State Parks Budget Update

This leaves the state park system with an $8 million gap, and is expected to result in park closures. At this time, there is not a list of certain closures, we do not know how many or which parks may be closed as a result of the budget deal.

Considering where we started just 8 weeks ago, this outcome is better for state parks than most people could have imagined. We are not finished – the Legislature still needs to approve the budget deal by the end of the week and more details need to come out regarding the parks that will close – but the fact that we're looking at a much more scaled-down version of park cuts than we started with is welcome news. It is certainly a testament to the Save Our State Parks Campaign, the tens of thousands of Californians – like you! – who stood up for their parks, and the efforts of all of us that we've stared down such a draconian proposal.

In terms of next steps, the deal must be agreed to by 2/3 of the Legislature, and they're expected to vote on it on Thursday or Friday. As you can imagine, there are plenty of pieces in this agreement for all sides to hate, but let's hope there is the will to at least get this passed now, to keep the state moving forward.

Thank you for your efforts to help Save Our State Parks, and we will update you once a final state budget is in place.

Traci Verardo-Torres
Vice President, Government Affairs

** photos from the SOS Weekend