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They are how we protect our special coastal places

07 • 01 • 2012

California State Parks will Not Close

In May of 2011, Governor Brown announced that nearly 25% of California State Parks would shut down in order to help “close the State’s budget gap”. Upon hearing the Governor’s decision, Surfrider and our partners from the “Save our State Parks” coalition engaged the Governor and the legislature by lobbying against drastic closures and by encouraging decision makers to seek long-term funding. A reprieve came when the Governor signed a budget that allocated millions of dollars to the state park system. In addition to receiving funding through the budget, State Parks are staying open due to local partnerships. Over the past year, the state has reached agreements with nonprofits, local governments and other entities to maintain and operate State parks. Of course, Surfrider realizes that this might be only a short-term victory and we foresee other threats to Parks from budget cuts, but for now… we are celebrating this success and our hard work.