Regular readers know I’ve given a voice to the plight of California State Parks since June of 2009.  Well, as with everything else in the state budget, things are getting progressively worse and 70 state parks are budgeted to close.  That’s almost a quarter of California State Parks — and it’s happening RIGHT NOW through 2012. It’s a really complex issue – and so I asked Christopher Grant Ward of Folk4Parks.org to join forces with me over the summer.

Our deal: He creates videos and I share.
(Personal note: Thanks, Christopher, for taking on the lion’s share and creating some videos to give voice to those who aren’t always heard.) 

We’ve both dedicated tons of our free time over the past two months to getting the message out and, still, there are those who don’t even know the parks are closing.  Please feel free to spread the word and share Christopher’s amazing videos through your social channels.  His new video is my absolute favorite:

The Value of California State Parks, in ONE Word

Happenings since August:

• Governor Brown signed AB 42 (“AB 42 is an important tool that allows the Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) to enter into operating agreements with nonprofits to operate state parks.” (CA State Parks Foundation)
• California State Parks Foundation started 2 new websites: The Magnificent 70 and CalParks Voices Blog.
• The National Park Service stepped in to save parks in Northern California
• A private donor stepped forward to preserve Henry Coe State Park
• Christopher started a fundraising effort by offering a new California State Parks Poster series. Read about it HERE.

Video Documentary:

• VIDEO TRAILER -  Save the 70: The 2011 State Parks Documentary (Less than 2 minutes)
• VIDEO PART 1 – What Does it Mean to Close a State Park?  (Less than 5 minutes)
• VIDEO PART 2 – What Makes a Park Significant? (Less than 4 minutes)
• VIDEO PART 3 – The Value of California State Parks in ONE Word (3 minutes)

More videos from Folk4Parks.org:

• VIDEO – CA State Park Closures: Our Public Legacy (8 minutes)
• VIDEO – CA State Park Employees Need Your Support (1 minute)

Some visuals:

• VISUAL – 3 Money Myths About CA State Parks
• VISUAL – Awareness Is Advocacy

People are talking . . . using their voices to fight for keeping California State Parks open.

McGrath State Beach in Ventura/Oxnard

The volunteer hours put in to save this place are astounding! It seems essential to have one leader for the cause to focus all efforts on key actions — right at the optimum time.  For example, at different times the administrator of the Save McGrath State Beach page on Facebook has asked for followers to: vote for the park in a national contest, contact the media, write letters to the County Board of Supervisors, or to city government.

Telling a personal story and linking it to records of real money brought to the local economy from this State Park seems to be convincing the government to take a more active role in keeping it open. Local governments understand that putting in a little bit of $ to keep the parks open actually reaps benefits for the surrounding businesses, as well as the city.  Follow the Save McGrath State Beach page to see a case study of a successful fight being waged on behalf of a treasured park.

California State Parks Foundation (CSPF) launches a blog and a new website

CSPF is the non-profit leader and our “Voice for the Parks” in California. If you love our parks and are not already a member, I highly recommended joining and signing up for their email newsletter. I’m a Frequent Visitor member which includes an annual parking pass. Heck! Give memberships as gifts to family and friends.  I’m a huge fan of their new blog called CalParks Voices blog where they keep readers updated in short, timely bit-size pieces.

The Magnificent 70 website is a pictorial wonder of each of the parks on the closure list.  See the parks. Read their story. Then get involved with the nonprofit associated with that park. Follow CalParks on Facebook, too.

Folk4Parks.org shares new park documentary videos and presents on “Our Public Legacy”

I consider myself an accidental park advocate (I’m talking because I’m so panicked about losing our parks to nonsensical closures). Christopher Grant Ward is very deliberate in his advocacy. His nonprofit, website and blog are “dedicated to the preservation of open spaces in California and around the world.”  You can see all his park videos on his YouTube Channel and read his blog at Folk4Parks.org.

Christopher has also just introduced a State Parks Poster Collector Series with opportunities to donate directly to a nonprofit supporting a CA State Park.

