Proposed closure of 200+ CA State Parks! *URGENT*

[JeepFreak21]

Arnold and these politicians are really starting to piss me off!

Please read the email that I just received (below). Then please follow the link and give them a piece of your mind!

Billy

Dear Billy,

Here we go again! Last year, you were one of more than 50,000 Californians who supported the Save Our State Parks campaign and helped stopped the closure of 48 state parks. I’m writing to you because we need your help again, and urgently.

Just this week, the Governor announced a new proposal to eliminate state funding for our state park system – which will close over 200 state parks. His proposal to cut $143 million from our state parks is 10 times worse than last year's proposal. CSPF is kicking off the Save Our State Parks campaign again, and we need your help to take action TODAY and tell the Governor and your state legislators that gutting funding to state parks is unacceptable.

Next Tuesday, June 2, the Legislature's Budget Conference Committee will consider this proposal. Right now, state park advocates need to make their voices heard and your contact to your legislators is critical. Please take action TODAY and tell them to reject the proposal and save our state parks.

With your help, CSPF will be leading the fight against this proposal to make sure that all state parks stay open and funded. Thank you for your help and please pass this message along to your friends and other park supporters for their action, too.

Thank you.
Elizabeth Goldstein
President, CSPF

 

[SeansXJ]

it sucks man, well after finishing school and getting all what was needed to get into CDC there starting to send out lay off notices to anyone thats been there 15 months and under. sucks to be me! i hate Ca right now, thinking Texas sounds mighty nice right now.

 

[Starboard M]

Sending your message to:

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
Senator Mark DeSaulnier
Assembly Member Nancy Skinner




Come on Arnie, dont close the parks.

 

[matttaylor1976]

off topic - Dont count on the 15 month and under layoffs lasting long. This fire season is going to be brutal, and you'll be back to work in no time!

On topic - This is just another problem with this state. Hike the taxes, hike fees on everything, then start cut funding to public agencies, and "recreation". What about the money those clowns in the capital spend on "commuting" and clothes, and god knows what else. Typical political crap, politicians keep what they have and the average Joe loses. I sent my letter, lets see what happens

 

[Starboard M]

"A huge thank you to the over 30,000 people who have signed over 87,000 letters delivered to legislators over the last week! Last night in Sacramento, we showed that park supporters have passion for our parks - and staying power! After waiting 4 hours past the time we were scheduled to testify, over 100 park advocates packed the Budget Conference Committee to lobby to keep state parks open. We only had 60 seconds each to talk, but advocates around the state pressed our case for state parks - which drive local economic activity and provide much-needed, low cost recreation. No vote was taken, but committee members were sympathetic. A vote may come on this issue next week. "


From the California Parklands E-Newsletter June 2009 I just got in an email.

 

[JeepFreak21]

I just got a letter from my Assemblymember, Alyson Huber. She seemed to be in favor of the closure. She did emphasize how "painfully aware of CA's budget crisis" they are. Of course, she probably spent a dollar mailing me a paper letter, when I specifically put my email address on the form.

Billy

 

[mikeprince]

This is just another perspective...

Let's say your wife is in charge of all household expenditures (of which you are the source of revenue). She decides what percentage goes towards food, beer, utilities, gardeners, rent, health insurance, just about everything. You still pay things like car payments, vacations, and of course cool toys like quads and such.

And then something bad happens with your job and you start making less money. Time to start cutting.

You ask your wife to spend less, but let's say she likes things the way they are and wants YOU to cut out your toys. So what does she do? Instead of spending less on gardeners and doing it herself, she takes away your beer budget and the kids cell phones. And now your kids are whining about how much you suck for your bad job and you can't even grab a beer to chill out. She reduced minimal expenses in the most painful way to make her point that SHE doesn't want her budget cut or it will hurt YOU.

This is one way to view how the parks are handling the situation.

The last time I needed a park rangers help I had to walk to the main road, and catch a ride to the next park over. You don't need very many rangers (I am not disrespecting rangers here, just saying that if the public accepts less coddling we can get away with fewer rangers - through natural attrition of course and not lay-offs). Plus, parks are usually wild areas, that by definition don't really need much (any?) maintenance - people cherish them because the *are* wild. We could probably argue that most of the largely wild area parks could run on skeleton budgets, and these are the areas I want to keep open.

How's this for an idea: except for bridges, let's allow the roads to degrade, so that they require increasingly capable vehicles to traverse. At first slightly modified vehicles like the old dune buggies could make it, then later you'd need 31's, then 33's, and so on. Hey - this is the story of the Rubicon trail and look how that worked out!!

Let the erosion begin!