Press Release: Reaction to Gov’s Newest Budget Cuts from Friends of Santa Cruz State Parks

07/28/09

For Immediate Release
July 28, 2009

Contact
Bill Maxfield, 831-227-6469

Friends of Santa Cruz State Parks Reacts to Governor’s Newest Budget Cuts

Executive Director: Deeply disappointed with near doubling of already-approved cuts; adding to ‘rainy day’ fund is ironic in middle of worst economic storm in 70 years

SANTA CRUZ, CA—Friends of Santa Cruz State Parks today released the following statement by Executive Director Bonny Hawley on news of Governor Schwarzenegger’s line-item veto of an additional $6.2 million in state parks funding, which is expected to result in closure of possibly more than 100 state parks:

“The Governor’s decision to nearly double the cuts to state parks already approved by the legislature is deeply disappointing and will likely mean park closures in Santa Cruz County. It’s frustrating that the Governor chose to make these additional cuts, despite the fact our state parks are economic generators for Santa Cruz County and the state—an important fact as we continue to plumb the bottom of the Great Recession.

The cuts are also sadly ironic. The economic vitality provided by our parks is being cut by the Governor so that he can increase the state’s so-called ‘rainy day fund’, when we’re in the middle of the worst economic storm in 70 years.

We’re heartened that park attendance remains high, and that community-based support for state parks continues to build. And we continue to be grateful to the thousands of people working hard to save our state parks through phone calls, faxes, postcards, Facebook and Twitter. We’re going to need that support in the coming weeks and months as we develop our local plan to absorb this newest round of severe budget cuts.”

For more on the governor’s final budget, go to:
http://www.dof.ca.gov/budget/historical/2009-10/governors/summary/documents/enacted/FullBudgetSummary.pdf

About Friends of Santa Cruz State Parks

Friends of Santa Cruz State Parks has worked for more than 30 years to preserve precious state park lands and provide essential funds to support park programs that inspire and build connections between people and nature. For more information about Friends of Santa Cruz State Parks, visit www.ThatsMyPark.org. Also available on Facebook and Twitter.

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