AB42 is on Governor Brown’s Desk

“AB 42 is an important tool that allows the Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) to enter into operating agreements with nonprofits to operate state parks.”  It doesn’t solve the funding problem for all parks, but it will help prevent closures at least at some parks. Please show your support and encourage the Governor to sign AB42.  It took me 5 minutes to follow the links and sign the petition.

3 Things You Can Do to Help:

• Follow the directions in this CalParks blog and ask the Governor to sign AB42.
• Join the California State Parks Foundation and visit your parks.
• Stay updated on all the news on this topic and share it. Please! SHARE. (It’s helped! The LA Times just ran a story over the weekend: “State Parks Crisis: Closing the gates to Eden to save money“)

The Tomol Interpretive Play Area and Carpinteria State Beach give us two more reasons to love this little beachy town between Ventura and Santa Barbara.  We’ve been visiting here for years, but it’s fun to get touristy and try to see it from a new perspective.  The new playground opened in June 2011.

Directions: From Highway 101 heading north, exit at Casitas Pass and turn left (towards the ocean). Turn right onto Carpinteria Avenue and make a left onto the main strip at Linden Avenue.  Parking in the city lot is on your right before the train tracks — or continue on and make a left into Carpinteria State Beach parking lot.  If you are heading south on the 101, I believe you can just exit at Linden Avenue.  MAP TO TOMOL INTERPRETIVE PLAY AREA AND CARPINTERIA STATE BEACH

Tomol Interpretive Play Area

• The Carpinteria Morning Rotary Club deserves big kudos for taking a leading role in creating (over an 8 year period) and maintaining this great local playground. Read more about it and their work with California State Parks and others.
• It had one of the most unusual slides I’ve ever been on — with rollers like a conveyor belt.  I don’t have any photos posted, because kids were on it NON-STOP!  Adults weren’t big fans. I thought it was fun.
• Lots of learning opportunities: What’s the difference between a harbor seal and a sea lion? How did the Chumash build their housing?  How does an eagle build its nest? What animals live in a tidepool? What is a tomol? Can you find all the rock paintings? What do you think they mean?
• The 3-fer slide looks deceivingly short, but it’s bumpy/slippery/steep!
• I saw a little one year old playing almost exclusively by touching and hugging the seal, sea lion, and dolphin
• You can’t beat this central location within walking distance to the beach and state park restrooms
• Park at the State Park or in the city lot across the street near the train station
• This would make a perfect, walkable destination for train travel!
• Tons of great restaurants and funky little shops within walking distance
• “The Spot” looked like the place for burgers, although I didn’t get to try it.

Carpinteria State Beach Hike

• Before we hit the playground, we started our visit with a hike at Carpinteria State Beach
• From the day-use parking lot walk to the beach and turn left at the creek to get to the bridge.  Then, just wander down the trails heading south to see some beautiful coastline, more campground, and end up at Tar Pit Park (which has old asphalt and a small seepage of tar if you look close)
• We turned around here and headed to a reward visit to the playground.
• See if you can spot wild roses and nasturtiums. We found 2 favorite trees from the walk, too.  One looks like a dragon or a horse, the other is tall and spindly: a lonely tree looking out over the ocean.

Checklist:

• Wear good shoes, sunscreen and a hat (you can get sunburned even in the fog)
• Bring water and snacks
• Decide whether you are going to visit the playground 1st or last (or both).  Please enjoy the hike and the natural beauty of our state parks.
• Purchasing an annual California state parks pass can make the visit easy and benefit our parks.  Otherwise, it’s $10 for the day use parking.
• If you can, try to camp here!

*Added to KaBOOM.org as part of their 2011 Park-A-Day Summer Challenge

In June 2011, I approached Christopher Grant Ward of Folk4Parks.org and asked him to provide some video content about the state park closures (see the post about our collaboration).  He’s so great at telling a story and I felt it was important to SEE what’s going on rather than tell.  Over the past two months, he’s been working on the incredible visual and artistic task of creating the film footage. I’ve worked “behind-the-scenes” to compile info for a fact sheet, learn about the issues, and start spreading the word to bloggers and media about the impending closures.

