PD Editorial: Many ideas need to save state parks

<p>From schoolchildren to community groups to wealthy donors, state parks are finding allies committed to keeping the gates open.</p><div class="art_item art_item_inset art_item_facts"> <h3>Facts</h3> <h4>Park closure meetings</h4> <p>The Department of Parks and Recreation is holding hearings Thursday at the C.V. Starr Community Center in Fort Bragg and Friday at the Church of One Tree in Santa Rosa to explain the financial requirements, applications and other aspects of taking over a state park. Both meetings will begin at 9:30 a.m.</p> </div> <p>So far, 10 parks have been removed from the list of 70 marked for closure by this summer.</p><p>There is no single formula for saving a park, but the bottom line is, of course, the bottom line. The state says closing parks will save $22 million a year. That's debatable, but any group that plans to keep a park open will need operating money or a credible plan to raise it.</p><p>South Yuba State Park in the Sierra foothills came off the closure list after elementary school students delivered 10,000 signatures to the governor's office supporting a plan to charge parking fees inside and prohibit parking outside the entrance to the park.</p><p>In Sonoma County, the Stewards of the Coast and Redwoods are proposing parking fees at state beaches — a source of considerable controversy in years past — to keep Austin Creek State Recreation Area open and reopen coastal campgrounds.</p><p>Elsewhere, the National Park Service will operate three state parks, nonprofit groups will run the Point Cabrillo Light Station and Mono Lake Tufa State Natural Reserve, and a donor pledged funds to keep Henry Coe State Park in Santa Clara County open through 2015.</p><p>A nonprofit group's plan to keep Petaluma Adobe State Historic Park open also relies on private donations, and so does Sonoma County's bid to operate Annadel State Park.</p><p>If the closure list is to shrink further, more benefactors and more funding plans will be required.</p><p>The state Department of Parks and Recreation is recruiting potential operators, including private companies, which would be required to pay the state 3 percent of their profits. Critics, including state Sen. Noreen Evans, D-Santa Rosa, say the fee is too low to cover the state's costs and that nonprofit groups could be cut out of running parks if revenue sources such as campgrounds are contracted separately.</p><p>We don't object to private companies bidding, but parks officials should ensure that there's a level playing field.</p><p>Contracts to run state parks are supposed to be short-term, with parks returning to state control in about five years. The best way to guarantee that — and to protect parks in the future — is a dedicated source of revenue.</p><p>Assemblyman Jared Huffman, D-San Rafael, has introduced legislation toward that end. AB 1589 would appropriate surplus bond money to equip parks with automated systems for collecting parking and day-use fees, create a vanity license plate for parks and add a tax-form checkoff to pay for an annual parks pass.</p><p>California has a great state park system. To keep it, we have to pay for it.</p><p><i>The Department of Parks and Recreation is holding hearings Thursday at the C.V. Starr Community Center in Fort Bragg and Friday at the Church of One Tree in Santa Rosa to explain the financial requirements, applications and other aspects of taking over a state park. Both meetings will begin at 9:30 a.m.</i></p>