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What will Hike The Geek do?!?!
In order to face up to budget-balancing woes and a state-wide financial crunch, Governor Schwartzenegger has proposed to close 48 different national park sites, as well as cut funding to many school, health care, and criminal justice programs. Parks in the L.A. area like the Will Rogers State Historic Park, Topanga State Park, and Pio Pico State Historic Park in Whittier will all be shut down, affecting many nearby residents and school groups who regularly take advantage of park services.
But beyond the budget cuts, what would a state-wide park closure even mean? Are they gonna just rope off the entry way and make everybody go home? What's going to happen to the land? What's going to happen to the park employees and their jobs? Should citizens still have access to public land? Park officials had a few answers in today's LA Times article:
Of the state's 278 parks, those slated for closure are the least used, produce the least revenue and are the easiest to secure, according to parks officials.Joe Escalante of Indie 103.1's morning show speculated this morning that The Guvnuh might just be in bed with private developers who aim to turn these prime sites into real estate ventures. Hanging out in a beachside resort in the Will Rogers park would be cool, I guess, but a lot of citizens would probably prefer to keep the beach and parks free, open, and friendly to all.If the budget takes effect as written, gates would be put up at the entrances to 43 of the parks, which would be patrolled and maintained but would not be open to the public, said state parks Director Ruth Coleman. Others would be partially closed. For instance, one of the two campgrounds at Mt. San Jacinto State Park would be closed. The sites slated for closure include Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park in the state's far northwest corner and Salton Sea State Recreation Area in the southeast.
Coleman said the closures would mean the loss of about 6 1/2 million visitors for a system that had 79 million visitors in 2007. Parks officials said they had not yet decided whether to issue tickets to people who venture onto the closed facilities
Hike The Geek photo by Nogwater via Flickr
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state parks simply turn into county and city parks - don't see the big issue here.
Well it seems it could be redistributing where the funding comes from - instead of state funding that Arnold has to worry about it comes back to LA county, the city of LA...but then he wipes his hands of the future of the parks and we all know that the state can fund them better than a county or city because of the allocation of funds. It's definitely sneaky. And sad, because he lives up Mandeville Canyon and it's surrounded by state parks. Outdoor, protected space means everything in California and John Muir is rolling over in his grave at the thought that any of it could be turned into real estate investment property.
No--The State isn't discussing selling these parks to cities or counties. The State will own them, but keep them closed and off-limits. Except to the people who ignore the rules. As a consequence, the parks facilities will deteriorate, vandalism will increase, and there will be serious repurcussions on public safety as well as environmental and historical preservation. The loss of lifeguards alone will absolutely result in accidental deaths on the beaches.
Some parks, like Will Rogers, were deeded to the state on the condition that it be operated as a park. If the state closes it, it may revert back to the Will Rogers estate. What they do with it is up to them, and it could result in the permanent loss of parkland. They could turn it into a dozen walmarts, if they so choose.
This is a very big issue indeed.
As a side note, it would be a fairly difficult thing for the state to sell designated parks to private interests. So Escalante's fear is unfounded. (Surpluss state lands are another matter though...)