Council Joins Battle to Keep State Parks Open

The Pacific Palisades Community Council voted unanimously last Thursday to oppose Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s proposal to close 48 state parks and reduce lifeguard staffing at 16 state beaches. Schwarzenegger has asked California State Parks to reduce its budget by 10 percent as part of his attempt to reduce the $14.5-billion budget deficit for 2008-09. Will Rogers State Historical Park and Topanga State Park are among the parks that could be closed. ‘These parks are dear to us,’ said council member Gil Dembo. ‘Years from now, where will our families have recreation?’ Adults and children from all over Los Angeles, not just nearby residents, hike and bike at Will Rogers and Topanga, added Treasurer Ted Mackie. The Community Council’s resolution will be submitted to the governor and the state Legislature. California State Parks decided to close 48 parks because salaries are the largest part of its budget and the closure would allow the department to eliminate 136 positions, said Roy Stearns, communications deputy director for California State Parks. ‘This latest 10-percent reduction, on top of the years and years of previous reductions, finally brought us to the point where all efficiencies were gone and we had no choice but to close parks,’ Stearns told the Palisadian-Post on Friday. Under the proposal, the department will keep 230 parks open. Although Topanga and Will Rogers have more visitors than some of the other state parks that will stay open, the department wanted to close parks evenly across the state, Stearns said. In 2006, Will Rogers had 203,807 visitors and generated $346,713 in revenue, while Topanga had 202,793 visitors and brought in $67,313. Will Rogers charges a $7 day-use parking fee and Topanga’s fee is $5 or $6, depending on the season. If Will Rogers and Topanga are closed, rangers and maintenance workers from nearby parks will periodically check on the facilities for any safety issues and to prevent vandalism, Stearns said. ‘Our goal would be to preserve and protect and, when the budget situation improves, reopen the parks.’ Stearns anticipates that people will continue to use the parks by walking around barricades. ‘We would ask them to honor the closures to ensure safety, but we just might not be able to make contact with every person who decides to take a walk.’ Los Angeles City Councilmen Bill Rosendahl and Ed Reyes wrote a resolution against closing state parks and reducing lifeguard staffing that was presented at yesterday’s Los Angeles City Council meeting. ‘It’s not too early to speak out as individuals,’ said Lucinda Mittleman, who helped start the ‘Save Topanga State Park’ campaign, at last Thursday’s Community Council meeting. The campaign is part of the ‘Save Our State Parks Campaign’ that advocates for all 48 endangered parks. Will Rogers’ great-granddaughter Jennifer Rogers Etcheverry and the Will Rogers Ranch Foundation are hosting the ‘Will Rogers Never Met a State Park He Never Liked’ event this Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Community members are invited to help spruce up the park as a way of showing their support for state parks. On Saturday, volunteers will restore the hitching rail that Will Rogers used to tie his horse in front of his house in the early 1930s. There will be a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 2 p.m. to honor the restoration. To learn more about the campaigns to save state parks, visit www.savetopangastatepark.org and www.savestateparks.org. —————————————————— RESOLUTION OPPOSING STATE PARK CLOSURE WHEREAS The Governor’s 2008-09 State Budget may result in an unprecedented closing of Will Rogers State Historical Park, Topanga State Park, and other state parks, as well as drastic lifeguard reductions on 16 popular state beaches; WHEREAS Will Rogers State Historic Park is an historic landmark that was recently renovated to enhance its unique recreational and educational uses and will, by the terms under which it was granted to the State of California, revert to the Will Rogers family if the State does not continue to operate the site as intended, WHEREAS Topanga State Park is located in the heart of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area and features spectacular geological formations, 36 miles of trails through open grassland, live oaks, and spectacular views of the Pacific Ocean, WHEREAS Will Rogers State Historic Park and Topanga State Park are our nearest state parks and their closure would directly affect our businesses and families, WHEREAS Will Rogers State Historic Park and Topanga State Park are two of the few natural, public recreational and educational sites in proximity to urban Los Angeles County, a region that is experiencing rapid growth and increasing density, congestion, pollution and loss of open space, and WHEREAS the extensive trail system in these parks is accessible to communities throughout the San Fernando Valley, Malibu and other parts of Los Angeles County and provides hiking, biking, ocean views, breezes and wildlife sighting opportunities that are not available anywhere else, and WHEREAS school districts throughout Los Angeles County use these parks for educational programs in science and environmental studies, offering urban children a rare opportunity to experience nature firsthand, WHEREAS lifeguard staffing reductions will endanger public health and safety on California’s state beaches; THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Pacific Palisades Community Council hereby (1) supports the Save Our State Parks Campaign; (2) opposes any state budget proposal that would result in the closure of, or the sale of any property located in, Will Rogers State Historic Park, Topanga State park or other state parks; and (3) opposes any budget proposal that would result in the reduction of lifeguard staffing on state beaches. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the PACIFC PALISADES COMMUNITY COUNCIL does hereby unanimously adopt this resolution on this the 27th day of March 2008. Copies of this resolution will be transmitted to the Save Our State Parks Campaign, the Governor, and the state Legislature. Richard G. Cohen Vice-Chair/Acting Chair