Thursday, October 1, 2015
Observation date: October 2015
Visitors to see the nest site at Morro Rock Photo by Heather O’Connor
After reading the previous post, if you have the desire to support the 501(c)(3) Nonprofit Educational Organization, Pacific Coast Peregrine Watch, run by Bob Isenberg and Heather O’Connor, please read the information below.
Please tell them why you think we are a valuable group educating hundreds of people at Morro Rock every day about the peregrine falcons, a once endangered species due to DDT usage.
We tried two avenues to work with CA State Parks.
After two years of meetings with permission given twice, “Yes, you may collect donations and sell appropriate items” and retracted permission given three times, we have been totally stopped from raising any money to run our nonprofit at Morro Rock. As requested, we had gone through the CA State Parks “Docent Training.” Because we are on CA State Park land where they allow no soliciting, we have pursued several approaches to meet the requirements to function as an educational nonprofit organization.
- We tried to negotiate an agreement with the Central Coast State Parks Association, a Nonprofit Association under the CA State Parks, Director Mary Golden, to no avail. She said that they had exclusive rights to collect donations and sell items. In their CCSPA Agreement with the CA State Parks, we found no clause or statement to this effect. We were asked to give all our money to them in January 2015. After requesting an agreement, and receiving none, we eventually were told that they would take 8% of any money we raised. We already pay the CA Sales Tax of 8%. Neither Mary Golden or anyone from CCSPA Board of Directors were willing to visit the Pacific Coast Peregrine Watch to see the work that we do.
- We tried to negotiate an agreement to become a Cooperating Association with CA State Parks. It is because we are on CA State Park land that they have denied us the ability to do this even though San Luis Obispo Regional Director, Brooke Gutierrez, in an email to us, said “the interpretive services that both you and Bob provide at Morro Rock are outstanding.”
Below is the information to send a hard copy letter to the Director of the CA State Parks and two other important people who need to hear how you think about the Pacific Coast Peregrine Watch.
Please use a stamped envelope addressed to the following people.
Contact California State Parks.
Lisa Mangat, Director
California State Parks
P.O. Box 942896
Sacramento, CA 94296
Copies should be sent to the following people.
Contact the San Luis Obispo, Hearst Castle Region, CA State Parks.
Brooke Gutierrez, Director
CA State Parks
750 Hearst Castle Road
San Simeon, CA 93452
brooke.gutierrez@parks.ca.gov
(805) 927-2068
(805) 927-2035
Contact the nonprofit Central Coast State Parks Assoc. under CA State Parks.
Mary Golden, Executive Director
Central Coast State Parks Association
Museum of Natural History
20 State Park Road
Morro Bay, CA 93442
805.772.2694×102 Office
805.748.8278 Cell
mgolden@ccspa.info or mgolden@ccnha.org
We kindly thank you for your efforts to support our work.
Most sincerely,
Bob Isenberg and Heather O’Connor
Pacific Coast Peregrine Watch
