Popular Program That Lets Library Users Get Free Nature Passes Could End Next Year

Nature is awesome, especially when it's free and accessible to all.

To that end, library card holders have been able to check out day passes to visit more than 200 state parks across California from their local libraries for nearly three years — free of charge, courtesy of a state-funded program.

"There are a lot of barriers to access, but cost is is a significant one," said Rachel Norton, executive director of California State Parks Foundation.

New survey data released this week is giving the organization a sense of who the California State Library Parks Pass program is serving.

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Of the 3,600 survey participants, nearly 70% said that their annual income is below $60,000. And over 60% identified as Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC).

The state park library pass is one of three pilot programs started in 2021. In addition, there's one that provides state park passes for food stamp recipients, and another that gives free annual passes to 4th graders and their families living in the state.

Norton said the library pass program has been very successful.

Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve in San Diego, one of more than 200 state parks participating in the library state pass program.

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Courtesy of California State Parks Foundation

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So far, 33,000 passes are available in more than 1,100 public libraries across the state, up from just 5,000 passes when the program first launched.

"It was so popular and there was such a long waiting list for passes to check out that it was expanded immediately," Norton said.

Funding for all three pilot programs is set to end in 2024. Norton estimates that it'd require $9 million to keep them going.

"Yes, $9 million to you and I is a lot of money, but it's not a lot of money when you consider how large the California budget is," Norton said. "So it's a relatively small investment."

The programs also demystify misperceptions around nature. Norton said a surprising finding of the survey is that many people weren't aware of how inexpensive it is to hit up a state park. A day pass typically costs under $20.

"And so that pass allows you to get in free, but they also now are like, 'Oh, wow, I can go back. I don't need to go to the library and check out a pass all the time.' So that's really exciting," she said.