California’s state parks need a lifeline.

The state park system here is the largest in the nation and includes 278 state parks stretching over 1.5 million acres of land valued for recreational, natural, cultural and historical values. In May 2011, the Parks Department announced the closure of 70 California State Parks. Lawmakers and park advocates are seeking short and long term funding and operating solutions to help keep the parks open. Due to a $22 million budget shortfall, you will see more and more service reductions, and eventually full closures, between now and July 2012. Last November, voters turned down Proposition 21, a statewide ballot initiative that would have provided ongoing dedicated funding for state parks through a vehicle license surcharge.

I am following the developments in a series of blog articles on threats to California State Parks and the search for sustainable funding, as park systems, in California and across the country, undergo a period of reinvention.

Blog series:

1. Nonprofits may soon run California State Parks to prevent closures.

   On August 31, The California Senate passed a bill to allow nonprofits to run California State Parks as 70 parks face closure between September 2011 and July 2012. (September 1, 2011)

2. California State Park Crisis featured on KQED Forum.

   Can nonprofits save California State Parks? (September 7, 2011)

3. Reality check: Public parks need philanthropy.

   Philanthropy will be critical for keeping parks open, safe and clean and protecting the ecological integrity of these public lands. (September 16, 2011)

4. Can nonprofit save Jack London’s legacy as historic park faces closure? “Across Sonoma Mountain wisps of sea fog are stealing … I have everything to make me glad I am alive. I am filled with dreams and mysteries. I am all sun and air and sparkle. I am vitalized, organic.” – Jack London (September 23, 2011)

5. Wake up call: California park that immortalizes world-famous legend needs philanthropic lifeline.

   Volunteers are the true heroes in the fight to save our parks, but they need help. (September 25, 2011)

6. Rethinking and reinventing state park financing.

   The state park operations and funding model is broken. Around the state, park advocates are looking for creative solutions to keep the beloved parks in their communities open. (October 4, 2011)

7. National Park Service rescues three Northern California state parks.

   The National Park Service is stepping in to preserve and prevent harm to national parks that overlap boundaries with state parks and has also come up with new ways to raise some additional funding. (October 6, 2011)

8. Short-term funding solutions for state parks emerging, one by one.

   While not final yet, a few nonprofits and public agencies are in various stages of developing proposals to run parks in their communities. (October 14, 2011)

9. What the philanthropic community needs to know to support our state parks.

   Thomas Peters, President of the Marin Community Foundation, offers insights on philanthropy’s response to state park closures. (November 2, 2011)

10. Castle Crag State Park, an iconic landscape crossed by the Pacific Crest Trail, closing.

    Castle Crags State Park is one of 70 that made the notorious closure list announced by California State Parks and Recreation in May 2011. (November 11, 2011)

11. States are trying new ways to raise funds for parks amid nationwide crisis.

    As severe state budget cuts afflict the entire country, California is not alone in this parks funding crisis. Park systems, notably state park systems, are struggling to stay open. Many states are trying new ways to raise public funds. (November 11, 2011)

12. For next generation of Californians, parks legacy is at stake.

    If parks close and stay closed, it would mark the first time the state park system would be left smaller for the next generation of Californians. (November 17, 2011)

13. Park experts and nonprofits gathered in Berkeley on California state parks funding crisis.

    The Bay Area Open Space Council organized a meeting on November 17, 2011, in Berkeley on the California State Parks crisis and live-blogged the event. (November 17, 2011)

14. Nonprofits save Mono Lake Tufa State Natural Reserve from closure.

    After a six-month grassroots public effort, this world-famous reserve is now among four parks to be removed from the infamous May 2011 list of 70 California state parks to be permanently closed by July 1, 2012. (December 2, 2011)

15. California closes Sugarloaf Ridge State Park for first time in park’s 47-year history.

    Unless a deal can be worked out between local nonprofits and the state, closure of this 5,100-acre wildland park in the “Valley of the Moon” will be permanent. (December 4, 2011)

16. Nonprofit launches campaign to save Castle Rock and Portola Redwoods State Parks.

    Among park champions across the state, stepping up to save the parks, are nonprofit groups that have worked side-by-side with state parks in local communities for decades to support education programs and stewardship. (December 6, 2011)

