SAN FRANCISCO–California State Parks Foundation is releasing three public service announcements as part of the new ‘Defend What’s Yours’ public awareness effort to inform Californians of park closures and to encourage them to defend their parks.
Organizers say six months from now 25 percent of state parks will be closed unless residents “step up to defend them.”
The foundation is taking their message to the public by launching a series of television public service announcements that will air statewide with the tagline ‘Defend What’s Yours.’ The new public awareness effort aims to empower citizen action and mobilize grassroots support to save the nation’s biggest state park system.
The ads will reach the public at a critical time as the state prepares to close one of every four state parks. Moreover, Governor Jerry Brown’s Fiscal Year 2012-13 state budget, released Jan. 5, also calls for potentially eliminating all seasonal lifeguards and 20 percent of ranger positions in state parks. This is the first time such closures and reductions have occurred in California.
Through the ‘Defend What’s Yours’ effort, the foundation has developed a full online campaign, including the launch of a new crowd-funded campaign with IndieGoGo.
The PSAs were shot in three state parks on the closure list: Jug Handle State Natural Reserve, Hendy Woods State Park, and Garrapata State Park.
“Park closures aren’t just a possibility, they’re a reality,” said President Elizabeth Goldstein. “The state has already closed some parks and is planning to close more. It has taken citizens over 100 years to build this world class system of parks, yet budget cuts are quickly eroding that legacy. The people of California must be informed about this crisis before it’s too late.”
“These parks belong to each and every one of us and we need all Californians to take this fight on as their own,” said Goldstein.
Years of budget reductions to California state parks have forced partial closures and severe service reductions across the 278-unit park system. Cuts enacted in the Fiscal Year 2011-12 state budget include an $11 million cut that was increased to a $22 million cut starting in Fiscal Year 2012-13 and will continue through future budget years. These cuts enacted by Gov. Brown and the Legislature are forcing the state to close 70 out of 278 California state parks by July 1 at the height of the summer season. Additionally, his 2012-13 state budget could eliminate all seasonal lifeguards and 20 percent of ranger positions in state parks, if Californians don’t pass the governor’s proposed revenue package slated for the November ballot.
