ORANGE COUNTY PERSPECTIVE : Saving a Resource

The exciting renovation of O’Neill Regional Park’s campgrounds has come in time for the long holiday weekend. The challenge will be to protect this vital resource for future generations, even as we enjoy it now.

The need for a yearlong, $1.6-million overhaul was itself a commentary on the stress of surrounding development. As county parks chief Tim Miller notes, the encroachment of suburbia in the 45-year history of the park and the influx of well-meaning visitors have overtaxed the landscape.

To shore up the park for future demands, the county has renovated the 400-acre camping area, virtually redesigning overnight facilities. There are covered picnic areas, freshly paved roads and new camping and play areas.

In the past, the public has trampled the ground around oak trees, causing them to die. Among the welcome improvements are low log fences that guide people around the oaks.

The county’s inventory of parks provides a critical refuge from development in the new communities that have sprung up in South County. When the park was first opened in 1948, it would have been difficult to imagine that by 1991, the last full year the site was opened, there would be 92,000 visitors annually.

There are also plans for future improvements, and new trails in portions of the park that the public hasn’t even seen.

In the meantime, Let’s take care of the refurbished grounds as we welcome their return in this jewel of the county’s park system.