An Important Step for Parks

An important line in the sand got drawn for state parks last month when Governor Brown signed two bills into law, Assembly Bill (AB) 1478 (Blumenfield) and Assembly Bill (AB) 1589 (Huffman). Both bills have measures that will help California’s ailing state parks system.

AB 1478 appropriates the recently-identified $20.5 million in State Park and Recreation Fund funding to the California Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) to keep parks open that had previously been slated for closure. The bill also contains new qualifications for appointing members to the nine-member State Park and Recreation Commission. The changes to the Commission are intended to improve its ability and capacity to provide oversight of DPR and foster a more meaningful connection between the public, park stakeholders, and DPR. AB 1478 also establishes a two-year moratorium on closing state parks, in Fiscal Year 12-13 and FY13-14.

Governor Brown made the first important step toward restoring public confidence in California’s state parks by signing AB 1478. The governor’s signature is a good sign faith on the part of California’s government that all the hard work of communities, organizations and donors across the state who stepped up to support their parks is recognized and appreciated. The governor also signed AB 1589 (Huffman), which requires DPR to develop a new action plan for increasing revenues in state parks, allows purchase of annual park passes on annual tax returns, and encourages an independent assessment of California’s state parks.

AB 1589 gives the state important tools for a future that is increasingly emphasizing the need for more self-generated revenue in our parks. While we do not believe that our state park system, a true public good, will ever be able to sustain itself without a core of dedicated, public funding, we do wholeheartedly agree that the movement toward more revenue generation should be done with a roadmap. The action plan required in AB 1589 requires such a roadmap and maintains the need for revenue ideas to be appropriate to the mission and uses of our state parks.

We look forward to working with the governor, Legislature and all Californians to implement provisions of AB 1478 and AB 1589 and to maintain and strengthen the legacy in our state parks.

Urge lawmakers to support Assembly Bill 1478

Advocacy in action.

Over the last two weeks, thousands of state park supporters have sent messages to their legislators urging them to allocate the recently-identified and unspent state park funds back into the state park system.

As a result of the strong outpouring of support from park supporters, lawmakers have introduced Assembly Bill (AB) 1478 which will appropriate $20.5 million in State Park and Recreation Fund funding to keep parks open.

In addition to allocating this funding, AB 1478 also includes several other important provisions.

• Prohibits the Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) from closing or proposing the closure of a state park in the 2012-13 and 2013-14 fiscal years.
• Strengthens the State Park and Recreation Commission to improve their ability and capacity to provide oversight and a more meaningful connection between the public, park stakeholders, and the parks department.
• Provides a one-time appropriation to ensure that all ongoing internal and external investigations into the DPR are fully funded.

We need your help to urge lawmakers to pass AB 1478. With only a couple days left in this legislative session, lawmakers will be making final decisions on this bill by Friday. We urge you to use our online system to send a message to your legislators and the governor specifically urging them to support AB 1478.

It only takes a minute!

A message from CSPF on the Department of Parks and Recreation scandal

It was with dismay that CSPF learned on Friday that an investigation found the Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) has been hiding approximately $50 million in “surplus” funds for  the past 12 years.  As a long-standing partner to the parks system, CSPF is  shocked at the revelation that funds that could have been used to help a parks system in crisis were not being used to do so.  We are especially frustrated that this occurred at the same time CSPF and the parks community has been working diligently and against tremendous odds to help temporarily keep threatened parks open.

We are angry  on behalf of our members, our donors, our partners, and  on behalf of all Californians. We all have the right to expect honesty from the government systems that serve us and, in this case, DPR  let us all down.  We fully support the state Department of Finance’s proposed comprehensive audit of DPR.

As an independent, nonprofit organization, CSPF is committed to continuing our 43-year-old mission of protecting, enhancing, and advocating for our state parks.  Our parks still critically need our efforts in that regard, now more than ever.  The crisis that led to closures has not disappeared , even with the infusion of one-time funding from these sources. We hope the millions of funding that may be available to state parks be directed to assist with keeping parks open now and help support enterprise activities to generate ongoing revenue for parks.

We know it will be challenging in the days and weeks to come, but we remain committed to our state parks and to working to ensure they remain open, accessible and enjoyable to all Californians.

Sincerely,

Elizabeth Goldstein
President, CSPF

Guest Post: This State Park is Pure Gold

A guest post BY CSPF’S DAVID SLACK

David Slack is the Accounting Manager in the California State Parks Foundation’s San Francisco office. He fell in love with Plumas-Eureka after a visit this spring and is now frequently spotted wearing his Plumas-Eureka State Park Foundation shirt around the office.  This is his take on his new favorite park.

I recently found myself at the Plumas-Eureka State Park for my second and third visit this summer.

Gary (left) and David (right)

For the past several years I have been spending more time in the Greaegle/Portola area of the Tahoe Mountains, and when I saw the Plumas-Eureka State Park was on the state parks closure list, I thought I should check it out before it was too late.

