|
Park Advocacy Day 2006 A Rousing Success!
|
|
|
2006 Legacy Award Recipients Wes Chesbro (D-Arcata)(left) and Tom Harman (R-Los Angeles)(right) with Director of State Parks Ruth Coleman (center left) and CSPF President Elizabeth Goldstein (center right). |
Thank you to all the park supporters and volunteers who came to Sacramento on March 20 for the Fourth Annual Park Advocacy Day! More than 120 volunteers walked the Capitol halls and made almost 100 visits to legislators, legislative staff and representatives of the Governor's Administration. Advocates urged legislators to support parks funding by renewing the State Park System Deferred Maintenance Account in the Resources Trust Fund, protect Humboldt-area state parks from a proposed casino by backing Senate Bill 1582, and help improve the capital and deferred maintenance projects in our parks by developing an infrastructure bond that includes funding for state parks. The sea of volunteers with their green buttons was evident throughout the Capitol, even though two other organizations also held their lobby day on March 20!
Advocates used two new publications developed by the Foundation, the 2006 State of the State Parks report (.pdf, 4.08MB) and an updated matrix with threats and non-mission use proposals for state parks (.pdf, 25KB). Click on the links above to download copies of those new documents.
 Park Advocacy Day participants also proved their mettle by being the only advocates out on the steps of the Capitol for a noontime press conference. Neither rain nor wind stopped our advocates! Foundation President Elizabeth Goldstein framed the day’s themes for the media and kicked off a series of eloquent speakers who conveyed the importance of park protection and preservation for the future. Former Department of Parks and Recreation Director Henry Agonia spoke of the importance of a parks legacy and connections between park advocates at the state, regional and local level. Friends of the Foothills Director Brittany McKee rallied advocates in support of protecting San Onofre State Beach from a proposed toll road and spoke of the many development threats facing our state parks. With an emphasis on the important stories that are being told in our state parks, Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation Board President Kathy Owyang Turner followed with comments about the importance of protecting the cultural and historic resources in our state parks. Wrapping up the press conference was DeAna Pearson, one of the Bay Youth for the Environment/Literacy for Environmental Justice participants who spoke of the need for parks to be available and accessible for future generations. Slogging out the press conference in the rain had its payoff – we gained media coverage in the Sacramento Bee, San Jose Mercury News, on radio stations statewide and on television stations in the Central Valley, Sacramento, Bay Area, and Central Coast.
 The event was capped off with a Capitol reception honoring Senator Wes Chesbro (D-Arcata) and Assemblyman Tom Harman (R-Huntington Beach) as 2006 Legacy Award Honorees.
A big THANK YOU again to all this year’s participants who traveled from throughout the state to lend their voices to supporting our state parks and lobbying for our legislators’ support on fiscal and policy issues that can help protect our parks. Every year Park Advocacy Day gets better and we look forward to seeing more of you for next year’s event!
A big THANK YOU again to all this year’s participants who traveled from throughout the state to lend their voices to supporting our state parks and lobbying for our legislators’ support on fiscal and policy issues that can help protect our parks. Every year Park Advocacy Day gets better and we look forward to seeing more of you for next year’s event!
Park Advocacy Day 2006 would not have been possible without the collaboration of organizations and individuals throughout California who lent their support and resources to the event. A special thanks to the following organizations and individuals who were this year's Park Advocacy Day sponsors and endorsers:
Anza Borrego Foundation and Institute
Bay Area Open Space Council
Big Sur Natural History Association
California League of Conservation Voters
California League of Park Associations
California Preservation Foundation
California State Park Rangers Association
California State Railroad Museum Foundation
Central Coast Natural History Association
Chino Hills State Park Interpretive Association
Clear Lake State Park Interpretive Association
Crystal Cove Alliance
Friends of Baldwin Hills, Inc.
Friends of Santa Cruz State Parks
Joan Irvine Smith
Laguna Greenbelt, Inc.
Landis Communications
Amb. and Mrs. L. W. "Bill" Lane, Jr.
Los Angeles Conservancy
Mountain Parks Foundation
Mt. Diablo Interpretive Association
Mt. Tamalpais Interpretive Association
Napa Valley State Park Association
National Trust for Historic Preservation, Western Office
North Coast Redwoods Interpretive Association
Park Rangers Association of California
Prelado de los Tesoros
San Francisco Architectural Heritage
Santa Barbara Trust for Historic Preservation
Santa Monica Mountains Natural History Association
Sierra State Parks Foundation
Sonoma/Petaluma State Historic Parks Association
Southwest Wetlands Interpretive Association
State Park Peace Officers Association of California
Stewards of the Coast and Redwoods
The Nature Conservancy
Waddell Creek Association |
