San Benito County is in danger of losing one of its prized
attractions at Hollister Hills if state lawmakers can’t find
consensus on how to fund the off-highway program.
San Benito County is in danger of losing one of its prized attractions at Hollister Hills if state lawmakers can’t find consensus on how to fund the off-highway program.
With the current funding bill set to expire at year’s end, legislators have clashed over its renewal, which would triple park entrance fees while doubling available funds for land acquisition. Environmentalists also have argued the bill doesn’t do enough to protect ecological sustenance.
We urge our local legislators and the governor to take a proactive stance on the bill and do everything possible to ensure Hollister doesn’t lose a piece of its character and one of its primary tourism draws.
We understand a reluctance toward hiking fees to solve a problem. We understand concerns over protecting the environment. But then legislators should devise a better solution, and fast.
The most logical answer is to raise relatively inexpensive fees, but to a lesser extent, and set aside less money for land acquisition while committing to improved upkeep at current parks.
We have a vested interest because San Benito County simply can’t afford to lose this jewel or have it temporarily out of business.
“It would be horrible for San Benito County,” Margie Ghione, vice president of the recreation area’s association, told Free Lance reporter Michael Van Cassell.
She’s right. Our 3,200-acre state park draws about 300,000 visitors per year from across the country. The chief park ranger has called it “the Disneyland of off-highway riding.”
It’s probably an exaggeration, but a stature somewhere between Disney bliss and an ideal place to take the family deserves a hollering urgency from state legislators representing San Benito County.
The response from Sen. Jeff Denham’s press secretary – who noted how he normally doesn’t support “jacking up fees” – didn’t convey a necessary level of concern and portrayed the kind of passive attitude that may lead to a stalemate and Hollister Hills shutting down.
“There has not been consensus from various groups on this bill,” said his press secretary, Stacey Hendrickson, “but if they come to a consensus, he’s willing to take a fresh look at it.”
From a pure economic standpoint, think about all the tourism dollars lost if Hollister Hills closes down, with visitors undoubtedly using our lodging, restaurants, gas stations and other shops while they’re in town.
And think about the mouth-full of pride swallowed if we could no longer tout the area’s 88 miles of trails and their accompanying beauty, elevations ranging from 660 feet 2,425 feet.
It’s one of those few local attributes known widely to outsiders. It’s one of those places that, in a way, in some circles, makes us famous.
