By Cynthia Parkhill
Anderson Marsh State Historic Park is reducing its hours to only three days a week. This could either be an ominous development or a sign of attempts at compromise in light of the threat of park closures still hanging over our heads.
The California Department of Parks and Recreation issued an announcement on Tuesday that the parking lot gate will be open during the summer from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Weekends are likely the busiest time for our California parks, so it makes sense to streamline hours of operation ? especially if, by doing so, the park can be preserved for use at least some of the time.
The California State Parks Foundation reports that the total general fund cut to state parks for this budget year is at $14.2 million. “It is expected that this will result in the closure of perhaps more than 100 state parks,” the foundation reported in an Aug. 5 update. “There is still no closure list at this time.”
An earlier list proposed to close nearly every state park that I have ever enjoyed in Northern California, including Anderson Marsh State Historic Park, among 220 parks total. I was grateful that Clear Lake State Park, at least, was going to be spared ? but I wondered if more cuts would be forthcoming if the original closures had been allowed to proceed.
The latest projection is for 100 parks to
