Proposed Closure of California State Parks

The state of California is proposing to close a significant number of state parks in order to reduce the California state budget gap. The list includes such parks as Bodie SHP, Prairie Creek Redwoods SP, Columbia SHP, Calaveras Big Trees SP, Anza Borego SP and many, many others.

Here is a complete list of the CA State Parks that are on the proposed closure list.

http://www.calparks.org/takeaction/closurelist.html

See also, http://www.calparks.org/ "California State Parks Foundation" for actions you can take.

I know many NPNers who have visited our state parks and made photographs or simply vacationed there. We need your help to prevent the closure of these natural and historic recreational resources!

Thanks to all!

-Preston

Preston, a good idea for the post here. I've already signed the petiton/action emails on this all too important subject. As a life time resident of California, these parks are used by millions annually, it's hard to see the drastic measures this beautiful state must take to keep things afloat these days.

Thanks for sharing Preston. I just sent those petitions also.

What they ought to do is stop allowing the general public to vote on stupid propositions. If the politicians would have the guts to do their jobs instead of throw it on the people then maybe there wouldn't be a budget crisis.

It's a classic govt. tactic called the Washington Monument Gambit, wherein they freak out the tax increase-rejecting public with threats to close schools, parks, lay off police and fire, and generally do away with all the things that people actually like about the govt. Thus they have the public rethinking their opposition to tax increases without having to get rid of the stuff that really needs to go, like overpaid public employees and their pension plans, etc. CA's crisis has been brewing for a long time. You can't spend with abandon without it coming back to bite you in the arse.

Good grief that that looks like just about all of the CA SP's! I have visited, camped at or photographed many of those places when I lived in CA. What the #@$& are they doing with all the tax money they take in? Not to mention the fees they collect from those that use the facilities at these parks.

This is relly bad news. Every workshop that I connduct, except for those I hold in Yosemite has one of the California State Parks as a destination. The park closures would shut my operation down and knock out about 1/3 of my livelyhood.

Please, I implore all of you to go to the CalParks website that Preston has a link to and sign the petition. I already did, and I wil be contacting the necessary politicians as well.

So what're they gonna do...just lock the gates and walk away? Aren't they a revenue SOURCE? Yeah, take away yet another simple pleasure that the scared, beaten-down sheep (us taxpayers) have remaining. Government is always so up for a war, I think it's time for another revolution in this country. Enough is enough!

Hi All,

Thanks for your comments. Upon reflection, I should have posted this in the Hot Topics Forum; so, Jim would you please move this thread to that forum.

Until Jim moves this thread, let's keep it as non-political as possible, please. My main reason for posting this topic was to ask for NPNers to follow the links in my intitial post and make your thoughts on this issue known to the California State Parks Foundation.

Thanks for your efforts, and for your cooperation.

Kind Regards,

-P

Why don't they just temporarily increase use fees until they get over the budget crisis? What ever happened to what they used to do when the economy turned sour? In the past the government created jobs to help turn the economy around and many of these jobs were for trail and facilities improvements in the state and national parks. I can't imagine them closing all those major state parks. It sure would be sad if the closed Anza Borrego and no photographers were allowed in during the wildflower bloom next spring.