Barbed wire removal: Many barbed and woven wire fences remain in Upper Park from earlier times when sheep and cattle grazed there. They restrict access and pose a hazard to wildlife and people.
Protected Species: Bidwell Park is known to contain a number of federal and state protected and threatened wildlife and plant species, and species of special concern. There are no comprehensive lists of plant and wildlife species in the park, except for a plant survey on the south side of Upper Park. No areas in the park have been designated as protected habitat.
Wildlife corridors: The eastern end of Bidwell Park is the winter home of the Tehama deer herd, the largest migratory deer herd in California. The wildlife corridors used by this herd and by local animal species have not been mapped in the park.
Refuse Dumping: Gravel frontage roads along Highway 32 adjacent to Upper Park make convenient dumping spots for household trash and construction debris. Lower Park also gets discarded furniture, yard waste, and homeless encampments.
Rifle & Pistol Ranges Toxics Removal: 19 acres around Horseshoe Lake, the former rifle range to the east and a small area south of the golf course were contaminated with lead, copper, antimony and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from clay pigeons used as skeet targets. In 2005, Chico and the CA Department of Toxic Substance Control (DTSC) agreed on an expedited cleanup. The project cost about $2M. The funding sources were a Chico Groundwater Remediation Fund and Transportation Equity Fund. Here’s a map showing the remediation plans for the Horseshoe Lake area.