Posts Tagged ‘state parks’

State Park Access Pass – Just Say No!

Thursday, May 13th, 2010

With the loss of the proposed off-shore oil funding source, the California State Parks are once again at risk of losing funding due to the economic situation in California. During each of the last several budget cycles the State Parks were threatened with closure as an attempt by the Governor to bend the legislature to his will. While, for the most part, the parks continue to stay open we are now approaching the one year anniversary of the closure of 60 parks and a reduction in service at nearly all sites.

Using the fear of State Park closures the California State Park Foundation (CSPF) is once again proposing adding a vehicle licensing fee to provide a dedicated funding stream for the State Parks. This is a truly awful idea and should be fought no matter how you feel about the State Parks.

The State Park Access Pass is a regressive tax. It is most burdensome to those near the very bottom of the economic scale, the very people who may not have the resources to make use of the State Parks. More importantly, the primary goal of the CSPF is to provide a dedicated funding source for the State Park System. The very idea of a dedicated funding stream for any governmental activity is abhorrent, but especially in difficult economic times. The SPAP VLF is fundamentally a straight tax increase because the money saved from the general fund will be allocated by the government to some other activity.

We need all levels of government to be responsive to the current economic climate and providing a dedicated funding source eliminates the need for the State Park System to seek better, less expensive ways of operating.  We need our elected leaders to have the freedom to fund operations according to the priorities we specify and not to have their hands tied by having funding legally tied to special interest parks.

It would be fruitless for us to have beautifully maintained parks, fully staffed with professionally managed educational experiences that nobody could visit simply because we no longer have the resources left to put gas in our car or take a day away from our work. I urge you to lobby your representatives to ensure situationally appropriate funding for the state parks from the general fund and to reject and new taxes or fees that tie funds to special interest projects, no matter what projects those are.

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How are the State Parks affected by the Gulf Oil Spill?

Thursday, May 13th, 2010

Below is the text of an email sent out to the leadership of my Adventure Guides nation. It has been my role to keep our leadership informed on the status of issues affecting the state parks we use for some of our events.

State Parks Update

On April 20, 2010 an explosion on the Deepwater Horizon offshore drilling rig, operating in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Louisiana, resulted in a fire that sank the rig and caused a massive-scale oil spill. How did this event affect the California State Park System? You may not recall is that the Governor’s 2010-11 budget proposal removed core public funding for California’s 278 State Parks and replaced it with funding from a future offshore drilling project. Yesterday Gov. Schwarzenegger announced that he was dropping support for offshore drilling and specifically for the project that was intended to provide funding for the California State Park system. This leaves the State Parks without a clear source of funding in the proposed budget.

It is important that we continue to express to our legislators through our communication and our actions at the ballot box that the State Park System is an important resource for California and requires adequate funding to continue its mission.

California State Parks Mission Statement

To provide for the health, inspiration and education of the people of California by helping to preserve the state’s extraordinary biological diversity, protecting its most valued natural and cultural resources, and creating opportunities for high-quality outdoor recreation.

Redhawk Nation Sixth Aim

To seek and preserve the beauty of the Great Spirit’s work in forest, field and stream.

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Common Misconceptions about the State Park Access Pass program

Tuesday, June 16th, 2009

While I wait for the California State Park Foundation to publish an updated FAQ, I would like to tackle some misconceptions about the proposed State Park Access Pass.

First we visit the Mono Lake Committee staff blog who tell us, “If the new funding source does not survive that process, then 80% of the parks close.” This is false, both the elimination of the state park system from the general fund and the SPAP must be voted on. Tell your legislator to continue funding the state parks from the general fund, not through yet another vehicle fee. How many legislators will vote to defund the parks without a replacement funding source?

Many people on Facebook think the issue here is whether all Californians should support the state park system. In support of the SPAP Debra Brittain says, “The parks are there for future generations, not only for those who choose to use the parks now. It is not unfair to ask everyone in the State to maintain the parks.” Currently the general fund as well as usage fees support the state park system so currently everyone in California does support the park system. That is not the issue.

There are two real differences between supporting the state park system through the general fund and via a vehicle licensing fee. First the vehicle license fee is a new tax that would increase the total state budget. Second the vehicle license fee is a regressive tax, putting a disproportionate tax burden on the poor.

Update:

Modern Hiker incorrectly offers, “And, of course, because it takes a tremendous stride toward democratizing the state park system.” This is the stereotypical view of the current park user. Fearful of losing access to the park and grabbing on to any funding mechanism to support them they fail to look at the proposal critically. Removal of usage fees, and conversion of funding from the general fund to a vehicle licensing fee is not democratization. A regressive tax is, if anything, anti-democratic. The California State Park Foundation has done a wonderful job of selling their agenda of funding before accountability to the park loving masses.
Update:

Pete Thomas of the LA Times Blog Outpost parrots the California State Parks Foundation’s press release with his Good News, Bad News post.  To avoid the term tax hike, he uses terms like surcharge to note that the increased VLF is simply replacing funding from the general fund. He thinks opposition will be from non-park users but who, after reviewing this proposal, would support a $143 million dollar tax increase with no accountability and no long term solution to the problems of how the state parks are managed?

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Why I oppose the State Park Access Pass

Monday, June 15th, 2009

The State Park Access Pass program creates a new tax. As a State we can not spend our way out of the current financial crisis. If every program threatened with cost reduction seeks a dedicated source of funding we will double the State budget not halve it.

The State Park Access Pass funding source is not logical. It is not any more reasonable to think that the State Parks should benefit from vehicle license fees than emergency services who respond to vehicle accidents or education that relies on vehicles to transport students and staff to schools. Also consider the case of the two car family who has paid $30 in vehicle license fees to access the State Parks and who will have an additional fee to pay when they rent an RV to visit the State Parks.

The State Park Access Pass program removes entry fees as a way of moderating park traffic. Certain high traffic parks have entry fees that can be used to discourage casual visitors and encourage repeat visitors to visit less crowded parks. Removing this tool from the State Park system will cause additional crowding at the most popular parks.

The State Park Access Pass program is a regressive tax. It shifts the burden for the State Parks away from the wealthy, who typically bear the largest burden of the State Budget. It places an additional burden on the poor.

In conclusion, no matter how strongly we support individual State programs, the time has come for us to stop letting special interests of any kind drive the State budget. We need a well thought out budget that allocates a reasonable amount of revenue between the necessary programs and accept the cuts that will inevitably follow.

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