May 29, 2009 6:41 pm US/Pacific
Bay Area Parks Among 200 In State Facing Closure
SACRAMENTO (BCN) ―
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Tomales Bay State Park is among those parks that face cuts or closure.
CBS5
A public hearing will be held next week at the state capitol in Sacramento on Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's proposal to close more than 200 state parks, including several in the Bay Area.
The proposal, part of Schwarzenegger's May revision for the 2009-2010 budget announced this week, would eliminate all $143.4 million of the state's general fund contributions to the state park system.
The parks would lose $70 million in the 2009-2010 budget, and the remaining $73.4 million in the 2010-2011 budget, according to the proposal.
Lawmakers will discuss and take public comments about the proposed cuts in a conference committee on the budget next Tuesday in Sacramento.
The loss in funding would cause the closure of up to 223 state parks, or about 80 percent of all state parks in California, according to California State Parks spokesman Roy Stearns.
"Basically that eliminates salaries for people, and if you eliminate people and jobs, you eliminate the people that run the parks, so you must then close them because there's nobody there to operate them," Stearns said.
Henry W. Coe State Park near Morgan Hill, Candlestick Point State Recreation Area in San Francisco, Tomales Bay State Park and Petaluma Adobe State Historic Park were examples that Stearns said could be vulnerable if the Legislature decides to go through with the cuts.
The elimination of the money for state parks is only .62 percent of California's budget shortfall of $24.3 billion, according to Jerry Emory, spokesman of the California State Parks Foundation. He said the cuts could even end up adding to the deficit.
According to a study by California State Parks and University of California at Berkeley, every dollar that funds state parks returns $2.35 to the general fund through economic activities in the communities around the parks, as well as purchases made inside the parks.
Stearns said "that argument has been made in the past, but I don't know if that helps battle the argument against how to close the deficit."
Emory said that the governor also proposed state park cuts last year that were small compared to this year's proposal, yet those cuts were not adopted due to the negative response it received.
"The outcry was so loud, in large part due to our members and advocates, that the word from the governor's office afterward was that they were blown away by how strong Californians feel about their state parks," Emory said.
However, Lisa Page, a spokeswoman for the governor, said that the size of the deficit this year, as well as the rejection of last week's propositions in the state's special election, leaves no good options.
"The scope and severity of the recession has forced us to put options on the table that would have been unthinkable just a few short months ago, and the governor understands how difficult these cuts are for Californians," Page said.
If parks are closed due to the proposed cuts, Stearns said a small crew will circulate among the various parks to provide minimal maintenance and security, but that visitor centers, restrooms and campsites would be closed.
All state parks will remain open through at least Labor Day to continue the revenue flow to the parks as well as to the local communities, according to Stearns.
(© CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Bay City News contributed to this report.)
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