In State Parks, the Sharpest Ax Is the Budget’s

[Judi Lynn]

Source: New York Times

In State Parks, the Sharpest Ax Is the Budget’s
By WILLIAM YARDLEY
Published: June 6, 2011

DECEPTION PASS STATE PARK, Wash. — As the summer season gets under way, budget-strapped state parks across the country are pursuing creative and sometimes controversial solutions simply to stay open. Many are imposing steep new fees, leaning ever more heavily on volunteers and, in one ominous effort to raise money, even pushing to drill for oil and gas beneath hiking trails and picnic pavilions.

The vast majority of states have cut park financing, often significantly, since the economic downturn took full hold in 2008, and some were cutting long before that. Some parks are closing altogether; Gov. Jerry Brown of California in recent days announced plans to permanently close 70 of the state’s 278 parks this fall. Even where parks remain open, the compromises they make to do so are often uncomfortable.

“There have been lines that have been crossed that were unthinkable a couple of years ago,” said Richard Dolesh, chief of public policy for the National Recreation and Park Association.

Here in Washington, one of only a handful of states that has not charged entrance fees to state parks, the revenue stream is about to change. Beginning July 1, the parks will no longer receive state money for their operating budgets. Instead, they will rely directly on new entrance fees — $30 for an annual pass, $10 for one day. It is far from clear that the new plan will compensate for the $70 million in state money that parks are losing each year.




Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/07/us/07parks.html

[Kolesar]

1. What is ironic is that municipal and county parks get support from the voters

Where I live, the metroparks budget costs each homeowner ~$100/year. The parks levies seldom fail. People want parks. The state just has not figured that out.

[Hubert Flottz]

2. How did BushCo screw thee?

Let me count the ways.

Build a park in Iraq, close one in "Kolley-4-knee-ya".

That trillion we wasted tracking down Saddam's still missing WMD, would have bought a lot of butter.

[JJW]

3. Billions of dollars in tax payer subsidies to Big Oil

nothing for State Parks for the children. Not change you can believe in.

[ClarkUSA]

7. President Obama is not a dictator. Blame the Republicans and Blue Dogs in Congress.

[jwirr]

4. If I were forced to cut state parks budgets I would cut the people things

and save the preservation things. These parks can get along without people. I would hope that people would begin to understand that tax money is used for things that they want.

[XemaSab]

5. $10 is steep if you're not planning to spend the day

$30 for a pass is reasonable, though.

I wish parks in California charged by the hour with a cap of, say, $20. Sometimes I just want to go hang out in a park for like an hour, ya know?

[Corruption Winz]

6. Jesus... Rush Limbaugh will have to pay 10 extra dollars...

when he heads to the park to pick up his "medicine" from his "doctor."

The economy finally hits the republicans.

[happyslug]

8. In Pennsylvania we do NOT have to worry about being charged for entrance fees

Maurice Goddard was the head of the Pennsylvania Department of Water and Forestry from 1955 till 1970, he was then "promoted" to be the head of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, when it was formed and took over the old department of Waters and Forest. Goddard ran the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental protection from 1970 till 1979. Goddard served under both Democratic and Republican Governors for over 24 years.

One of his objection was to have a state park within 25 miles of every Resident of Pennsylvania. He came close, but technically failed. One aspect of the State Parks that he formed was that almost all of them where built around public highways (Almost all one lane in each direction). The reason for this "Design" was simple, if a major highway went through the middle of the Park, there was no way to shut off public access to the park, thus no way to charge a fee to enter. It was a deliberate policy and can be seen in almost all of Pennsylvania State Parks (Not all of them, but most of them).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maurice_K._Goddard

List of State Parks in Pennsylvania:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Pennsylvania_state_parks#endnote_Anone

It is notable that Pennsylvania has produce two of the greatest preservers of Nature, Gifford Pinchot and Maurice Goddard.

Pinchot was the First head of the National Forest Service under Theodore Roosevelt, later was instrumental in forming the State Forest and State Park Systems in Pennsylvania (In between he served two non-consecutive terms of Governor of Pennsylvania, 1923-1927 and 1931-1935, the Pennsylvania Constitution forbade a Governor to succeed themselves at that time and until 1970, thus Pinchot had to sit out one term as Governor).

For more on Pinchot:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gifford_Pinchot

[ailsagirl]

9. It's terrible--

I spoke to a park employee about it and she said that the 70 parks will be closed as of September 11 (a sadly appropriate date). What's going to happen to all those forests? I have nightmares of the state clear-cutting them and selling the timber, then parceling out the land for condos...

:wtf: :crazy: :mad:

Thanks, Ahno
:spank: