Phone calls, emails and protests were the name of the game.

This was the reaction locally and nationwide when Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger proposed shutting down all 14 state parks in Santa Cruz County and upwards of 220 of the 278 existing state parks in California. Locals of Santa Cruz and those affected across the state mounted a massive campaign to save state parks and won. Instead of following through with his proposed plan, however, the former governor cut hours and maintenance at state parks to appease his public.

Fast-forward to 2011, where the victory of two years ago is overshadowed by the ever-growing deficit in California. Gov. Jerry Brown’s budget, released in January of this year, reflects his need to spend less in order to shore up the entire state of California’s economy. What this means for the California State Park System is a cut of $22 million over the next two years — an 18 percent cutback of the overall general fund for state parks. The system expects closures of some parks at least, a huge loss for the advocates of 2009.

This funding crisis was not made any easier when last year, Proposition 21, which would have attached an $18 fee to all license registrations to be used to balance the budget for California’s state parks, failed to pass in the November 2010 elections. That money would have replaced the entire state’s budget allocated to the state park system, which could have been used elsewhere in the governor’s proposed budget, according to Roy Stearns, deputy director of communications for California state parks.

With the proposed cut taken into account, the state park system will have lost a total of 37 percent of its general fund since the 2007–2008 fiscal year budget. This has amounted to a staggering loss for the single largest destination in California — the state park system — which has a total of 75 million visitors yearly, almost outdoing Disneyland’s location in California 5-1.

Natural Bridges State Beach is just one of the 278 state parks in California at risk of future budget cuts. To prepare, many state parks are looking for other sources of funding to keep them open. Photo by Kyan Mahzouf.

Despite the advocacy efforts of organizations like Friends of Santa Cruz State Parks and the Santa Cruz State Park Foundation, gaps in funding have left the California and Santa Cruz State Park Systems with the difficult task of choosing what parks to keep open, cut availability to, or close completely. The California State Park System is not currently disclosing their estimates for how many state parks would close under the governor’s budget, but closures of any state parks, which are expected, will take a toll on local economies and preservation efforts.

Local non-profit Friends of Santa Cruz State Parks was at the forefront of the fight against Governor Schwarzenegger’s 2009 budget proposal. Executive director Bonny Hawley said now her organization tries to help fund local parks the state can no longer pay for.

“We’ve had to really try to fill in where we can,” Hawley said.

Even with help from Friends of Santa Cruz State Parks, which, according to their website, has provided $10 million in funding to Santa Cruz educational programs, visitors centers and exhibits over the past 30 years, some Santa Cruz state parks still have trouble staying open. Hawley’s office is located next door to the Santa Cruz Mission State Historic Park, which only remains open on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. They used to be open full-time.

Restrooms have also been partially closed in most of the local state parks and seasonal campgrounds remain closed for months longer than usual. Public accessibility has been cut dramatically, according to Hawley.

“The park used to be open a lot more to the public,” Hawley said.

Stearns said, Proposition 21 “would have fixed everything.”

Mision State Historic Park and Natural Bridges State Beach are two local examples of the many California state parks that are in danger of facing budget cuts. Photo by Kyan Mahzouf.

In Santa Cruz County, the proposition passed overwhelmingly by a 68.4 percent to 31.6 percent vote, but it failed across the state by a 57.3 percent to 42.7 percent vote.

“My personal opinion … is that people didn’t want to pass a vehicle license fee,” Stearns said. “That doesn’t mean they didn’t like parks, it means they didn’t like a vehicle license fee.”

But according to Hawley, there was a deeper issue that affected the vote.

“I think it had a lot more to do with trust in government,” Hawley said. “I think there were people who really didn’t believe that the money would go to state parks, that somehow the governor or the legislature would find a way to put the money into the general fund for other purposes, even though it was very well drafted and that wouldn’t have happened. I think people were suspicious, and the tough economy didn’t help.”

With the looming threat of closures, UC Santa Cruz environmental studies lecturer Brian Dowd-Uribe said his class, Environmental Interpretation, would be critically affected. Almost half of his students currently intern at state parks.

“Without these internships it would be hard for my class to succeed,” Dowd-Uribe said in an email. “The internship allows students to immediately put into practice concepts explored in the class. There just wouldn’t be enough internships elsewhere to make up this gap.”

To decide which state parks are going to close due to the governor’s budget, a team of the California State Park System’s experienced supervisors and managers have put together a comprehensive plan that is currently being reviewed by

Gov. Brown.

According to Stearns, deputy director of communications for California state parks, this team of supervisors and managers traveled to Sacramento earlier this year and spent weeks refining the methodology behind the proposed budget cuts.

“You have to balance so that what you leave open still serves the greatest number in the public,” Stearns said. “Not an easy choice.”

Stearns said that “a significant number” of parks would close if the proposed budget is not adjusted, which he is skeptical about since tax extensions did not make it onto this June’s ballot.

The team of supervisors and managers looked at the cost savings they had to make, and ran the numbers on how much a park makes in revenue, or how much the system saves by closing it. Other factors the team considered were specific state parks’ significance, visitation, existing partnerships and infrastructure. The information regarding which parks will close cannot be disclosed until the plan is released to the public in mid-May.

Dave Keck, landscape architect and project manager for the Big Basin General Plan, a long-term plan that is currently being drafted for Big Basin State Park, said that with the budget cuts and the wounded state of the park system, his team is trying to look at how they can obtain other funding through partnerships. He said he wanted “methods that we can achieve objectives for keeping parks open and still accommodating visitors.”

On March 26, Keck helped facilitate a meeting in which members of the public were open to comment on several different plan proposals.

“[Funding] is always the first question,” Keck said. “When you throw out ideas and want people’s feedback, the first question is always, ‘Well, where is the state going to get the money to do all this?’”

Instead of looking to the state for funding, Keck said that a lot of the funding Big Basin receives comes from bonds, which have funded improvements and updates for the park, its headquarters and its visitor’s center. Hopefully, Keck said, future bond partnerships will help implement the current General Plan. Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST) and Sempervirens Fund are two of the park’s current bond partners, which helped secure the territory of Little Basin acquired early this year.

What this means for Big Basin is their facilities have not been hit as hard as those that have difficulty securing funding through private bonds. Campers and rangers at Big Basin see little difference in the way the park has been run in the past.

Securing funding is exactly what the Big Basin General Plan does in effect, Keck said.

“[The Big Basin General Plan] is used as a tool to solicit funds, if anything, by others who have an interest in making the park better,” Keck said.

Natural Bridges State Beach is just one of the 278 state parks in California at risk of future budget cuts. To prepare, many state parks are looking for other sources of funding to keep them open. Photo by Kyan Mahzouf.

Realistically, Keck said, funding from either the state or private bonds and partnerships may not ever be available, but “when and if” it is, the General Plan also provides a framework for where to apply that money.

“I’ve worked on plans 30 years ago that still have things in them that have never been implemented,” Keck said. “This is not a master plan for development. Think of it more as a 20-year plan. It projects that far ahead.”

Keck expects that the draft of the General Plan will be finished by the end of the year, and open for public comment. By this time next year, Keck projects the plan will go to the State Park Commission for approval.

The Big Basin General Plan’s current alternative combines infrastructure development with preservation in order to keep revenue coming into Big Basin State Park, but also preserve the old-growth forest, Keck said.

“We’re trying to make improvements where we can, and reinforce the protection and preservation of the more significant natural and cultural resources, and things like the wilderness experience,” Keck said.

But Keck said this doesn’t come without anxiety from the public, who are concerned about the impact generating more activity will have on certain state park areas.

Mammoth Redwoods fill the Santa Cruz mountains and are an integral part of many state parks. Among these are the Henry Cowell, Wilder Ranch, and Big Basin State Parks. Photo by Kyan Mahzouf.

Development is a major threat to state parks in their current fund-deprived state, according to Sen. Lois Wolk (D-Davis).

It is the main reason why Sen.Wolk drafted SB580, a bill currently making its way through the Senate that would protect state parks from unwanted development.

