With winter ahead, fewer people will be heading to Santa Cruz’s state parks to hike and camp, and that’s a relief for the local rangers. Faced with a 10 percent budget cut, parks such as Big Basin and Henry Cowell will have to trim their budgets by $14 million and deal with less staff because of a state-enforced three-day-per-month furlough.
With winter ahead, fewer people will be heading to Santa Cruz’s state parks to hike and camp, and that’s a relief for the local rangers. Faced with a 10 percent budget cut, parks such as Big Basin and Henry Cowell will have to trim their budgets by $14 million and deal with less staff because of a state-enforced three-day-per-month furlough. Nor is it enough to lock the public restrooms or limit the places where visitors can deposit their trash. They’ve already tried that. What park managers are doing now is cutting back on hiking trails and, at Henry Cowell at least, keeping camping grounds closed for two more months this year.
Park advocates contend that the strain imposed by parks on the beleaguered state budget is minimal. They cost the state $143 million a year, or 0.1 percent of the state’s general fund. But that is still a significant sum, when considering where else the money could be spent. One option now being proposed is to increase vehicle registration fees by $15. But this would require a statewide ballot, and there is still a year before the next elections.
So what can people do? Ironically, one suggestion is to bring more cars into the parks. Right now many visitors park outside, just to avoid the parking fees. “That does not help the parks right now,” says Ranger Gary Brennan. Read more at the Press Banner.
