California getting new state park, first in 13 years

MODESTO, Calif. (AP) — California will acquire a sprawling former farm property in the San Joaquin Valley and create a new state park for the first time in 13 years. The park is planned for Dos Rios Ranch, where the San Joaquin and Tuolumne rivers meet southwest of Modesto. The property will become California’s 280th state park and the first new one since Fort Ord Dunes near Monterey in 2009. The Modesto Bee reports Gov. Gavin Newsom has earmarked $5 million for the park as part of his revised budget proposal. The nearly four-square-mile expanse featuring willows and valley oaks will be donated by a conservation group.