I’m very excited to introduce the trailer he created for his 8-part documentary highlighting the value of the parks.  (For those with sensitive ears, there’s one mention of “H-E-double hockey sticks.” However, it’s fleeting and I think it sufficiently expresses the frustration he feels (and I feel!) when we try to understand this issue.)

The headquarters for this fight is the California State Parks Foundation and their Save Our State Parks website. They have 5 ways you can take immediate action on their home page, plus explanations of legislation.

Pick a park and support it. I’m picking McGrath State Beach, since it’s near where I grew up and I know Cindy who is running the Save McGrath efforts on Facebook. I started by getting in contact with their non-profit to see how I could help (donate, volunteer, write letters).  I am not able to contribute much by way of time or money, but I’m doing what I can.

Parks slated for closure in 2011-12:
(with hyperlinks to the non-profit agency websites associated with those parks)

1. Anderson Marsh SHP in Lake County (Anderson Marsh Interpretive Association)
2. Annadel SP (Valley of the Moon Natural History Association)
3. Antelope Valley Indian Museum in Lancaster (Friends of the Antelope Valley Indian Museum)
4. Austin Creek SRA (Stewards of the Coast and Redwoods)
5. Bale Grist Mill SHP (Napa Valley State Parks Association)
6. Benbow Lake SRA (Richardson Grove Interpretive Association)
7. Benicia Capitol SHP (Benicia State Parks Association)
8. Benicia SRA (Benicia State Parks Association)
9. Bidwell Mansion SHP in Chico (Bidwell Mansion Association)
10. Bothe-Napa Valley SP (Napa Valley State Parks Association)
11. Brannon Island SRA (None listed)
12. California State Historic Mining and Mineral Museum (California State Historic Mining and Mineral Museum)
13. Candlestick Point SRA (San Mateo Coast Natural History Association)
14. Castle Crags SP (Castle Crags Interpretive Association)
15. Castle Rock SP (Portola-Castle Rock Foundation)
16. China Camp SP in Marin County (Marin State Parks Association)
17. Colusa-Sacramento River SRA (None listed)
18. Del Norte Coast Redwoods SP (Redwoods Park Association)
19. Fort Humboldt SHP (Redwoods Park Association)
20. Fort Tejon SHP in Lebec (Fort Tejon Historical Association)
21. Garrapata SP (None listed)
22. George J. Hatfield SRA (Four Rivers Natural History Association)
23. Governor’s Mansion SHP (Governor’s Mansion Foundation – in progress)
24. Gray Whale Cove SB (San Mateo Coast Natural History Association)
25. Greenwood SB (Mendocino Area Parks Association-MAPA)
26. Grizzly Creek Redwoods SP (Humboldt Redwoods Interpretive Association)
27. Hendy Woods SP (Mendocino Area Parks Association-MAPA)
28. Henry W. Coe SP in Morgan Hill (Coe Park Preservation Fund and the Pine Ridge Association)
29. Jack London SHP (Valley of the Moon Natural History Association)
30. Jug Handle SNR (Mendocino Area Parks Association-MAPA)
31. Leland Stanford Mansion SHP (Leland Stanford Mansion Foundation)
32. Limekiln SP (None listed)
33. Los Encinos SHP (Los Encinos Docent Association)
34. Malakoff Diggins SHP in Nevada City (Malakoff-Diggins Park Association)
35. Manchester SP (Mendocino Area Parks Association-MAPA)
36. McConnell SRA (Four Rivers Natural History Association)
37. McGrath SB (Friends of Channel Coast State Parks)
38. Mono Lake Tufa SR (Bodie Foundation)
39. Morro Strand SB (Central Coast Natural History Association)
40. Moss Landing SB (None listed)
41. Olompali SHP in Marin County (Marin State Parks Association)
42. Palomar Mountain SP (Cuyamaca Rancho State Park Interpretive Association)
43. Petaluma Adobe SHP (Sonoma-Petaluma State Historic Parks Associaton)
44. Picacho SRA (Sea and Desert Interpretive Association)
45. Pio Pico SHP (Friends of Pio Pico, Inc.)
46. Plumas-Eureka SP (Plumas-Eureka State Parks Association-PESPA)
47. Point Cabrillo Light Station Property  (Point Cabrillo Lightkeepers Association)
48. Portola Redwoods SP (Portola and Castle Rock Foundation)
49. Providence Mountains SRA (Poppy Reserve Mohave Desert Interpretive Association)
50. Railtown 1897 SHP (California State Railroad Museum Foundation)
51. Russian Gulch SP (Mendocino Area Parks Association-MAPA)
52. Saddleback Butte SP Poppy Reserve Mohave Desert Interpretive Association)
53. Salton Sea SRA (Sea and Desert Interpretive Association)
54. Samuel P. Taylor SP in Marin County (Marin State Parks Association)
55. San Pasqual Battlefield SHP (San Pasqual Battlefield Volunteer Association)
56. Santa Cruz Mission SHP (Friends of Santa Cruz State Parks)
57. Santa Susana Pass SHP (Santa Susana Mountain Park Association – in progress)
58. Shasta SHP (Town of Shasta Interpretive Association)
59. South Yuba River SP (South Yuba River Park Association)
60. Standish-Hickey SRA (Richardson Grove Interpretive Association)
61. Sugarloaf Ridge SP (Valley of the Moon Natural History Association)
62. Tomales Bay SP in Marin County (Marin State Parks Association)
63. Tule Elk SR (None listed)
64. Turlock Lake SRA (Four Rivers Natural History Association)
65. Twin Lakes SB (Friends of Santa Cruz State Parks)
66. Weaverville Joss House SHP (Weaverville Joss House Association)
67. Westport-Union Landing SB (Mendocino Area Parks Association-MAPA)
68. William B. Ide Adobe SHP (Ide Adobe Interpretive Association)
69. Woodson Bridge SRA (None listed)
70. Zmudowski SB (None listed)

