California Parks Slated For Closure To Remain Open Temporarily
SACRAMENTO (CBS/AP) -- With a busy Fourth of July week looming, California parks officials announced Thursday that 65 of the 70 state parks once slated to close Sunday due to budget cuts will remain open.
The move came after the governor signed a bill allocating new funds for the beleaguered parks system, and the state said it had reached agreements with nonprofits, local governments and others regarding 40 of the parks.
Deals with other groups were in the works for 25 more, which will stay open as the agreements are finalized, the California Department of Parks and Recreation said.
The state had issued a list of 70 parks—nearly a quarter of its entire system—that it intended to close in an effort to cut $22 million from the parks budget. The cuts came as California struggles to bridge a $15.7 billion deficit.
Ruth Coleman, director of the state parks system, said the parks financial crisis has been difficult, but she was buoyed by the response from people who are passionate about the sites.
"We have re-energized the people who love parks, and they are stepping up and contributing to parks in all sorts of ways," Coleman said during a conference call with reporters.
Thursday's announcement was made after Gov. Jerry Brown partially vetoed a state parks funding bill, allocating $10 million in new funds rather than the $41 million that had been approved by the Legislature.
"I cannot fully support this action because proposed funding either takes from other important purposes or may violate the state's agreement with the federal government regarding the State Water Pollution Control Revolving Fund," the governor wrote in his veto, referring to a pot of federal money the bill had sought to access for the parks.
Officials say the new funds will buy time to finalize the deals in the works for 25 of the once-doomed parks and help as partners are sought for the five that currently lack prospects.
Though the state still planned to close five parks on Sunday—Benicia State Recreation Area, the California Mining and Mineral Museum, Gray Whale Cove State Beach, Providence Mountains State Recreation Area and Zmudowski State Beach—some of the five sites will still be accessible despite the official "closure."
Coleman said people will still be able to walk the sands of Gray Whale Cove beach in San Mateo County or Zmudowski beach in Monterey County, but services such as trash collection would be stopped. The mineral museum in Mariposa County is still scheduled to shut down, and the Providence Mountains area has already been shuttered.
The budget also gives the parks department $13 million in bond funds that can be used for projects meant to increase revenue at the parks to help make more money for the state.
Coleman said the money will fund better fee machines that take credit and debit cards. The state also is looking at making more cabins or alternative camping sites available as well.
The operating agreements allow the state to keep parks open, while transferring operating costs to private and public partners, at least for the short term, parks officials said.
"We're grateful for the Legislature's help," said John Laird, California's secretary for natural resources. "It will give us a path to keep most, if not all, of the parks open."
Still, some saw the governor's partial veto as a loss for the state parks system's long-term prognosis.
"I think it's a lost opportunity to take action to reclaim our parks before it's too late. I worry that once they're lost, they may be lost forever," said Sen. Joe Simitian, D-Palo Alto, who co-authored the plan largely vetoed by the governor. "It's very hard to reclaim a resource like this once you've let it go."
Parks advocates believe a longer term solution will lie in better public funding for the parks, not in deals with private operators.
However, previous attempts to secure long-term public funding through the ballot box have failed. California voters in November 2010 rejected Proposition 21, an $18 registration fee for vehicles that would have raised an estimated $500 million for state parks.
"In most cases states trying to outsource management of state parks is a stopgap measure," said Phil McKnelly, executive director of the National Association of State Park Directors. "One way or the other, if those parks are to be maintained, someone will have to find a way to get public financing."
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