California’s 278 state parks have been set aside to preserve and protect some of the most culturally and naturally significant places in our state. From sandy beaches to ancient redwood forests, California’s state parks provide countless opportunities for recreation and relaxation, while historic parks provide a glimpse into the past and priceless educational experiences for visitors of all ages.

However, all of this is at risk as budget cuts continue to starve our state park system. Over the past few years budget cuts to state parks have resulted in drastic service reductions and partial closures. Proposals to close state parks were averted in 2008 and 2009, but have now become a reality.

2011 Planned Park Closures

In January 2011, Governor Jerry Brown unveiled his proposed budget, which included a reduction of General Fund support for state parks by $11 million for Fiscal Year 2011-12 and a total reduction of $22 million by the beginning of Fiscal Year 2012-2013. The California Legislature passed this $22 million General Fund reduction, imposing these permanent park closures.

On May 13, the Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) released a list of 70 state parks that will be closing due to the budget cuts enacted by the Legislature and Governor.

Click here to view an interactive map with more information on each of these parks.

These parks are expected to be fully closed by July 2012, although many will begin shutting their doors in September 2011. As they begin the process of closing parks, they will be relocating staff and removing services from these parks.

While the issue of state park closures is clearly the most pressing issue facing the state park system- there are a number of other pressures on the system that desperately need attention.

Deferred Maintenance

Years of chronic underfunding have left California’s state parks system with a deferred maintenance backlog of over $1.3 billion. This backlog leaves priceless historic structures, culturally significant landmarks and artifacts are at risk of being lost forever. Important infrastructure such as sewage lines will fall into disrepair. Without a permanent funding source in place, the list of necessary repairs will continue to grow and small problems will grow exponentially.

Park Protection

California’s state parks are sometimes looked at by the private sector and neighboring landowners as the path of least resistance for placing infrastructure and other development projects. These proposals have significant impacts on sensitive natural, cultural and historic resources in the state park system. Especially in these times, when our state parks are being proposed for drastic program cuts and massive closures, it is important to protect these places from non-mission uses.