A few months ago I set a new personal goal: get into nature at least once a week. It really didn’t matter what I ended up doing as long as it took me outdoors – hike, trail run, rock climb, wildlife watch, camp, picnic, paddle, soak, swim, sunbathe, backpack, photograph wildflowers… You get the idea. <\/p>\n
And what a grand idea it was! Not only have I enjoyed doing all of those activities, but I’ve also gotten to explore Californian parks that I previously knew little about, if at all.<\/p>\n
My guess is that you have a story similar to mine – a love for California’s vast and varied open spaces and all that they have to offer. After all, it’s hard to live in such a beautiful state and not get out and enjoy its natural features in one form or another. <\/p>\n
And now, here’s the bad news: many of these treasured open spaces may not be accessible much longer. <\/p>\n
Last year Governor Brown called for the closure of 70 state parks<\/b><\/a>. Included on the the hit list are parks that I’ve fallen in love with like Henry Coe State Park where you can hike amongst old oaks and madrones to a picturesque swimming hole, and Castle Rock State Park where I first began rock climbing. <\/p>\n This week park funding came back into the news with Governor Brown’s release of the May budget revise<\/b><\/a>. Not only are parks still on the table for closure, but the revised budget proposes more cuts to the funding of game wardens, rangers, and lifeguards. Those cuts come at a time where the State Park System is already understaffed and overburdened with deferred maintenance totaling to over $1 billion. Furthermore, these parks suffer from the pains of a tightened budget as access prices increase, hours of operation diminish, and select facilities, trails, or camping areas close. <\/p>\n What doesn’t make sense is this: continued cuts to the State Park System will not save money, but will in fact cost the state more in the long run. Closing parks means:<\/p>\n — a loss of revenue for local communities neighboring parks and for the state via taxes generated by tourism; While some of the parks on the closure list have found ways to stay open thanks to financial support from their communities or intervention from nonprofits<\/b><\/a> (including Castle Rock<\/b><\/a> and Henry Coe<\/b><\/a> SPs), others have not been so lucky. <\/p>\n Fortunately, Assemblymember Jared Huffman<\/b><\/a> is championing a bill that would provide diverse funding for the State Parks System. Assembly Bill 1589<\/b><\/a>, the California State Parks Stewardship Act of 2012, addresses short- and long-term needs for California state parks, achieving budget savings without wide scale park closures.<\/p>\n Specifically, AB 1589 would:<\/p>\n — Encourage formation of a state compact that guarantees an ongoing level of state funding for operations and maintenance of state parks. TAKE ACTION: Ask your legislator to support AB 1589, the California State Parks Stewardship Act, today!<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A few months ago I set a new personal goal: get into nature at least once a week. It really didn’t matter what I ended up doing as long as it took me outdoors – hike, trail run, rock climb, wildlife watch, camp, picnic, paddle, soak, swim, sunbathe, backpack, photograph wildflowers… You get the idea. <\/p>\n And what a grand idea it was! Not only have I enjoyed doing all of those activities, but I’ve also gotten to explore Californian parks that I previously knew little about, if at all.<\/p>\n My guess is that you have a story similar to mine – a love for California’s vast and varied open spaces and all that they have to offer. After all, it’s hard to live in such a beautiful state and not get out and enjoy its natural features in one form or another. <\/p>\n And now, here’s the bad news: many of these treasured open spaces may not be accessible much longer. <\/p>\n Last year Governor Brown called for the closure of 70 state parks<\/b><\/a>. Included on the the hit list are parks that I’ve fallen in love with like Henry Coe State Park where you can hike amongst old oaks and madrones to a picturesque swimming hole, and Castle Rock State Park where I first began rock climbing. <\/p>\n This week park funding came back into the news with Governor Brown’s release of the May budget revise<\/b><\/a>. Not only are parks still on the table for closure, but the revised budget proposes more cuts to the funding of game wardens, rangers, and lifeguards. Those cuts come at a time where the State Park System is already understaffed and overburdened with deferred maintenance totaling to over $1 billion. Furthermore, these parks suffer from the pains of a tightened budget as access prices increase, hours of operation diminish, and select facilities, trails, or camping areas close. <\/p>\n What doesn’t make sense is this: continued cuts to the State Park System will not save money, but will in fact cost the state more in the long run. Closing parks means:<\/p>\n — a loss of revenue for local communities neighboring parks and for the state via taxes generated by tourism; While some of the parks on the closure list have found ways to stay open thanks to financial support from their communities or intervention from nonprofits<\/b><\/a> (including Castle Rock<\/b><\/a> and Henry Coe<\/b><\/a> SPs), others have not been so lucky. <\/p>\n Fortunately, Assemblymember Jared Huffman<\/b><\/a> is championing a bill that would provide diverse funding for the State Parks System. Assembly Bill 1589<\/b><\/a>, the California State Parks Stewardship Act of 2012, addresses short- and long-term needs for California state parks, achieving budget savings without wide scale park closures.<\/p>\n Specifically, AB 1589 would:<\/p>\n — Encourage formation of a state compact that guarantees an ongoing level of state funding for operations and maintenance of state parks.
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— increases in deferred maintenance once the parks reopen their gates; and
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— costs associated with addressing crime, vandalism, and other illegal activities like marijuana cultivation.<\/p>\n
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— Create a State Park Enterprise Fund to be used for installing modern revenue and fee collection equipment and technologies to increase park visitation and revenues.
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— Produce a California state park environmental license plate which vehicle owners could purchase and have the fees go towards support of state parks.
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— Provide the option for taxpayers to voluntarily purchase an annual state park access pass when they file their taxes.
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— Require the Department of Parks and Recreation to be more transparent about how it evaluates and selects specific parks for closure, and places a cap of 25 state park units on the number of park closures allowed from 2012 to 2016 without legislative approval.<\/p>\n
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— increases in deferred maintenance once the parks reopen their gates; and
\n
— costs associated with addressing crime, vandalism, and other illegal activities like marijuana cultivation.<\/p>\n
\n
— Create a State Park Enterprise Fund to be used for installing modern revenue and fee collection equipment and technologies to increase park visitation and revenues.
\n
— Produce a California state park environmental license plate which vehicle owners could purchase and have the fees go towards support of state parks.
\n
— Provide the option for taxpayers to voluntarily purchase an annual state park access pass when they file their taxes.
\n
— Require the Department of Parks and Recreation to be more transparent about how it evaluates and selects specific parks for closure, and places a cap of 25 state park units on the number of park closures allowed from 2012 to 2016 without legislative approval.<\/p>\n