The long-awaited list of the California state parks slated for closure, due to a $33 million budget shortfall through the 2013 fiscal year, was finally released last Friday. Officials announced that 70 parks out of 278 will be closed, and among them are some of the Bay Area’s most well-known campgrounds.
If the park’s are indeed shuttered, it will be a first in the state’s history. In a California State Parks press release, director of the state parks system Ruth Coleman tried to offer a ray of hope. “With this announcement, we can begin to seek additional partnership agreements to keep open as many parks as possible. We already have 32 operating agreements with our partners – cities, counties and non-profits – to operate state parks, and will be working statewide to expand that successful template.”
Alternatively, the nonprofit organization California Parks Foundation has built a great interactive map showing all the parks slated for closure. The website makes it easy to contact your representative and voice your opinion about last week’s announcement.
The Bay Area closures include:
- Tomales Bay State Park in West Marin.
- Samuel P. Taylor State Park in West Marin.
- China Camp State Park on San Pablo Bay in Marin County.
- Portola Redwoods State Park in San Mateo County.
- Henry W. Coe State Park in Santa Clara and Stanislausis counties is northern California’s largest state park.
