Ever since Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger announced plans to close 220 state parks in order to help alleviate the state’s $24.3-billion budget deficit, park advocates have been sending letters, signing petitions and rallying in Sacramento. Schwarzenegger wants to cut $70 million of the Department of Parks and Recreation’s general fund allocation in 2009-10 and another $143 million the following year. In response, the California State Parks Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting and enhancing state parks, has forwarded more than 100,000 opposition letters from concerned citizens to Sacramento. ‘We have actually had to switch our method of communication,’ said Traci Verardo-Torres, the foundation’s vice president of government affairs. The foundation jammed the governor’s and legislators’ fax machines (actually breaking two) and is now e-mailing the letters. In addition, the foundation brought 110 advocates to the state’s Budget Conference Committee meeting in Sacramento on June 2 to give testimony. Locally, Temescal Canyon Association President Carol Leacock is sending letters to more than 900 residents this week. The letters will contain a petition that they can sign and send to Schwarzenegger. Topanga resident Lucinda Mittleman, who helped lead the Campaign to Save Topanga State Park last year, said the group is writing letters and has taken out its ‘Save State Park’ banners from storage to place around Topanga State Park. ‘It’s important that park supporters act quickly and let the governor and the state legislators know that we want our parks to stay open,’ Mittleman told the Palisadian-Post. The Budget Conference Committee will meet in (Continued on Page 3) the next couple of weeks to decide whether to pursue the governor’s proposal to close parks. After the committee acts, the proposal will either be sent directly to the respective legislative bodies for a vote or will be included in negotiations between the governor and leaders in the senate and assembly. The Legislature plans to pass a budget by the end of June, Verardo-Torres said. Last year, Schwarzenegger proposed closing 48 state parks, including Topanga and Will Rogers State Historic Park, but abandoned that recommendation after advocates rallied across the state. This year’s proposal is much more drastic and calls for closing about 80 percent of the state’s parks, including all those in the Santa Monica Mountains. Nearby parks facing closure include Topanga, Will Rogers, Leo Carillo, Malibu Creek State Park, Malibu Lagoon, and Los Encinos. Verardo-Torres pointed out that state parks generate money from day-use and camping fees, which will be lost if they are closed. ‘The savings will be less than the governor is saying,’ she said, and the closed parks would still require some patrol to prevent illegal activity and vandalism. In addition, the closure will negatively affect the state’s economy because park visitors buy gas, groceries and souvenirs and as a result pay the state’s sales tax, Verardo-Torres said. To keep the parks open, she said the foundation might suggest the government take out a loan or modestly increase day-use and camping fees. Mittleman hopes the concept of the California State Park Access Pass (introduced last year) will be revived. The state would charge a $10 surcharge on vehicle license fees for all noncommercial vehicles in California in exchange for free access into state parks. Right now, users have to pay a day-use fee of $8 to $10 at many parks. The vehicle license surcharge would generate about $282 million in annual revenue for the state park system. If the state closes Will Rogers, the 186-acre property would revert back to the Rogers’ family. Will’s wife, Betty Rogers, deeded the property to the state in 1944 with that stipulation. ‘The last thing we want is closure,’ Will Rogers great-granddaughter Jennifer Rogers Etcheverry told the Post. ‘The family is working with the Will Rogers Ranch Foundation and our intention is to keep the park open as a memorial to my great grandfather.’ The ranch foundation is soliciting more members to help provide funding for the park and will mail its annual renewal membership forms this week. The foundation added a new membership level starting at $20 to make it more feasible for people to participate. The Pacific Palisades Community Council will discuss the proposal to close state parks at its meeting tonight at 7 p.m. at the Palisades Branch Library, 861 Alma Real. State Parks Foundation is asking that park supporters visit a state park on June 21 to express their support for keeping parks open. They should wear green or bring signs. To join the Will Rogers Ranch Foundation, visit www.willrogersranchfoundation.org or call (866) 988-9773. To become involved in the campaign to save the parks, visit the State Parks Foundation’s Web site at www.calparks.org.
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