Sunrise light on a grove of tufa towers emerging from the water of Mono Lake with soft green and dusty-red wild grasses in the foreground, Canada geese in the shallow water with reflections of the rocky towers, and desert hills in the distance.

State parks update: the good, the bad, the encouraging

Castle Rock State Park. Photo by Karen T. Borchers.

THE ENCOURAGING: Today is Park Advocacy Day at the state capitol in Sacramento. Please take a moment to tell policymakers that state parks should be defended from park closures. The successes of the ten state parks to come off the closure list show that your voice makes a huge difference!

THE GOOD: Castle Rock State Park, located along the crest of the Santa Cruz Mountains, is the tenth California state park to be removed from the closure list! Congratulations to all who worked to keep the park open, especially the non-profit Sempirvirens Fund, whose donation is instrumental to the park’s survival. If you’re over on the Central Coast be sure to take a hike through Castle Rock State Park.

THE BAD: Last weekend the Los Angeles Times posted an editorial that explains well the folly of closing parks to save money—it just doesn’t make sense. From vandalism and thievery to expenses involved in actually closing parks to potential lawsuits if trespassers get hurt, closing parks is in many cases much more expensive than keeping them open.

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