April 7, 2003, Sacramento
By Susan Smartt, President of the California State Parks Foundation

Next April 7th, the California State Parks Foundation in partnership with CALPA and other organizations who support California State Parks will launch its first annual Park Advocacy Day in Sacramento to meet with legislators on policy issues that affect our magnificent State Parks.

As a result of increased visitors, combined with budget cuts and a hiring freeze, staffing and maintaining our parks is at a critical point. Not only do our parks provide Californians with a place for recreation and renewal but they are also a vital resource for schools, relied upon heavily by our educators. Now many of these educational programs are being threatened by budget cuts. Staff shortages are epidemic and some parks have had to curtail their hours to compensate for the shortages.

Without strong advocates working to uphold its mission to protect the state's "most valued natural and cultural resources" our State Parks are susceptible to aggressive acts of legislation authorizing non-mission use of park lands. Examples of these proposed uses include: road building; cemetery expansion; a private golf school; a skateboard park, a vehicle racetrack; low-income housing; and a bullet train running through the heart of one of the largest State Parks in California.

Park Advocacy Day in April 2003 will bring together individuals from the environmental community to:

• Meet with legislators to bring to their attention the value and benefits of State Parks, as well as the need to create a stable, reliable source of funding for them;
  
• Support key legislation that will benefit State Parks and protect them from "non-mission" use;
  
• Demonstrate a large, and vocal and growing parks constituency.

This is a wonderful opportunity to get more involved in protecting our State Parks, and work with others throughout the state who love State Parks as much as us. Training will be provided in locations throughout the state in February - we need you to participate to make this day a success - JOIN US!

For more information contact Barbara Hill at the Foundation (415) 258-9975 or email at barbara@calparks.org. Thank you.