Two of Lake County”s jewels could be a thing of the past if Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger”s plan to close Clear Lake State Park and Anderson Marsh State Historic Park becomes reality.
The reason given for closing the parks, along with 46 other parks scattered throughout the state, is to bring the state budget in line. Along with Lake County”s two parks there are a number of state parks on the coast also facing closure.
Clear Lake State Park is one the best state parks in Northern California. It has an improved boat ramp, a visitor”s center and four developed campgrounds with a total of 149 campsites and a swimming beach. The park also offers numerous hiking trails. The state park draws approximately 100,000 visitors per year and most of these visitors come to camp, swim and boat. Closing this park will dramatically affect local businesses that depend on tourist dollars.
Anderson Marsh State Historic Park, located near the City of Clearlake, is basically a day-use area and consists of 870 acres of marsh and woodlands. It is home to a wide variety of birds, deer, an occasional bear and even mountain lions. Otters and mink occupy the shoreline. The majority of visitors to Anderson Marsh State Park go there for hiking and bird and wildlife viewing. The park draws approximately 45,000 visitors per year.
How many locals use the parks is unknown but a fair number of boaters pay a yearly fee of $165 to launch their boats at Clear Lake State Park. Not many locals actually camp at the park but a large number do picnic and hike on its trails.
Clear Lake State Park does attract a lot of out-of-county visitors, especially during the summer months. During the height of the tourist season the park is normally full. If it closes these tourists will spend their dollars elsewhere.
I actually doubt the state legislature will allow both parks to be closed. The bad part is that with 48 state parks slated to be closed, the communities around these parks will be battling to keep them open and the ones with the most political clout will likely prevail.
Does tiny Lake County have that kind of clout? Even if one of our parks survives closure you can bet there will be major cutbacks in services and an increase in entrance fees. The parks may operate only two or three days a week or only on weekends.
The other question is if the parks close what becomes of the land? Most likely the areas will be gated off and no one will be allowed on the property. The buildings will fall into disrepair and the grounds won”t be kept up.
It”s not just the closing of the parks that has an impact on local fishermen and hunters. The Department of Fish and Game (DFG) is also on the hit list. There will be fewer game wardens and fewer trout stockings at our local lakes. The junior pheasant hunts could be in jeopardy. The irony of this is the majority of money to run the DFG comes from the sale of fishing and hunting licenses, which have been increasing in cost every year.
Many have suggested that the county take over the operation of the parks. That”s not likely to happen because the county is also strapped for cash and the last thing it wants to do is be saddled with two more parks.
The ball is now in the state legislature”s hands and it will be interesting to see which parks stay open and which close.
