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Budget Impacts To State Parks
Contact your legislators and ask them to protect state parks, the environment and public health in the budget negotiations!
*This letter is intended for California residents only. Your State Senator and Representative will both receive a copy.
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Subject: Please pass a responsible and balanced budget
Dear [ Decision Maker ] ,
As you decide on a solution to the state's budget problems, I am writing to urge you to pass a responsible budget that protects our state parks and preserves critical environmental laws.
In these challenging economic times, our state parks are much-needed places where Californians can have respite from daily life. State parks offer low cost opportunities for families and individuals to explore, camp, hike, fish, swim, and engage in just about every form of recreation. These are places that need to be kept open and well-funded so that the millions of state residents who are looking for affordable vacations and family trips will be able to make those plans a reality. And because state parks generate revenue, every $1 invested in state parks returns $2.35 to the state's General Fund through local economic activity, funding our state parks is a good investment for California.
Without a state budget solution, important projects that have already been funded and approved are also at risk. The December "work stoppage order" has halted projects around the state park system, including a wetlands restoration project at Candlestick Point State Recreation area, trail improvements and a new restroom at Topanga State Park, completion and installation of signage in restored buildings in the Immigration Station in Angel Island State Park, stabilization work at Bodie State Historic Park, improvements in the Russian River watershed to protect Coho salmon, signage and access to the California Coastal Trail and more.
California needs a responsible budget in order for these projects to move forward and for the state to get back in business. Eliminating environmental review or weakening health and safety laws, however, is no way to solve a state budget. The laws that protect our environment were adopted in fair and open public processes. I urge you to reject efforts to use the budget to repeal or weaken these fundamental environmental and health protections.
As a strong supporter of our state parks and California's environment, I urge you to value the investments in our state park system and protect California's environmental and health laws as you negotiate budget solutions.
Sincerely,
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Campaign Launched:
February 04, 2009
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California is facing a $40 billion budget deficit over the next 18 months, and state leaders have been unable to agree on a solution. The state's budget crisis has reached historic proportions and already affects many Californians. For our state park system, our parks are once again vulnerable to major cuts, elimination of important services that visitors rely on, reductions in staffing, and more. And at the same time, the state's budget crisis has halted thousands of projects around the state that are funded with already-approved bond dollars. For state parks, this has meant that many long-term, nonprofit partners are unable to do important work to improve our parks. This order has halted CSPF's wetlands restoration project at Candlestick Point State Recreation area, but also trail improvements and a new restroom at Topanga State Park, completing and installing signage in restored buildings in the Angel Island Immigration Station in Angel Island State Park, stabilization work at Bodie State Historic Park, improvements in the Russian River watershed to protect Coho salmon, signage and access to the California Coastal Trail, and more.
As California lawmakers remain at an impasse in budget negotiations, with only days left before the state can't pay its bills or fund key programs, members of the minority party are demanding the repeal of laws that protect the environment, health and safety of Californians, yet have nothing to do with the budget. Please send your elected representatives a message to keep our state parks available to all Californians, to jump-start important parks projects that have been stalled, and to refuse any unnecessary changes to important laws that have made our state a model for the nation and the world.
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