Latest from state parks crisis

Faulty water system pulls Russian Gulch off closure list

June 14, 2012 by Christine Sculati

A mechanical breakdown could, oddly enough, be one of the reasons Russian Gulch State Park comes off the state parks closure list just before a July 1 shutdown.

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Lawmakers scramble to avert park closures

June 04, 2012 by Joan Hamilton

With state park closures only a month away, California lawmakers are scrambling to send long-lasting aid to the state park system and keep the gates open.

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Joan Hamilton on state parks’ future

May 09, 2012 by Bay Nature

Writer Joan Hamilton spoke with interviewer Henry Tenenbaum on KRON4 Sunday, May 6 about the state parks closures slated for

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First to the finish line: Jack London State Park

May 02, 2012 by Joan Hamilton

For the past 35 years, Valley of the Moon Natural History Association has been helping greet and educate visitors at the Jack London State Historic Park in Sonoma County.As of May 1, however, it’s taken charge of the whole park: 1,400 acres, 10,000 artifacts, and more than a dozen historic buildings.It’s an unusual situation, born of California’s budget woes. The state says it no longer has the money to keep Jack London open, but the surrounding community sees the park as a vital public asset. So locals are investing their own time and money to create something new — what Valley of the Moon board president Greg Hayes calls “a community-operated state park.”

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Despite promise of developer funds, Candlestick Point will close

April 25, 2012 by Christine Sculati

Candlestick Point State Recreation Area in southeast San Francisco is California’s first urban state park, and offers city-dwellers a slice of nature along the Bay. State budget cuts landed it on the list of park closures, even though a massive redevelopment project next door promises to deliver $50 million to Candlestick.

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Rural Refuge in the Redwoods

April 19, 2012 by Joan Hamilton

For residents and businesses in the Anderson Valley, 845-acre Hendy Woods State Park has an importance far beyond its size. It’s one of few public open spaces in this mostly rural region, and now residents are doing their best to make a plan to keep the park open.

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McGrath’s Army Takes Back the Beach

April 17, 2012 by Joan Hamilton

McGrath State Beach has plenty of visitors and plenty of revenue. So how did it end up on the closure list? The park’s sewer line was broken, and the state couldn’t afford to fix it. But the local community rallied around the park, raised the money to fix the sewer, and now the park will stay open.

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Saving Mono Lake State Reserve

April 16, 2012 by Joan Hamilton

If any landscape can be called iconic, Mono Lake surely makes the cut. But with no revenue, the state park here faced closure–until John Muir’s great-great-grandson joined with local park supporters to rescue the park. With a new parking fee in place, the park is safe, for now.

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Lifeline from the Feds

April 10, 2012 by Joan Hamilton

Samuel P. Taylor State Park in Marin is a popular destination for many of the millions of people who live within a short drive of this secluded redwood forest. With the park facing closure, the National Park Service stepped in to pay park operating costs.

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State Parks Crisis: Get Involved!

April 01, 2012 by Kelly Hackett

We’ve rounded up the key links you need to plug into the movement to save California’s state parks.

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