SF Examiner Editorial
24 Jul
I was asked to write an editorial for SF Examiner on the importance of parks. The below contents were published on July 24, 2011.
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California is closing 70 State Parks in the name of deficit reduction and broader fiscal responsibility. But closing 25% of our parks to reclaim one-tenth of 1% percent of a $26bn deficit doesn’t make financial sense, especially considering that parks generate $4bn in tourism revenue annually. True fiscal responsibility means knowing where to spend money to ensure California’s prosperity.
And the lessons learned while standing beneath the sway of forests on the edge of the world are not to be taken lightly. How do we espouse preservation to the next generation, as they watch us underfund the oldest, most extensive and diverse visions of state preservation in the world? How do we learn the importance of conservation when we can no longer visit places that inspire us to conserve?
And what does it mean to close a park? Cutting $22m in funding doesn’t mean park problems go away. In fact, without rangers, parks will see increased crime and vandalism, which have already risen 300% in parks since 2001. Moreover, much of the deferred $1bn maintenance backlog for roads, sewage, facilities and historic buildings will still have to be maintained.
California cannot afford to close its parks. We cannot afford to hope that California’s legacy will exist forever without our support. We cannot bear the cost of seeing parks as extraneous public services, secondary to more fundamental things. Indeed, parks hold the most fundamental and enduring things our state has to offer.
Christopher Grant Ward
Folk4Parks.org
