As Palomar Mountain Closure Looms, Parks Supporters Rally at Capitol

While state beaches in Southern California remain unscathed by a budget move to close 70 of California's 278 state parks beginning in summer 2012, Palomar Mountain State Park is one slated for closure.

To fight the closures, about 200 members of nonprofit origanizations representing 50 state parks spent the day outside the state capitol building Tuesday in Sacramento.

Parks supporters held signs, one for each of the 70 parks slated for closure. The rally was organized by the California State Parks Foundation. As part of the effort, petitions supporting Assembly Bill 42 were given to legislators.

AB 42, authored by Assemblyman Jarred Huffman, D-San Rafeal, would allow nonprofits to enter into operating agreements with the State Parks Department, said Alexis Stoxen, a spokesperson for the Califoria State Parks Foundation.

"Right now, we would have to go through the legislation with every park," Stoxen said.

AB 42 would allow multiple parks to enter into such agreements, making the process quicker and more streamlined, she said.

Assemblyman Kevin Jeffries, R-Lake Elsinore, authored a similar bill that would allow local entities to enter into the same type of agreements. That bill died out so now Jeffries is working with Huffman to incorporate some of his language into AB 42.

"Because if we can find various solutions to keep some parks open, that ultimately allows others to stay open. One park staying open in Northern California could help one in Southern California," Jeffries said Wednesday.

Jeffries said that under Brown's administration, legislators are hoping some of the bureaucracy and institutionalizing will give way to cohesiveness, and that hopefully the State Parks Department would be apt to enter into such agreements.

And while the state budget was vetoed last week by Gov. Jerry Brown, Stoxen said the proposed park closures are still built into the budget currently being hashed out by legislators.

"So pending any changes, it is pretty official," Stoxen said.

The closures are necessary to achieve an $11-million reduction in the next fiscal year 2011-2012, and $22 million in the following fiscal year 2012-2013, California State Parks spokesperson Roy Stearns said in a news release.

The cuts were mandated by Assembly Bill 95, which was passed by the Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Jerry Brown in March.

Stoxen said there were no active nonprofits for Palomar Mountain State Park, which is run separately from Palomar Mountain Observatory. The park is in close proximity to southwest Riverside County, which makes it a popular destination for locals. Activities include camping, hiking and fishing.

Stearns said the park saw 147,961 visitors in 2010. Of those, 19,572 were paid day-use, 16,261 were paid campers and 112,128 were admitted free on free parks days.

In contrast, Cuyamaca Rancho State Park in eastern San Diego County received 478,000 visitors, Lake Perris State Recreation Area received 577,000 visitors, Huntington Beach State Park received 1.9 million visitors and Bolsa Chica State Beach received 2 million visitors.

In the wake of the news, San Diego County resident Josh Kaskin has started a Facebook page, Save Palomar Mountain State Park. Kaskin is using the page as a platform to urge residents in both San Diego and Riverside counties to contact their legislators and voice opposition.

"Palomar Moutain is one of the few places around here that is a unique jewel of history for the area," Kaskin said.

Kaskin has reached out to Senator Joel Anderson, R-Poway, whose district includes Murrieta, as well Jeffries.

He is urging a comprehensive plan to keep the parks open.

"Why do they have to be permanently closed?" Kaskin said. "Couldn't we just temporarily close them?

"And what is going to happen is it is going to get graffitied up. It doesn't make sense to me."

Stearns said in a previous interview that no employees would lose their jobs with the closures, but that they would be reassigned to other parks. The system has been running with 500 less employees than it requires since 1979.

"We've also get about 10 million more visitors per year with about 500,000 more acres," Stearns said.

Kaskin said when he inquired about the workforce at Palomar Mountain State Park, he was told there was one permanent groundskeeper and two part-time employees. Stearns could not verify how many employees the park has.

Stoxen said many of the Southern California parks were spared, but that it is a different story in Northern California, where less in parks revenue likely prompted their addition to the list of closures.

Park lands will go into caretaker status, and will not be sold or disposed of. Park rangers and maintenance crews will check on the properties periodically, according to Stearns.

Since 2006-2007, the California State Parks Department has seen its general fund go from $175 million to what it will be in 2012-2013, $99 million.

"It has gone down consecutively every year, so that says to us eventually we aren't going to have a budget. This isn't a scare tactic," Stearns said Wednesday.

"The governor is not ordering these parks closed, it is the Parks Department saying we can't afford to keep all these parks running anymore."