, you can look up or down the Sacramento River and then look up the American, which is really unique.

But just some of the vegetation through there.

And you're standing there and you can see all of downtown Sacramento.

And just to have that visual of the two is just really, really unique.

And, you know, that uniqueness of... of that particular area, it... it does appear.

Even- You know, I know we've been locked down in the pandemic and we're just emerging.

But Discovery Park is becoming, like, a huge draw, not just locally, but outside for concerts and... and those sort of festival-like events.

Was that planned for or was that unexpected, in terms of how popular that venue has become?

You know, I think it's fabulous.

I mean, you look at any other major city and how do they utilize their parks to really boost up their... their tourism and to highlight what's so unique about this region?

You know, Austin has the South by Southwest festival.

Why can't Sacramento have a festival similar to that at Discovery Park?

You have 300 acres in Discovery Park.

That is huge, to be able to hold concerts.

And that's what has been being done, that you're able to hold concerts there and the whole entire community can be involved.

I had no idea that Discovery Park was that big.

- Yeah.

300 acres.

- Wow!

Well, with all of those amenities, one of the things that comes up on a constant basis when people talk about the parkway is, "Is it safe?"

How do you respond to those concerns?

It's- You know, it is definitely a question that we get asked daily.

Our office is actually in the parkway, um, and people come in, "Can I leave my car here?

Is it going to get broken into?"

And the reality is the parkway is safe.

When you think about the number of visitors that are on the parkway per day, as opposed to, you know, a city street, the parkway is safe.

But people have a perception that it is not safe because of the number of illegal campers that are on the parkway.

But overall, if you're out on the parkway and you're running and you're, you know, taking part, there is... there is not a fear that, you know, someone's going to come after you and... and butcher you or... or attack you.

It... it is more around where the homeless camps are.

Yeah, I was going to say, when you say "illegal campers," I assume you're talking about the homeless.

Correct?

- Correct.

- And give us a sense of the scale and magnitude of the homeless population along the parkway today.

I say the parkway is "ground zero" for the homeless within Sacramento County.

Really?

Tell me- Tell us the reasons you say that.

Well, we have figured through counting of tents up and down the entire parkway- and we have done this through our volunteers- that there are probably 2500 to 3,000 individuals that are residing on the parkway right now.

That is more than anywhere else, any other street corner, anything, in Sacramento County.

You know, recently, it was reported that Sacramento has eclipsed San Francisco in terms of the size of the homeless population.

When you talk about 2500 to 3,000, that's a small town right there, in terms of number of people.

How would you rate, on an A through F, uh, uh, grading system, the efforts of all of the jurisdictions you've worked with to address the homeless issues that exist on the parkway?

I would give them a D-minus.

OK. And... and tell us, teacher, um, how did you come to that grade?

For many years, it's out of sight, out of mind.

You know, if the homeless were not on the streets of downtown Sacramento, then it was fine.

If they were on the parkway, who was on the parkway?

But as we look at what is occurring currently with the number of homeless, with the amount of funding that's been coming to both the city and the county through COVID, and then the restrictions we've had because of COVID on moving unhoused, then in addition to that, you have the Boise versus Martin decision that says you can't move unhoused individuals from public land unless you have shelter space for them.

We're not- Sacramento, we are not doing enough to create shelter space.

- Mmhmm.

- And if they're not on the city streets, to a lot of people, they don't exist.

But they're on the parkway.

You say we're not doing enough to create housing for the homeless.

Uh, given... given that statement, how do you, uh, respond or react to this recent initiative or ordinance that a number of people have been putting forward that essentially requires the city to provide- the city of Sacramento, in this case, to provide shelter within a... a particular amount of time?

I agree with the fact that an ordinance needs to be created so it holds government or individuals accountable.

My concern is that if this ordinance is passed within the city of Sacramento, that means all those individuals that are on the city streets are going to move onto the parkway because the parkway is governed by the county.

Even though it's through the city- you know, you have ten miles through the city- it's still governed by Sacramento County.

So, my concern is you're going to- We're going to be moving them from one section to another section, but still not addressing enough housing or shelter space.

- And given the fact that you believe the parkway is "ground zero" for the homelessness issue here in Sacramento, what is it that local government, with that D grade, has not done that should have been done, that continues to exacerbate this problem?

I think, one, that- the reality- maybe the Point-In-Time count is a good reality for them to realize the increase in the numbers.

But two, really pushing forward with creative solutions, uh, creative housing solutions, shelter solutions.

You're going to have to look at how do we create shelter space for these individuals?

- I...

I want to come back...

I want to come back, before we move too far down that road, to you talking about the Point-In-Time counts.

Are those counts valid, in terms of describing the population that exists?

I think the Point-In-Time counts- and this has always been the case- they're only as good as the volunteers on that night and how many areas they went to.

I can tell you the Point-In-Time count that just concluded, that the data just came out on two weeks ago, they split the county of Sacramento up into 242 sections.

