Rick from Hike Half Dome sent along a note about a message making the rounds advising some general rabble-rousing and attention-grabbing and getting up in the grill of our political leadership. While I’m certainly not opposed to making politicians’ lives miserable, I can’t help wondering: what part of fourteen-billion-dollar deficit is being overlooked here?

Yes, it would take only a pittance in extra taxes to keep these parks open. But each new tax, no matter how laudable the purpose, encourages further taxation in the same way that adding new lanes to the highway encourages more driving. Our state cannot afford to go any further into debt: our grandkids already owe way too much already. We have to find another way.

I think that way lies in the existing volunteer organizations that already support conservation and outdoor recreation. I realize there’s a certain privatization paranoia about going this route: as long as the state owns the land, developers, loggers and solid waste disposers can’t get to it. But a well-motivated corps of dedicated volunteers could raise enough funds — and enough hell — to make sure that never happens.

For awhile I entertained the idea that closing the parks to the public for a few years might not be such a bad thing — certainly the creatures of the woods wouldn’t miss us. Then it occurred to me that hiking, biking and horse-back riding are what keep the trails open. In a couple years the trails will all be grown over and will have to be cleared again.

Furthermore, the existence of unused land will tempt the state to sell some to raise revenue. Most of our parks have stands of timber that would yield a logging bonanza ; perhaps the best we could hope for is an off-road recreation vendor opening the lands to ATVs.

So, the parks have to stay open. The question is, how? And here’s what I want to know:

  • What is the Pine Ridge Association doing to keep Henry Coe open?
  • Is the Santa Clara County Parks department willing to open its parks trust fund to help out?
  • What are the Peninsula Open Space Trust and the Sempervirens Fund (which found $4 million to buy just over 500 acres near Big Basin State Park) doing to keep Portola Redwoods open?
  • Can the San Mateo County Parks Department help out?

These are the kind of questions we need to be asking all up and down the state. It’s not enough to needle the Assembly and demand our parks’ funding be restored. Let’s assume the money isn’t there and take matters into our own hands. We have to take an active role in drumming up money the state can’t (or won’t) provide.

I’m sure the money’s out there.

Here’s the letter Rick sent me:

Act now to Save California State Parks!

Dear friends,

48 of our California’s magnificent State Parks are scheduled to be closed to public access. A new state budget bill that is now being considered by the State House of Representatives attempts to resolve California’s 14 billion dollar deficit. If Governor Schwartzenegger’s bill passes, Henry Coe, (87,000 acres, the largest park in Northern
California) Del Norte Redwoods and Armstrong Redwoods (both protecting stands of First-Growth Redwoods) , Tomales Bay, Clear Lake, and a score of other State Parks will soon be closed. The bill calls for closure of 48 of California’s State Parks. The parks would no longer be maintained, and they would be closed to public access. The proposed park closures would save only one tenth of one percent of the state’s budget deficit.

You will all have your own favorite parks.

To see which parks are threatened go here.

Act now to help save our beloved parks!

What you can do:

1) Forward this message to everyone you know who may be interested. Post it on all of your email groups and bulletin boards.

2) Send a Message to Each Representative.You can take action and help in this crisis by contacting your representative for the State Assembly and State Senate. To find out who they are and to contact them, go to this site and put in your home zip code. Click on the representative’s name and that will take you to their official web page. Each page has a “Contact” link easily found on their page. This will take a little more time, but your comments won’t look like a form letter.

3) Send a Message the Easy Way If you do not have the time to contact each representative personally, the California State Parks Foundation provides an easy way to take action. Just go to this site. and fill in the information they request. Please note that you must give out your email and home address, but not your telephone number. You can alter the prepared message to fit your concerns if you want. Also, unless you uncheck the boxes, you will receive information from this foundation.

OK, so doing all this is the bare minimum of action … but do we think the minimum effort will get us what we want?