Our first visit to the Plumas-Eureka State Park was around Memorial Day this year, when we had company visiting. We intended to see more of the park, but once we arrived at the museum we were so fascinated with the history of the formation of the surrounding mountains, as well as the exhibits, stories and photos of the Gold Miners who flocked to this area in the mid-1800s to try to strike it rich, we spent several hours just around the museum itself.

The main museum has a variety of displays focused on the local animals, rocks and minerals, as well as the gold mining that made many a man rich for their efforts.

There is a mining machinery display, a mill and a blacksmith shop, as well as photos and stories of life in the 1840s and 1850s in this area near Johnsonville, CA.

Mining machinery at Plumas-Eureka

It’s free to visit the park and the museum for a day, however, if you’d like to stay at one of the 67 campsites, there is a nominal charge for that. You can even go gold panning for a day for $4.

The following week we had different company, and brought them to the museum to share what we’d found, where we began speaking with Pat O’Reilly, an interpreter with the park. He said he was leading a hike the next day, and we made plans to go along.

The next day Pat led us along the Eureka Peak Trail Loop. It was a bit over 1.5 miles, and we saw Mountain Quail, White Headed Woodpeckers and Olive Sided Flycatchers.

He also pointed out Lodgepole Pines, Western White Pines, Scolars willows, and huge sugar pine cones. The Lake itself was so still and quite. What a sight.

Once we were back at the museum, we stared speaking with one of the Docents, and we were happy to learn that the Plumas-Eureka State Park Foundation was attempting to raise enough monies to keep the park open for another year. After such a fun time, I had to join the Association.

Jamison Creek

On our way out of the park, we found another picnic area on Jamison Creek, where the water was crystal clear, and cold as ice. We couldn’t help but kicking off our shoes and dipping our feet in.

What a fun trip.

Have you been to Plumas-Eureka State Park?

State Park Closure Update

Año Nuevo State Park (c) Charles Tu

The outlook for California state parks took a positive turn last week after some budget action in Sacramento.  On Wednesday evening, Gov. Brown signed the FY 2012-13 Budget with a little added funding for state parks.  The budget does not “save” state parks. However, the budget does preserve some of the additional funding for state parks that the Legislature proposed in the final budget.

The breakdown:

(1)    The governor approved redirecting $13 million from existing unspent Prop 84 funds to a new State Park Enterprise Fund that can be only used for capital projects intended to generate new revenue for state parks, or to help them improve fee collection.  Note: this is not new money; it was already in DPR’s budget.

(2)    The governor approved $3 million from the Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Fund and $7 million from the Motor Vehicle Fuel Account that can be used for state park operations.

(3)    The governor did veto some pieces of the Sustainable Parks Proposal, including $7 million of the originally proposed $10 million fund transfer from the Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Fund to State Parks, and the transfer of $10 million from the Clean Water State Revolving Fund to State Parks.

We are pleased to see the funding for the State Park Enterprise Fund included in this budget, and we support efforts to identify new opportunities for DPR to generate revenues and more efficiently collect user fees. However, this funding is another temporary solution. State parks continue to face a budget crisis resulting in service reductions and unprecedented closures. In other words, we are not out of the woods yet.

Grizzly Creek Redwoods State Park (c) Mike Shoys

Kids Do the Darndest Things

We were very excited to receive a package in the mail last week from some awesome third and fourth graders at Kid Street Charter School in Santa Rosa.

The manila envelope was bursting at the seams, stuffed with several hand-painted canvases (click above to see full size), a poster that says “Save Our State Parks” in magic marker, and a letter that read:

“Dear California State Parks Foundation,

After visiting a local state park, Sugarloaf, in Sonoma County, our class decided that we wanted to help keep the parks open in our state. So, we painted some pictures of the landscape that we saw at Sugarloaf and we sold them to raise funds to support your cause! We are very happy to present you with the enclosed money. Thank you for working to preserve accessibility to the parks!

Warmly,

The third and fourth graders at Kid Street Charter”

How awesome is that? A big thank you to these awesome kids for caring about state parks and finding a really creative way to help! It’s good to know we have a generation of kids who will grow up to love state parks so much.

Updates from Sacramento

The long road to stopping park closures. Photo by Michael Keel @ Mt. Tam

With the park closure deadline quickly approaching (July 1 for those of you who forgot), there is plenty of attention being paid to state parks in our Capitol.  Our legislators are looking for ways to find extra funding for parks, and some things are moving along successfully. Here’s a recap of recent action for easy tracking:

Budget
In late May the Legislature largely agreed on a funding proposal to help keep our state parks open. Dubbed the “Ongoing Sustainable Parks Proposal,” this plan includes some temporary transfers of funding from other programs to state parks and a direction for more innovation and efficiencies in parks management. This will now be part of ongoing budget deliberations.

Legislation
Assembly Bill (AB) 1589 (Huffman) passed 78-0 out of the Assembly and will now be heard in the Senate. AB 1589 is an omnibus state parks bill that establishes a variety of mechanisms to move state parks toward sustainability. Senate Bill 974 and Senate Bill 1078 (Evans) were also passed out of the Senate and will be heard in the Assembly.

