Many California State Parks Remain Slated For Closure

SACRAMENTO (KCBS) – Those planning on visiting a state park over the July 4 holiday may want to double-check to make sure the park they plan to visit is even open.

That's because even though most of the 70 parks that were slated for closure on July 1 have been saved, as many as 15 may still have to shut down because of the state's budget problems.

KCBS' Susan Leigh Taylor Reports:

"We just issued about a month ago 15 different grants to nonprofits totaling about $340,000," said Jerry Emory with the California State Parks Foundation. "We have another round coming out next week and these grants are allowing these organizations to step up and using Assembly Bill 42 to enter into operating agreements with state parks."

But that's only a temporary fix. Emory said the Foundation is in no position to take the place of general fund allocations for state parks. And it remains to be seen what will happen with the closed parks.

"You can't just close a park. Every park is different," said Emory. "Some are very porous in terms of many different ways to get into them. And we've already seen across the state and across the U.S. what happens in a state park and it's not good news. It's a magnet for trouble."

It's been recently announced that a local nonprofit has reached its $250,000 fundraising goal to keep China Camp State Park open.

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