March 31, 2008 Written by Tracy Hepler
In the wake of the budget crisis we are hearing about, an issue that hits close to home has just been brought to my attention. Due to the state of the fiscal budget in California, two of our Los Angeles state parks are on the list to be closed: Will Rogers State Park in the Pacific Palisades and Topanga State Park in Malibu.
Both of these parks provide great opportunities to be outdoors, get fresh air, and enjoy the local mountains and beauty that is such a part of California. In fact, Topanga State Park is the largest wilderness area within city boundaries in the nation with 13,000 acres of mountains, forests, hiking trails and wild life. Will Roger’s State Park is the former home of the legendary cowboy turned actor that offers great hikes, polo and soccer fields and a perfect place for a picnic. The cool ocean air makes it an ideal spot all year long.
These parks are important to Angelenos who don’t always have access to the natural world in their every day lives in a city that is notorious for having very little public space per person (see link here). As of now the parks are scheduled to close on July 1, 2008. If you would like to learn more or take action, please see the following links or, better yet, go and visit the parks while they are still with us.
www.latimes.com/columnist
http://tc-docents.org
www.savestateparks.org
www.petitonforwillrodgers.org
http://blogs.nationaltrust.org/preservationnation/?p=508
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Great story ….I love our State Parks!!!
Thank you for this well written, informative piece on our local state parks. The Campaign to Save Topanga State Park has launched a signature drive for 10,000 petition signatures by April 30 (before the budget is decided) to keep all state parks open. It will be sent to Assemblymember Brownley, Senator Kuehl, and Governor Schwarznegger. It reads:
“Keep Topanga State Park & Will Rogers State Historic Park Open!
I’m counting on you to do everything needed to keep Topanga State Park & Will Rogers State Historic Park open to the public. These parks are important to our quality of life, to the education of our children, and to small businesses in the area. And it’s not safe to have these large parks in the city go unsupervised.
The proposal to close 48 state parks and beaches up and down the state would be a loss to Californians which is not justified by the potential savings, a microscopic fraction of the total budget.
I know how difficult it is to come to an agreement on the 2008-2009 budget, but it’s your job to do the right thing – KEEP US AND OUR PARKS SAFE, KEEP THEM OPEN.”
Please go to http://www.SaveTopangaStatePark.org
and sign the petition!!
That sucks, those were two of my favorite places to hike in LA! I’ll forward the message to Angelenos who still live there.
The State Parks are a valuable asset, and need to be protected by rangers and available for use by the public on all days. The sate has been given conservatorship of the land and it is improper to close the parks. People need a recreational outlet, especially those living in urban areas where wilderness of any sort is at a premium. The move to close some of the State parks is a very poor economic decision.