Potential State Park Closures

[mikemath]

Well the first thing would be to contact your state representatives.

I have a feeling the governor is putting forth a huge list with the intention of haggling it down. So the key thing would be making arguments for particular parks while realizing that some parks will probably end up getting closed.

I'm definitely dismayed that Lobos is one of the parks on the block. Divers who enjoy the site need to act to avoid this happening. You can find the contact information for the senators and assemblymen representing you by entering your zip code here: California State Legislatureͻip Code Search. It is generally accepted that e-mail and phone calls are more effective than e-mail when contacting government officials regarding legislation, however it is very important that you do something, even if it's just to send an e-mail. Most representatives get where they are by responding to the needs their loudest constituents. They know those people can either be their loudest supporters or their loudest critics.

This is also a situation where we should get PADI and other dive organizations with lobbying experience involved. I'll post about the situation in the PADI forum and see if I can get attention from anyone high up, but if you know someone high enough in the organization, please reach out. Those among us who support organizations like Sierra Club can also reach out to bolster their existing efforts to keep California from shutting down state parks.

A small group of thoughtful people could change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has. -Margaret Mead

Don't let apathy keep you from action. Figure out something you can do to make your voice heard. Send an e-mail, make a call, get your diving friends involved.

 

[Jim Ernst]

Good Idea Mike, I do know someone up the ranks of PADI and he also owns A dive shop and uses/dives Lobos!

I will call him tomorrow and see what he has to say about it all!

 

[mikemath]

Just sent the following to the standard contact e-mail addresses for PADI Americas and PADI Worldwide. It has some information about which state parks allow diving/snorkeling that may be of interest to this thread.


To whom it may concern,

Please route this e-mail to PADI's public relations division or however else may be appropriate.

I am a PADI DiveMaster in training, and I do not know where else to turn with this request for assistance. I have great respect for the PADI organization and know it has lobbied on behalf of the dive community before to improve the accessibility and standards of diving worldwide. The California dive community is threatened by legislature currently being considered by the California state government.

Recently, California's governor has proposed a shutdown of over 200 state parks across the state due to the current budget crisis facing the state. Two such parks are the Point Lobos Marine Reserve and Carmel River State Beach, both near Monterey, California (Point Lobos State Reserve). These parks offer some of the most pristine diving environments in Central California, and are destinations that are critical to the health of the dive industry around Monterey. In particular, Point Lobos is one of the must-dive locations in the area and it draws in tourism and helps dispel the public perception that Monterey diving is cold, dark, and barren, encouraging new divers to join the sport.

Other dive sites in California where divers or snorkelers are permitted are also at risk, including:
- D.L. Bliss State Park
- Emerald Bay State Park
- Gaviota State Park
- Greenwood State Beach
- Leo Carrillo State Park
- MacKerricher State Park
- Manchester State Park
- Mono Lake Tufa State Reserve
- Refugio State Beach
- Russian Gulch State Park
- Salt Point State Park
- Sinkyone Wilderness State Park
- Van Damme State Park
- Westport-Union Landing State Beach

Here are some press articles about the proposed closures, mostly about the non-diving impact:
- 220 state parks could face closure | PressDemocrat.com | The Press Democrat | Santa Rosa, CA
- State's parks, beaches on chopping block - LA Daily News
- Parks closures could rip local economy - Local - San Luis Obispo
- Gov. Targets Several County Parks For Closure - San Diego News Story - KGTV San Diego
- Bay Area Parks Among 200 In State Facing Closure - cbs5.com

I implore you to help us intervene against this legislation, which would mean less access to the wonderful diving off California's coast, as well as removing the staffing required to enforce the rules at these sites that have allowed them to remain premier dive sites. Thank you in advance for your consideration and time.

Sincerely,
Mike Mathieson
PADI Diver #0708098600

 

[mikemath]

Here are some actions you can take in less than 5 minutes:

1) Join the Save Our State Parks campaign, being run by the California State Parks Foundation. Information here: Save Our State Parks
2) Donate any amount to that campaign here: https://secure.ga3.org/03/Donation_SSP?source=ssp
3) Submit a form letter to your legislators here: Take Action: Don't Close Our State Parks!

For those who have the ability to travel to participate, here are some more involved options:

1) Go to the rally being held at Natural Bridges State Beach (one of the closing parks) at 5:30PM on Monday
2) Go to the public hearing being held in Room 4203 of the State Capitol at 1:30PM on Tuesday.

 

[sarita75]

Thanks for that really great info everyone.

 

[mikeguerrero]

How does shutting down Lobos or any park for the matter save on the budget? Are we talking about pulling away the jobs from the Rangers to save money? What happens to the park who will watch over it, growth on the trails etc?

Does nature just take its course and we stand back and watch? I thought it was enough to charge an admission fee for reservation and parking to go towards the maintaining of the park.

Any insight would be greatly appreciated...

MG

 

[mikemath]

How does shutting down Lobos or any park for the matter save on the budget? Are we talking about pulling away the jobs from the Rangers to save money? What happens to the park who will watch over it, growth on the trails etc?

Does nature just take its course and we stand back and watch? I thought it was enough to charge an admission fee for reservation and parking to go towards the maintaining of the park.

Any insight would be greatly appreciated...

MG

The state is only looking at immediate profitability of parks. If the cost of admission doesn't offset the costs of staffing and maintenance, the state isn't considering it "financially independent". Looking at such numbers, the bottom line is that admission to most parks does not cover the expenses incurred by most parks, which is why it is considering 220 of the 279 state parks "not financially independent".

Such calculations do not factor in the following indirect revenue to the state:

1) State income tax payments by state park employees who would be laid off
2) Sales tax on purchases made by state park employees who would be laid off
3) Overall downstream effects of sales tax and state income tax from keeping 2000 state park employees employed (the proposed number of layoffs)
4) Sales tax on purchases made by visitors to state parks who would otherwise go out of state to vacation

While hard to calculate directly, these represent real income to the state which many people believe would offset the direct cost of the parks, even ignoring cultural and quality-of-life improvements from having a robust state park system. Even if such costs could not be offset at current pricing levels, I think the California public would prefer higher entrance fees (to a certain extent) if it meant keeping these parks open. Whether people would accept higher taxes for the same purpose is a different matter--those who do not visit parks would protest against such taxes.

As was posted earlier, there's some hope that The Governator is making this proposal as controversial as possible to bring a sense of urgency to lawmakers working on the budget. However, it's very easy when choosing between state programs to cut to focus on saving ones that have direct impact on human life (wellfare, education, healthcare). State parks will not (and probably should not) win out head-to-head against those programs given equal costs. It's important to instead take the position that state parks are a net-profitable endeavor for the state (or could be with higher admission feeds), and therefore do not have equal costs to those competing programs.

 

[mikeguerrero]

Where on the list would Pt Lobos be? Close to making the cut or otherwise falling short and us losing a precious dive site?

 

[dannobee]

Where on the list would Pt Lobos be? Close to making the cut or otherwise falling short and us losing a precious dive site?

We won't be losing a dive site, you'll just need a boat to dive there.

Even if they lock the gates, it'd be pretty tough to enforce the no diving rule if you're on a boat.

I'm worried that some fisherman will use the closure as an opportunity to bag some big fish from the reserve, knowing nobody will be there to snitch on them.

.

 

[MrSpock]

Is there a motion yet to impeach Schwarzenegger & Co.?