$8 Million Department of Parks & Recreation Budget Gap will Require Closure of Many California State Parks

Californians have overwhelmingly called for the Legislature and Governor Schwarzenegger to find a solution to save state parks,” Ruskin Hartley, executive director of Save the Redwoods League, said in an announcement made on July 24, 2009. “Today, both houses of the Legislature approved a bill that spares the majority of state parks from closure, but leaves an $8 million budget gap for the Department of Parks & Recreation. This funding cut means that about 30 to 50 California state parks may have to close.”

For more than 90 years, Save the Redwoods League has been dedicated to protecting these ancient redwood forests so all generations can experience the inspiration and majesty of redwoods. In 1850, there were nearly 2 million acres of ancient coast redwood forests in California. Today, less than 5 percent remains and faces threats from logging, development and global climate change. Since its founding in 1918, the League has completed the purchase of more than 181,000 acres of land and helped develop 59 redwood parks and reserves for everybody to enjoy.

Save the Redwoods League says it chooses to save redwoods “because they are rare — their natural range is only in central and northern California and southern Oregon — and because they are Earth’s tallest and some of the oldest and most massive living things.”

“The budget deal indicates that Governor Schwarzenegger and the Legislature recognized that closing 80 percent of parks would be devastating to Californians and to the state’s economy,” explained Hartley. “The outcome for state parks is much more favorable than the shocking cuts proposed just eight weeks ago, yet Californians remain in jeopardy of losing access to parks and the state’s iconic redwood forests. In addition to park closures, park employees are already furloughed three Fridays out of the month, hours and days of operations will need to be shortened, and visiting fees will most likely increase.

“At this point, no one knows which state parks may have to close. With only 5 percent of the world’s ancient redwoods left standing, it will be vital to ensure that Californians and visitors to our state can enjoy these majestic forests. We cannot afford to lose the opportunity to visit redwood state parks, which create irreplaceable opportunities for people of all ages to experience forests that are found nowhere else on the planet.

As part of its ongoing efforts to raise awareness of the beauty of California’s redwood forests, Save the Redwoods has been collecting photo submissions from the public that capture all parts of redwood and giant sequoia ecosystems, from sorrel and lichens, to deer and elk and to the trees themselves. The League has selected 12 finalists, and public voting from August 3 to September 7, 2009, will determine the contest winners.

Prizes for the  Walk Among Giants photo contest include:

• 1st prize: A Redwood Adventures package for two that includes a one-night stay in a cabin and a half-day guided eco-tour of Redwood National Park.  The photo that wins first prize will be featured in Save the Redwoods League publications and on savetheredwoods.org. Redwood Adventures generously donated this prize.
• 2nd prize: A one-night stay at the historic Requa Inn in Redwood National Park. The Requa Inn was featured in National Geographic Traveler magazine’s 2009 Stay List, a collection of 129 “Hotels We Love” in North America, Mexico and the Caribbean. The Requa Inn generously donated this prize.
• 3rd prize: The League will plant two redwood seedlings in the winner’s honor in a California State Park to support reforestation efforts. The winner will receive a beautiful commemorative card.

“The state parks funding in the 2009-10 Fiscal Year State Budget is merely a one-year compromise. Without a stable, dedicated funding source for state parks, Californians will likely face this same threat to park access and to the state park legacy next year,” said Hartley. “Save the Redwoods League stands ready to work with all Californians and legislators to develop creative solutions to ensure that state parks are fully funded.”

Save the Redwoods League encourages park visitors and supporters to visit redwood parks this summer and stay informed by visiting http://savetheredwoods.org/voice.

View the entire assortment of submissions at the Walk Among Giants photo collection at Flickr.

Photo Credits:
Sunlight among the redwoods photo by morgenlandfahrer at the flickr.com creative commons.
Tall redwoods photo by 43dreams at the flickr.com creative common.

(Click on the images below to open enlargements)

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