McClatchy Washington Bureau

The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, that giant maze of waterways at the heart of the Central Valley, is a house divided when it comes to recreation.

Boaters can explore a 1,100-mile tangle of sloughs and canals. It's a different story for landlubbers. At 740,000 acres, the Delta is nearly as large as Rhode Island. Yet it holds few public parks. Access to levees, which are mostly privately owned, has been gradually banned across much of the estuary after some ill-behaved visitors spoiled the fun by dumping trash, disturbing vegetation and lighting bonfires.

In a new report, the state Department of Parks and Recreation proposes to ease the strain by building recreation facilities that would offer lots of ways to get near the water

Read the full story at sacbee.com.