17. The power of local: nonprofits and volunteers hope to rescue state parks.

    The January – March 2012 issue of Bay Nature features the California state parks crisis as the cover story, illuminating the real people behind the hard work of trying to save some of the parks here in the San Francisco Bay Area. (December 29, 2011)

18. Time is running out for endangered California parks. Are state park closures legally defensible? While volunteers and nonprofits continue to raise funds and develop plans in hopes of saving parks from closing in their communities, State Senator Noreen Evans (Democrat-Santa Rosa) says she will introduce legislation halting the closures. (January 8, 2012)

19. Nine state parks saved of 70, others deserted. Six months from now, at least 61 of California’s 278 state parks will close – from historic museums to lands that protect sensitive wildlife habitats and prehistoric Native Californian sites. (January 22, 2012)

20. What is the funding model for nonprofits hoping to save state parks? John Muir’s great, great grandson offers guidance to nonprofits and communities hoping to save their local state park. (February 5, 2012).

21. Sierra Nevada foothills community rallies to save South Yuba River State Park. A state park is saved after a nonprofit rallies the community to gather and hand-deliver 10,000 petition signatures to the governor. (February 8, 2012)

70 California State Parks on the May 2011 Closure List

Many parks on the original closure list are located in Northern California. San Francisco Bay Area Parks are in bold. Parks rescued by donors, public agencies and other sources are noted (nine parks as of January 2012). Be sure to visit The Magnificant 70 to view stunning photos of these parks and learn more.

1. Anderson Marsh SHP
2. Annadel SP
3. Antelope Valley Indian Museum SHP (saved by a donor)
4. Austin Creek SRA
5. Bale Grist Mill SHP
6. Benbow Lake SRA
7. Benicia Capitol SHP
8. Benicia SRA
9. Bidwell Mansion SHP
10. Bothe-Napa Valley SP
11. Brannan Island SRA
12. California State Mining and Mineral Museum Park Property
13. Candlestick Point SRA
14. Castle Crags SP
15. Castle Rock SP
16. China Camp SP
17. Colusa-Sacramento River SRA (saved by operating agreement with the City of Colusa)
18. Del Norte Coast Redwoods SP (saved by National Park Service)
19. Fort Humboldt SHP
20. Fort Tejon SHP
21. Garrapata SP
22. George J. Hatfield SRA
23. Governor’s Mansion SHP
24. Gray Whale Cove SB
25. Greenwood SB
26. Grizzly Creek Redwoods SP
27. Hendy Woods SP
28. Henry W. Coe SP (saved by Coe Park Preservation Fund)
29. Jack London SHP
30. Jug Handle SNR
31. Leland Stanford Mansion SHP
32. Limekiln SP
33. Los Encinos SHP
34. Manchester SP
35. Malakoff Diggins SHP
36. McConnell SRA
37. McGrath SB (saved by donor funds and grant money)
38. Mono Lake Tufa State Natural Reserve (saved by Bodie Foundation and Mono Lake Committee)
39. Morro Strand SB
40. Moss Landing SB
41. Olompali SHP
42. Palomar Mountain SP
43. Petaluma Adobe SHP
44. Picacho SRA
45. Pio Pico SHP
46. Plumas-Eureka SP
47. Point Cabrillo Light Station Property SHP (saved by ongoing concession/operating agreement)
48. Portola Redwoods SP
49. Providence Mountains SRA
50. Railtown 1897 SHP
51. Russian Gulch SP
52. Saddleback Butte SP
53. Salton Sea SRA
54. Samuel P. Taylor SP (saved by National Park Service)
55. San Pasqual Battlefield SHP
56. Santa Cruz Mission SHP
57. Santa Susana Pass SHP
58. Shasta SHP
59. South Yuba River SP (saved with community petition and parking fee agreement)
60. Standish-Hickey SRA
61. Sugarloaf Ridge SP
62. Tomales Bay SP (saved by National Park Service)
63. Tule Elk SNR
64. Turlock Lake SRA
65. Twin Lakes SB
66. Weaverville Joss House SHP
67. Westport-Union Landing SB
68. William B. Ide Adobe SHP
69. Woodson Bridge SRA
70. Zmudowski SB

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