FRIENDS OF EDGEWOOD NATURAL PRESERVE
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FRIENDS OF EDGEWOOD NATURAL PRESERVE
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By Laverne Rabinowitz Edgewood will soon have a new ranger permanently assigned to oversee its operation as a result of Director Patrick Sanchez's redistribution of resources within the San Mateo County Parks and Recreation Division. Effective April 1, the ranger in charge will be Lynne Fritz, a 16-year veteran of the Department. A second ranger, who has not yet been designated, will also be assigned full-time to Edgewood. Lynne has also been named as the department's liaison with the Friends of Edgewood. She is delighted to have the Friends as partners in achieving the best for Edgewood, as she sees that some of her goals are also goals of the Friends. Her initial plans fall primarily in three areas: standards for operations, communication and education, and working with volunteers. An immediate priority is to establish general standards by which the County will determine how the park is managed. Finalizing the Master Plan is crucial to developing these standards, but Lynne sees an immediate need to get a handle on the problems of vandalism and destruction by bicycles and dogs. The biggest challenge is how to deal with the problem of the south hill, where a path to the top persists despite fencing aimed at keeping people on the authorized trails. Her goal is to make contact with juveniles who enter the park at night, with bicyclists, dog owners, etc. and get them involved in the Master Plan process. She believes that if they are able to express their own viewpoint in such a venue they will feel that they have been heard and that the problems are being solved in a constructive way. She will also develop standards that establish the minimum level of conditions for the trails, so that trail maintenance can be consistent and ongoing. Lynne will be working on ways of improving communication and educating visitors. Funds have been allocated for renovating the sign system and upgrading trail signs. She feels strongly that we must meet visitors' needs by providing information that is accurate and useful. A third priority is coordinating volunteer help. In addition to working with the Friends, Lynne is hoping to involve Scout troops and other youth groups in work that will support the park. One Redwood City Boy Scout troop is planning to "adopt" the park as the location for their Eagle Scout projects. Other individuals and groups who have agendas to support the use and preservation of the open space also need to be approached. She's pleased to become the facilitator when necessary for the Friends' work on managing the natural resources, whether through removal of exotics or through revegetation projects. When you ask Lynne if she has a soft spot about Edgewood, she'll reply without hesitating that it's "the wildflowers." Wildflowers are one of her special interests, and while this is just her second season here, she was involved with making up the first wildflower lists for most of the other County parks in the early 80’s. Lynne has been with the County for 16 years, serving in every park except Wunderlich to date. She has a degree in park and recreation management from Chico State, with emphasis on parks. Upon completing her internship with San Mateo County, she was hired by Bob Emert, the Superintendent of Parks. She has worked with Bob ever since and calls him a "wonderful" influence and mentor. Bob says Lynne was the first female ranger in the County and, moreover, hiring her was "one of the smarter things I did for the department," adding that she will do a great job for Edgewood. Lynne was a docent early in her tenure with the County and appreciates the importance of communicating information about park resources to the public. She believes firmly that all the County's rangers should be required to take docent training, and since she hasn't yet been able to arrange her schedule to go through the docent training for Edgewood, she will be planning for that this fall for both herself and the second ranger. We will definitely benefit by having Lynne Fritz as a constant presence in the Park, one who is willing to take a positive and assertive approach toward solving problems and educating users. Look for her on the trails and say "Hi!" |
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