A glimmer of hope for planned closure of local state parks
Perhaps there is hope after all.
This week’s news that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger may be scaling
back plans to close 100 state parks
– including the San Juan Bautista Historic Park and Fremont Peak
– means there’s a chance our local parks could be spared.
A glimmer of hope for planned closure of local state parks
Perhaps there is hope after all.
This week’s news that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger may be scaling back plans to close 100 state parks – including the San Juan Bautista Historic Park and Fremont Peak – means there’s a chance our local parks could be spared.
While no specifics have been released, the San Jose Mercury this week reported that the governor’s office has backed away from announcing specific closures for the time being. That’s good news, while it lasts, because the historic park and Fremont Peak were both on the preliminary list of planned park closures.
A spokesman for the governor said continuing talks with the state parks department could help spare some parks from closure – particularly if other funding sources are identified. There are no promises, however, that all parks will avoid the budget ax.
“No news is good news at this point,” said Eddie Guaracha, the Gavilan sector superintendent who oversees the parks. “We don’t have to initiate the closure process – whatever that may be – and the longer it’s delayed, there’s hope.”
Local park closures would be devastating to a San Juan economy that is so dependent on tourist traffic. An estimated 40,000 students come to the Mission grounds every year to learn about California and Native American history.
Closing the park would mean shuttering an important historical resource while also jeopardizing the integrity of the 19th Century structures that line the plaza, such as the Zanetta House, stables, Plaza Hotel and Castro-Breen Adobe. The park also includes a blacksmith shop, jail and a settler’s cabin.
Locking the doors would no doubt mean less care – if any – would be given to the adobe and wooden structures in the plaza. What would be intended as a temporary budget fix could have long-lasting impacts on buildings that need regular care and attention.
Guaracha said he has no budget for seasonal staff that normally would provide visitor services or do routine maintenance. Those tasks, including restroom maintenance, adobe wall repairs and upgrades to the Plaza Hotel, are now solely the responsibility of the full-time park workers.
“We try to do the best we can,” he said.
The double-whammy of a Fremont Peak park closure would affect San Juan as well, as amateur and professional astronomers alike frequent its observatory, which provides one of the best views of the heavens in the Bay Area.
All state parks are valuable resources and are no doubt important to their local communities. There is hope they can all be spared, either through sponsorships or partnerships or even modest fees – like the $15 vehicle registration surcharge proposed (and defeated) in June by state legislators.
Times are tough for everyone and I certainly don’t want to give the government more money than I already do, but I can handle $1.25 per month, per car (about 4 cents per day) on a plan that would have raised enough money to keep all state parks open AND allow anyone with a California driver license to enter and park for free at all parks.
Unfortunately, politics interceded and some legislators didn’t want to vote for a plan that would have raised fees and marked them as tax-hikers. In my mind, it would have marked them as park-savers, but it wasn’t to be.
So now, we must hope that common sense, philanthropy, teamwork or some combination of the three will intercede and save our parks throughout the state.
The news that the release of the park closure list has been delayed is, indeed, good news, as it provides a glimmer of hope that a compromise will be reached. In the meantime, take the short drive to San Juan and step back in time at the Mission Plaza or drive up San Juan Canyon Road to Fremont Peak to take in the stunning vistas that sweep from the Central Valley to the Monterey Bay.
We are lucky to have such a pair of resources in our backyard. Let’s hope we don’t get locked out of them.
Adam Breen writes a blog at http://thebreenblog.blogspot.com and teaches newspaper and yearbook classes at San Benito High School. He is a Pinnacle staff writer and former editor of the Free Lance.
