News - Local

Published: Thursday, Jul. 02, 2009

Closing state parks has federal price

U.S. officials say the state would jeopardize future grants; some parks would revert to federal ownership

Comments (0) |

The federal government has told state lawmakers that if they close state parks as a budget-cutting move, they risk losing key funding meant to support parks.

Six parks, none in San Luis Obispo County, could also revert to the ownership of the federal government, the U.S. officials warn.

Four state parks in San Luis Obispo County have benefitted from federal grants: Hearst San Simeon, Montaña de Oro, Los Osos Oaks State National Reserve and Pismo State Beach.

These parks have received money from the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund State Grant Program.

Nick Franco, superintendent of State Parks San Luis Obispo Coast District, said most Land and Water Conservation Fund grants administered by National Parks are for acquisition or trail development.

David Siegenthaler, National Park Service’s project manager for California, said his agency wants to hash the issue out with the state.

“What we’re really wanting to do is start a dialogue with the state, make sure they know what the potential consequences are” if they close parks that have received federal funding or support.

The Park Service wants to inform lawmakers that there are allowable alternatives to closure, such as “reduction in services ... reduction in hours of operation, maybe opening later in the morning, or closing for a couple of days during the week, but making sure the park is open at peak times,” Siegenthaler said.

“We want to support the state in all that. We’re not trying to jump on them when they’re in dire straits. But we have a compliance requirement” that the state must meet or risk losing future funding, Siegenthaler said.

Long-time funding

In May, the governor proposed closing 220 state parks to save an estimated $143 million. The state is facing a $24 billion deficit.

National parks leaders contend California would violate two laws if it closes state parks.

First, the state has received $286 million since 1965 from the Land and Water Conservation fund. Created by President Lyndon Johnson, the fund collects royalties from offshore oil drilling and uses them to buy land for national parks, forests and wildlife refuges. The fund also issues grants to state and local parks to pay for everything from land acquisition to new trails, visitor centers and restrooms.

Parks that receive the funds are required to remain open to the public. California has received Land and Water Conservation Fund money for 69 of the 220 state parks that Schwarzenegger has proposed to close.

Among other state parks that have received the federal funding include Big Basin Redwoods, Bodie Ghost Town, Mono Lake, Humboldt Redwoods, Point Lobos, Anza-Borrego Desert, Sutter’s Fort and Mount Tamalpais.

Federal law does not allow the government to demand repayment from California if the parks are closed, but it can shut the state off from future funding, Siegenthaler said.

The second law California would be violating is a 1949 statute that created the Federal Lands to Parks Program. That law allows surplus government property, such as old military bases, to be transferred to state parks.

But it also requires the parks to remain open to the public in perpetuity. California has had six state parks that were former federal property transferred under the law.

If the governor closes the parks, the feds can take the lands back, warned Jon Jarvis, the Pacific regional director of the National Park Service. What happens then is unclear. They would likely be transferred as surplus property to the federal government and be offered to federal agencies, universities, even private developers.

The parks are: Angel Island, a former immigration station in San Francisco Bay; a beach and parking lot at Point Mugu State Park near Oxnard; the summit of Mount Diablo in Contra Costa County, which was once a naval microwave relay station; four miles of sandy state beaches at the former Fort Ord near Monterey; Point Sur in Big Sur; and Border Fields, a 418-acre state beach on the San Diego-Tijuana border.

The warnings came in a letter to Schwarzenegger dated June 8. A copy was obtained by The Tribune.

Price to pay?

Schwarzenegger this week said he will veto a budget plan passed by the Assembly that would impose a new $15 annual surcharge on vehicle registration to keep the parks open and allow all California residents free entry. The charge would raise $363 million a year, supporters said, more than twice the amount needed to save parks.

However, the governor considers the $15 a tax.

“The governor has been very clear that he will not support additional tax increases,” said Lisa Page, a Schwarzenegger spokeswoman.

Of the warnings from the National Park Service, she added: “The governor understands there are consequences to these difficult cuts, but with a $24 billion deficit, there are no good options.”

Tribune staff writer Kathe Tanner and the San Jose Mercury News contributed to this report.