See a slideshow of all 70 parks on Folk4Parks.org — the visual impact of what’s at stake is very disturbing to witness.

Read more about The Danger of Closing a Park in my post on OCFamily.com and get more actionable ideas on how to help.

Welcome to the first post in an ongoing series to get the word out that CA State Parks Matter! Regular readers know I believe parks should not close. Cindy Crawford runs CAOpenSpace.org which is a photo journal website of California’s outdoor spaces. She’s recently taken a very active role in the Save McGrath State Beach community.  She’s just a regular California resident doing something to help save the parks. I asked Cindy to write a guest post about why she thinks closing the parks is a bad idea:

California State Parks are important to us in many ways.

They generate revenue for the state, for every dollar put into State Parks $2.35 is returned to the General Fund.  A State Park’s visitors contribute to its local economy, it is estimated every visitor spends up to $58 at nearby businesses.  And the list goes on.

But most importantly State Parks are places family and friends can gather and spend quality time outdoors in nature.  Our State Historical Parks are our heritage, places we can take our children to learn about our state history, to experience it firsthand rather than just in classroom.

As I walk through a State Park I see people walking, hiking or jogging, often with their children.  Some gather to look at a native plant or an animal, taking pictures.  Others just relax on a bench with a gorgeous view.  I see children joining educational activities with the campground host.  And, of course, always people laughing and talking around the campfire.

I spent a lot of time at state parks and beaches with my children as they were growing up, some of my best memories.  I’d pack up my sons and all their friends and take them camping, just me and the kids.  At the State Beach near my neighborhood my children and I could always find people we knew.  We could walk the beach and meet up with neighbors and friends, stop for a game of family Frisbee or just good conversation while watching our kids play in the surf.  Many good times, which I hope families in the future can also experience.

But as the population in California increases, the number of parks is now decreasing which will lead to fewer opportunities for families to get outdoors.  For example, when McGrath State Beach in Ventura closes this September, 300,000 Southern California beach campers have to find another beach for camping.  And when you add the number of State Parks visitors from the other 69 parks closing that is a lot of people looking for another place to go…and then factor in population growth. What will be the impact of this to us?  The last thing we need in California is fewer state parks!

Visit my California State Parks Matter! Resource page to learn more

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