The power of local: nonprofits and volunteers hope to rescue state parks
Bay Nature’s January – March 2012 front cover: Rat Island, China Camp State Park, Marin County. Image courtesy of Bay Nature.
Since September 2011, I have focused this blog on the unprecedented threats to California’s state parks and efforts by community volunteers, nonprofits, philanthropists and lawmakers to save parks now facing indefinite closure (Park funding crisis series).
While covering this topic, I have connected with park volunteers, bloggers, advocacy organizations, hikers, climbers and others who are concerned. Some fear losing access to one of their favorite parks and others see our state parks legacy falling apart.
My friends over at the nonprofit Bay Nature Institute are also closely following the issue. Hitting newsstands and mailboxes any day, the January – March 2012 issue of Bay Nature features the parks crisis as the cover story. Longtime Sierra magazine editor and local reporter Joan Hamilton illuminates the real people behind the hard work of trying to save some of the parks here in the Bay Area – from Henry Coe State Park to Jack London State Historical Park.
As we head into 2012, I would like to thank the individuals who have helped me follow the parks crisis in 2011 with information, links and camaraderie. Many thanks to:
- Andrew Vought of the Portola and Castle Rock Foundation
- Ann Briggs of Coe Preservation Fund
- Annie Burke of the Bay Area Open Space Council
- Dan Rademacher, Editorial Director at Bay Nature
- David Sanger of David Sanger Photography
- Diane Einstein of the Marin State Parks Association
- Elisa Stancil of Valley of the Moon Natural History Association
- Geoff McQuilken, Executive Director of Mono Lake Committee
- Glenn Brank of Norcal Yak
- Greg Hayes of Valley of the Moon Natural History Association
- Jerry Emory of the California State Parks Foundation
- Kai Allen of the Mount Shasta Ranger Station, US Forest Service
- Laure Latham, blogger and author of Best Hikes with Kids, San Francisco Bay Area
- Lauren Dixon of the Parks Alliance for Sonoma County
- R.D. Pasco of the Access Fund
- Ray Murray Partnerships Program Chief, Pacific West Regional Office, National Park Service
- Rich Dolesh, Chief of Public Policy, National Recreation and Park Association
- Roger Dhesi, Partnerships Division for California State Parks
- Roy Stearns, Deputy Director of Communications, California State Parks
- Shelley O’Brien, Senior manager for fundraising at the National Recreation and Park Association and blogger at Grant Garden: Where Your Fundraising Grows
- Stephanie Burkhart of the National Park Service, Pacific West Region
- Stu Langdoc of the Portola and Castle Rock Foundation
- Tom Burch, Chair of the Sierra Nevada Section, American Alpine Club
As this story continues to unfold, I will see you in 2012.
Blog series
This is the 17th article in a series on threats to California State Parks and the search for sustainable funding.