They only counted within 142 of those sections.

So, a hundred sections were not counted.

In addition to that, this is the first time they have ever done a count on the American River Parkway, and they only did a count from Discovery Park to just below Northgate, which is one and a half miles.

Uh, one and a half miles of, forgive me, 23?

Mmhmm.

And our official count on the pop- presence of homeless is based on one mile.

Did you say one mile?

I would say- Let's say two miles.

Two miles out of 23.

- Mmhmm So, in terms of a- We'll go back to the grading system.

In terms of a grade, uh, how much validity would you give that current count?

From the Parkway Foundation's perspective?

From the... from the Parkway...

I would give it a D-minus also, because we did get 568 people counted, but it does not reflect what is occurring on the entire parkway.

And to be honest, I'm not sure when you do a Point-In-Time count, if I'm the organization that's in charge of it, do I want to show a higher number because that opens up additional funding?

Or do I want to show a lower number?

So, you know, I don't- Because if you show the lower number, what's the benefit of that?

- I don't know.

That's what I'm trying to understand.

To me- and I worked in the homeless years and years and years ago in the Bay Area.

I would want- To me, I would think you'd want to show the need for greater assistance and greater dollars.

Hmm.

Well, with that type of intensity, in terms of people camping on the river, what's the ecological impact that that intensity of presence, beyond people who are using the parkway for all of the... the different activities you described, having on the parkway and its, uh, sustainability?

First and foremost, the... the largest is the fires that have occurred over the last two years.

I mean, in 2021, 18% of the parkway burned.

Those fires were all human-caused, right in homeless encampments.

So far, in 2022, we've already had 120 fires out on the parkway.

We are in July.

And these fires are 20 acres, 5 acres.

So, the ramifications of having to rehabilitate that land, to restore that land that is burnt from fire, it takes three to five years.

In addition to that, the... the unhoused that are on the parkway are compacting all that soil.

To you and I, why is that important?

We're in the middle of a drought and that hard soil, if water can't penetrate it, then all the native vegetation dies.

And if it keeps getting compacted and compacted, in addition to that, the camps- If you've ever gone to a camp cleanup, there are batteries.

There are- There's bike shops, you know, chop shops that are there.

There's garbage.

All of that gets in to the soil and contaminates that soil, which then, if it's a high water year, all of that washes down.

In addition to that, because of the encampments, the water quality has gone down within the American River.

To think about it, the American River is what we all drink within Sacramento County.

There are five different wells and the different water purveyors.

Yes, it's treated, but the... the Department of Water Resources has been doing E. coli tests up and down the parkway.

And those tests also correlate to where the high concentration of camps are.

Why is there a high concentration of dog feces?

Well, most of the campers all have dogs.

And all through those areas are huge campsites.

Why is there additional bird feces?

Well, all the trash that's there, what are the birds going to do?

So, all of it correlates to the impact of the... of the homeless on the actual parkway.

Wow.

Wow.

You know, when you describe these issues, um, it's amazing that this aspect of impact really is not- I...

I can't recall hearing a lot about it in the local media, but, um, I believe that The Washington Post recently did an article that talked about the Parkway and some of these impacts.

What is it exactly that brought them out here to study the parkway?

Well, they came out because they thought there was a lot of- happening within Sacramento, in re... in regards- in relation to homelessness.

And the ordinance within the city was one, and how does that relate?

Because there was a similar ordinance in... in L.A. And they came and actually were able to take a tour of the parkway, as well as Roseville Road and other areas highly impacted by homeless.

And it was amazing to see their response.

They also feel strongly that Sacramento is going to figure it out.

So, I hope with our efforts through, you know, communicating that we can bring the awareness to the community, so they understand the... the long term effects of what is occurring.

And in our final moments, I wanted to ask you if there were three things that the foundation could magically make happen with whomever is in charge of whatever it is that... that it might be, what three things could be done that would make a difference, that would improve the parkway and address the issues that you're so concerned about?

I would say one is being able to find additional shelter space or create work with individuals to... to develop additional shelter space.

Two, to look at the parkway and the effects of it as a public health crisis.

Not only environmental, but a public health crisis.

And three, to be able to communicate to the community to come out and enjoy the parkway for what it is, because our belief is as long as there are individuals that are out on the parkway, those that want to be hidden will not be there.

Because you- think about it, the homeless aren't sleeping on the bike trail.

They're deep in... in the brush.

So, as long as we have active users out on the parkway and enjoying it for what it's there for, I think that will... that will change the face of the parkway.

All right.

And I think we'll leave it there.

And that's our show.

Thanks to our guest, and thanks to you for watching Studio Sacramento.

I'm Scott Syphax.

See you next time right here on KVIE.

♪♪ All episodes of Studio Sacramento, along with other KVIE programs, are available to watch online at KVIE.org/video.