Lake El Estero
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[edit] Introduction
Lake El Estero is part of the building blocks of Monterey, California and has been classified as a citywide park. Originally a salt-water lagoon, its outlets to the bay were cut off because of over flooding. The 24.7 acre park has become an estuary to many migrating birds and ongoing improvements have been made into preserving the park. Today Lake El Estero not only draws in many eager adults for its beauty and history but attracts kids for its baseball diamond, skatepark, and world famous Dennis the Menace Park.
[edit] History
When El Estero was first discovered it was a lagoon filled with brackish water. Three major streams flowed into the lagoon. One stream went south to where San Carlos Cathedral currently is. The second went to the location of the County's courthouse. The final stream followed (today's) Del Monte Boulevard and flowed into the bay. In 1770 the first map of Lake El Estero was made by Miguel Costanso, a Spanish officer and engineer in the first expedition to California. The lagoon flooded constantly and in 1846 Walter Colton, a chaplain for the U.S. Navy, found a solution to the flooding problems. In his diary he wrote that “…it would be a good scheme to cut a channel between the two (the lagoon and the Bay)” (The Years in California, Walter Colton). In April 1874 the Monterey and Salinas Valley were built which permanently cut off the stream connecting El Estero to the Bay. This halted the flooding and turned the lagoon into the freshwater lake that we know today. From 1930 to 1931 efforts were made in turning the lake into an aquatic park. This was called the El Estero Development Project that was led by the City of Monterey. Eighty thousand cubic yards of mud were moved in its development. El Estero has been a popular resting spot for migrating birds and in 1933 the bird refuge was named after Harry Ashland Greene, who had a great impact in its development. Between 1938 and 1951 vast improvements were done to the park including “drudging and shoreline plantings (“Monterey City of Parks/ El Estero”)” and “two bridges connecting Pearl with Second and Fifth Streets (“Monterey City of Parks/ El Estero”)”. These new bridges connected downtown with the Oak Grove District. In 1984 the lake was drained in order to remove 6,000 truckloads of silt, which was clogging drains. People were also worried that there may be bacteria and bird droppings in the mud. Storm drains were rerouted so silt and mud would be dumped into smaller ponds. This allowed workers to remove it easier.
[edit] An ecosystem
Lake El Estero is an ecosystem that supports large amounts of life and is home to a countless number of birds, fish, and plants. Over 300 species of birds live in Lake El Estero. Many birds migrating south stop at the lake to rest such as the Ring-billed Gull, the Western Gull, the California Gull, the Mud hen, the Black-crowned Night Heron, and the Great Blue Heron. During the summer the Brown Pelican comes in from the south. Many ducks live there year round such as the Mallard. Many others find a home in Lake El Estero such as the Ruddy Duck, Bufflehead Duck, and Canada Goose. Feeding the birds has been prohibited in order prevent the incident in 1984 and so they rely on local vegetation. Many other animals live in the waters of Lake El Estero, including the Western Pond Turtle, Pacific Tree Frog, Red-legged Frog, and crayfish. These animals share the waters with many kinds of fish such as the Tule Perch, Sacramento perch, and Sacramento Blackfish. There is a large amount of vegetation in Lake El Estero important to the many organisms that live there. The California Tule of California Bulrush provides a good nesting site for birds and its stems make a refuge for fish. Other commonly seen plants and trees are the Monterey Cypress, the Monterey Pine, the Cattail, the Coast Live Oak, the Arroyo Willow, and the Yellow Willow.
[edit] Other parts of El Estero
Many parks and attractions have been developed in Lake El Estero to attract both tourists and locals. The most popular of these is the Dennis the Menace Playground. Designed by cartoon writer Hank Ketcham and with the help of sculptor Arch Garner, the park opened on November 17, 1956. With so many new play structures, the park became a great success. One of these unique structures is the 1924 locomotive steam engine, donated by the Southern Pacific Railroad. In 1986 a thorough renovation of the park was done. The renovation was led by architect Richard Murray and cost at least $300,000. In this renovation a 30-foot (9.1 m) tall rope swing was added along with other new play structures. Recently a statue of the parks mascot was stolen. The bronze statue was ripped from its place in order to be melted and sold. A replacement donated by Hank Ketcham himself was given to the park for a while but on March 27, 2007 a permanent replacement was sculpted and given to the park. Other attractions in Lake El Estero include the El Estero Ball Park, which is used by the Junior League, the Women's Soccer League, and other sport clubs, and a skatepark, designed by 40 local skaters.
[edit] References
Alta Vista Magazine, Sunday August 25, 1996
The Herald, Weds. May 22, 2002.
Chronological Summary of the Information in the folder “Monterey, City of parks/ El Estero” 4/7/07
The Herald, Thursday, September 6, 1984.
“El Estero”- The Monterey Lake. City Focus. Spring/Summer 1995.
(Interview) 4/6/07. Jim Conway
The Herald. Monday, January 27, 1986.