Stayed tuned for more updates as this legislation (hopefully) moves along!

Closing Parks is Bad for Business

It’s Memorial Day weekend, but with park closures looming, we aren’t looking forward to the unofficial start of summer as much as usual. Neither is a group of businesses that has formed a coalition to oppose the closure of state parks. These folks know that park closures will negatively impact California’s economy (not to mention put a damper on future Memorial Days).

That’s why the coalition representing over 10,000 businesses throughout California urged the governor in a letter today to continue funding the parks for the good of the state’s economic well being. Read the letter here.

Organizations that oppose the closure of state parks include:

•     California Association of Bed and Breakfast Inns
•     California Hotel & Lodging Association
•     California Ski Industry Association
•     California Travel Association
•     San Francisco Travel Association
•     Southwest California Legislative Council
•     El Dorado County Chamber of Commerce
•     Lake Elsinore Valley Chamber of Commerce
•     Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority
•     Murrieta Chamber of Commerce
•     Regional Black Chamber of Commerce of San Fernando Valley (RBCC)
•     Santa Clara Chamber of Commerce & Convention-Visitor’s Bureau
•     Simi Valley Chamber of Commerce
•     Temecula Valley Chamber of Commerce
•     Wildomar Chamber of Commerce
•     Palm Springs Desert Resort Communities Convention and Visitors Authority
•     San Luis Obispo County Visitors & Conference Bureau
•     Santa Cruz County Conference and Visitors Council

“Closing Parks is Bad for Business” sign spotted at Cafe Aquatica in Jenner

Why are they supporting state parks? Because parks generate more than $6 billion in economic benefit to the state as a whole. More than 65 million visits are made to state parks annually and average park visitors spend $42 per day on items related to their park visit. This spending supports an estimated 56,000 jobs across the state; jobs that translate into a total labor income of $2.3 billion each year, which is recirculated in local economies. 48 of California’s 58 counties are home to state parks and depend on revenues generated by park support and visitation.

“Closing Parks is Bad for Business” sign spotted at Benzinger Winery in Sonoma

Thank you to these businesses for recognizing the importance of state parks to California and for stepping up on their behalf.  If you own a business and would like to get involved with the coalition, please visit our Save Our State Parks website.

The Closing Parks is Bad for Business Campaign is a targeted effort of the Save Our State Parks Campaign, a grassroots campaign managed by CSPF in partnership with organizations, businesses, local governments, and individuals around the state, that aims to highlight the impacts of park closures on businesses throughout California. 

CSPF Announces Grants to Help Keep State Parks Open

CSPF announced some exciting news today: we will be awarding 13 grants totaling $328,586 to organizations that are fighting to keep state parks off the closure list. The funding will help many of our nonprofit partners across the state keep 15 parks open for one year.  You can read our full press release here.

Although we are happy with the opportunity to help here, we know this is just a short-term solution. It’s really a Band-Aid when what state parks need is surgery.  Even so, the state parks community is working in an exemplary fashion to find ways to keep parks open now.

The organizations that will be using these grant funds to help their park of interest are:

Bale Grist Mill © Brent Duffin

Grantee: Anderson Marsh Interpretive Association for Anderson Marsh State Historic Park

Grantee: Stewards of the Coast and Redwoods for Austin Creek State Recreation Area

Grantee: Napa County Regional Parks and Open Space District for Bale Grist Mill State Historic Park and Bothe-Napa Valley State Park

China Camp © Harvey Abernathey

Grantee: Innovations Housing for Castle Crags State Park

Grantee: Marin State Parks Association (for Friends of China Camp) for China Camp State Park

Grantee: Department of Parks and Recreation for Greenwood State Beach and Elk Visitor Center

Grantee: Hendy Woods Community for Hendy Woods State Park

Jack London ©Charles Tu

Grantee: Valley of the Moon Natural History Association for Jack London State Historic Park

Grantee: East Merced Resource Conservation District
for McConnell State Recreation Area and George J. Hatfield State Recreation Area

Grantee: Cuyamaca Rancho State Park Interpretive Association (for Friends of Palomar) for Palomar Mountain State Park

Grantee: Sea and Desert Interpretive Association for Salton Sea State Recreation Area

Salton Sea ©Greg Lucker

Grantee: Sonoma Ecology Center  for Sugarloaf Ridge State Park

Grantee: Ide Adobe Interpretive Association for William B. Ide Adobe State Historic Park

In addition to these 13 new grants, CSPF previously awarded two grants to temporarily keep open Santa Susana State Historic Park and Jughandle State Natural Reserve. All of these awards are contingent on the state entering into agreements with these organizations who have developed strong and effective proposals to keep parks open.

Watch the ‘California Forever’ Trailer

“There are very few things in life that are able to span centuries.” This documentary, “California Forever,” shows us why California state parks do.

California Forever is a two-part documentary series about California state parks coming soon to PBS in Fall 2012, presented by KQED, San Francisco. For more information visit cal4ever.com/.

California Forever is produced by Backcountry Pictures – where the story begins at the end of the road.

California State Parks Foundation is proud to support this project.