State Parks Crisis: Get Involved!
by Kelly Hackett on April 01, 2012 in State Parks Crisis, Stewardship, Uncategorized
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Photo courtesy California State Parks Foundation.
Learn More About the Parks and Get Involved!
State Department of Parks and Recreation – Find information about all of California’s state parks on the department’s redesigned website: parks.ca.gov.
You can also find a Partnership Workbook for nonprofits and public agencies interested in taking on responsibility for parks slated for closure: parks.ca.gov/?page_id=26966.
California State Parks Foundation (CSPF)
The nonprofit California State Parks Foundation (calparks.org) has a variety of resources and related sites to help you stay informed and engaged, as well as ways to donate to help save closing parks.
- Defend What’s Yours – The place to start for information on, and ways to get involved in, the state parks closure issue. calparks.org/defend
- Save Our State Parks – Information about the state parks’ budget crisis and how to become an advocate for parks. savestateparks.org
- The Magnificent 70 – Get to know the parks on the closure list. mag70.calparks.org
- CalParks Voices Blog – A comprehensive resource for things related to park closures, including relevant events, art shows, and workshops. calparks.wordpress.com
- Facebook – facebook.com/calparks
- Twitter – twitter.com/calparks
- You Tube – youtube.com/user/CAStateParksFndtn
- 15th Annual Earth Day Cleanup – CSPF is hosting volunteer environmental improvement projects at 18 parks around the state on Saturday, April 14, 2012. calparks.org/programs/earth-day/
Contacts for Profiled State Parks
- Samuel P. Taylor State Park: Marin State Parks Association – marinstateparks.org
- Mono Lake Tufa State Natural Reserve:
Mono Lake Committee – monolake.org
The Bodie Foundation – bodiefoundation.org - McGrath State Beach: Save McGrath State Beach – caopenspace.org/savemcgrath.html
- Hendy Woods State Park:
Hendy Woods Community, Inc. – hendywoods.org
Save the Redwoods League – Almost one-quarter of the parks slated for closure are redwood parks. For more information on how the league will help protect the land once the gates have closed: savetheredwoods.org/community/voice.shtml.
Sierra Club of California – The Sierra Club of California’s environmental news blog with information about the park closures. sierraclubcalifornia.org/category/issues/parks-recreationLegislative Analyst’s Office ReportOn March 2, 2012, the Legislative Analyst’s Office released a comprehensive report on strategies to maintain the state park system. It can be found at http://bit.ly/zK8nRA.
Blogs and Videos
The announcement of the park closures inspired many Californians to get out and see the parks for themselves, while documenting the process through blogs and movies:
