Urgent action: Closure of 70 Calif State Parks -- 25%
Important news for everyone.
This is an important subject. Some parks have already closed for the season in 2011, they may not be opening again, others will close on 1 July 2012. One of the places we wanted to visit when we come to the US is Providence Mountains State Rec Area. This is on the list and its webpage lists it as closed already.
Here's a sad Youtube about the Calif State Parks facing closure. Please share this! If you live in Calif or anywhere in the US please go to this link to send an email to express your concern: https://secure3.convio.net/cspf/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=308
More information & ways you can help here: http://www.calparks.org/defend
List of the 70 parks on the list for closure: http://mag70.calparks.org/# (Morro Strand! Annadel State Park!! Shasta State Park!! Petaluma Adobe!! --Mono Lake has been saved and The National Park Service has stepped up to keep three parks on the closure list open for 2012: Tomales Bay, Samuel P. Taylor, and Del Norte Coast Redwoods state parks. )
I worked as a county park ranger in Calif but have spent time in a lot of the state parks that are proposed for closure. Some of these are not little hole-in-the-wall places that aren't visited, some of these have a lot of visitors. People will not stop visting because it's "Closed".
They will park outside the barricades and walk in. But there won't be rangers to provide first aid or protection from 2-legged animals. There won't be lifeguards at the beach parks to rescue people or provide first aid. If the parks are closed disabled people won't be able to access these unique areas.
They will throw their trash and dump their old washers/driers/tvs/couches/whatever in them because no one will be there to stop them. They will crap in the woods and pee on the trees because the bathrooms will be locked up. The buildings, libraries and museums that are in these places will be vandalised and destroyed--a waste of resources and money.
They will poach abalone for the black market in Asia and deer, bear, mountain lions in any season making it unsafe to walk without being shot at. They will grow marijuana and set up boxed P labs, booby-trapping these. People already do these things in State, county & federal parks in California's back country areas. There won't be anyone around to keep an eye on suspicious activity or monitor potentially illegal activity.
And finally what do you want to bet that when the buildings have been destroyed, the natural resources vandalised or illegally poached/logged/set on fire and the same politicians making this decision have had enough they'll sell the land to developers & businesses who are keen to get into some of these areas to exploit them. Or they'll sell them to private companies like Disney who will commercialise them and bump the prices way up so the average person won't be able to afford them.
Extremist thinking? No, realist. I've seen what people do to destroy parks that are open and monitored. I can imagine what will happen if they are closed and the rangers pulled out.
Please share this. Please spread the word. Calparks is on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/calparks
Write or call your local government representative, especially if you live in Calif. Again, if you live in Calif or anywhere in the US please go to this link to send an email to express your concern: https://secure3.convio.net/cspf/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=308
Thank you for anything you can do.
I give you permission to copy and paste this entry into your journals or blogs to spread the word.
Thank you for your help.
More comment(s) at Red_trillium's Dreamwidth journal. Come join the conversation! You can comment there using OpenID or ask me for an invite to create your own account.
This is an important subject. Some parks have already closed for the season in 2011, they may not be opening again, others will close on 1 July 2012. One of the places we wanted to visit when we come to the US is Providence Mountains State Rec Area. This is on the list and its webpage lists it as closed already.
Here's a sad Youtube about the Calif State Parks facing closure. Please share this! If you live in Calif or anywhere in the US please go to this link to send an email to express your concern: https://secure3.convio.net/cspf/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=308
More information & ways you can help here: http://www.calparks.org/defend
List of the 70 parks on the list for closure: http://mag70.calparks.org/# (Morro Strand! Annadel State Park!! Shasta State Park!! Petaluma Adobe!! --Mono Lake has been saved and The National Park Service has stepped up to keep three parks on the closure list open for 2012: Tomales Bay, Samuel P. Taylor, and Del Norte Coast Redwoods state parks. )
I worked as a county park ranger in Calif but have spent time in a lot of the state parks that are proposed for closure. Some of these are not little hole-in-the-wall places that aren't visited, some of these have a lot of visitors. People will not stop visting because it's "Closed".
They will park outside the barricades and walk in. But there won't be rangers to provide first aid or protection from 2-legged animals. There won't be lifeguards at the beach parks to rescue people or provide first aid. If the parks are closed disabled people won't be able to access these unique areas.
They will throw their trash and dump their old washers/driers/tvs/couches/whatever in them because no one will be there to stop them. They will crap in the woods and pee on the trees because the bathrooms will be locked up. The buildings, libraries and museums that are in these places will be vandalised and destroyed--a waste of resources and money.
They will poach abalone for the black market in Asia and deer, bear, mountain lions in any season making it unsafe to walk without being shot at. They will grow marijuana and set up boxed P labs, booby-trapping these. People already do these things in State, county & federal parks in California's back country areas. There won't be anyone around to keep an eye on suspicious activity or monitor potentially illegal activity.
And finally what do you want to bet that when the buildings have been destroyed, the natural resources vandalised or illegally poached/logged/set on fire and the same politicians making this decision have had enough they'll sell the land to developers & businesses who are keen to get into some of these areas to exploit them. Or they'll sell them to private companies like Disney who will commercialise them and bump the prices way up so the average person won't be able to afford them.
Extremist thinking? No, realist. I've seen what people do to destroy parks that are open and monitored. I can imagine what will happen if they are closed and the rangers pulled out.
Please share this. Please spread the word. Calparks is on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/calparks
Write or call your local government representative, especially if you live in Calif. Again, if you live in Calif or anywhere in the US please go to this link to send an email to express your concern: https://secure3.convio.net/cspf/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=308
Thank you for anything you can do.
I give you permission to copy and paste this entry into your journals or blogs to spread the word.
Thank you for your help.
More comment(s) at Red_trillium's Dreamwidth journal. Come join the conversation! You can comment there using OpenID or ask me for an invite to create your own account.