Sen. Wolk said there is no clear, existing policy regarding development in and of California State Parks. SB580 is the “commonsense protection” that state parks need, according to the SB580 Fact Sheet, authored by Sen. Wolk and Sen. Christine Kehoe (D-San Diego).

Some of the major development threats in California include a proposed toll-road through San Onofre State Beach, a power-line through Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, and the building of a mega-dairy in Colonel Allensworth State Historic Park.

A similar Senate bill was passed in 2009 called SB679, also authored by Wolk, but was vetoed by Gov. Schwarzenegger when it reached his desk. Supervisor Mark Stone of the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors said he hopes the reformed bill will pass this time.

The Santa Cruz Board of Supervisors, at the urging of supervisor Neal Coonerty, endorsed SB580 on April 5. Supervisor Stone of the fifth district, which includes Ben Lomond, Scotts Valley and parts of Boulder Creek, said endorsing the bill was a “no-brainer” for the board, and that the proposal moved straight to a vote with no discussion.

In a press release, supervisor Coonerty said, “SB580 ensures that our parks have a high bar for their protection … and these places belong to every resident of the state.”

SB580 is also sponsored by the California State Parks Foundation, and supported by organizations including the California League of Park Associations and the Central Coast Natural History Association.

Supervisor Stone said the concern is developers will prey on parks that have closed due to the budget cuts, and that generating revenue might become more important than preservation if the budget crisis gets worse.

Redwood at Big Basin State Park. Photo by Kyan Mahzouf.

“What we’re concerned about is that notion may come up and there might be pressure to just sell [the parks] to get some revenue, or allow developers to get in there and do things that we would later regret,” Stone said. “It’s to avoid temptation. If we can’t come back to them when times are better, that will be a real tragedy.”

Stone said he thinks the bill will hold on to the “status-quo” of park and that “developing state parks, which are meant to be natural” would be something the state park system would regret, and expressly the type of thing the bill would safeguard against.

Andy Schiffrin, analyst for supervisor Coonerty, said in an email, “As California continues to develop, preserving some of our natural assets both for their environmental values as well as for the enjoyment of our citizens, is of critical importance.”

But for Schiffrin, funding of the state parks and whether some will remain open or be closed is not the reason that SB580 is important.

“Certainly money is an important issue,” Schiffrin said. “However, some projects would be proposed in state parks irrespective of the financial realities.”

Hawley of Friends of Santa Cruz State Parks said that SB580 would be advanced regardless of the budget.

“[Regarding funding], I think [the bill] would still be important because as populations increase and development pressures increase, it’s important that there is that kind of protection in place for state parks,” Hawley said.

Dowd-Uribe said he also hopes state parks are protected because of the learning opportunities that state parks provide to students.

“Literally hundreds of K–12 classes visit state parks over the course of the year in Santa Cruz County alone,” Dowd-Uribe said. “These visits are often … the only chance students get to directly learn about the environment. State parks play a key role in the environmental education of our youth. Park closures would end these critically important programs.”

Sunset at Natural Bridges State Park. Photo by Kyan Mazouf.

---- (C) 2011 City on a Hill Press. All Rights Reserved. View online at California State Parks Face Dire Decisions

Illustration by Rachel Edelstein.

I was laying in an open field on campus one April afternoon, having briefly escaped from a world of endless deadlines and assignments. I was hiding from the comfort of couches and futons when suddenly, two men with middle-aged voices approached and stepped past me.

“In Santa Cruz, they call that 4:20,” I heard one of them say to the other as they passed, implying that I had participated in a certain smoke-filled pastime earlier that day.

It wasn’t exactly 4:20 p.m. — he was about an hour off. But I didn’t care to open my eyes and give him the time of day. Or even clarify that I wasn’t stoned out of my mind — just tired of school.

But it made me wonder how we, as a society, got to a place in which resting outside is considered out of the ordinary. I want to believe that it isn’t strange for someone to nap in a field simply because it’s a warm, sunny day — or just because they want to take a nap. But maybe that isn’t the case anymore.

Just over 100 years ago, 30 million Americans lived in cities — comprising about 30 percent of the nation’s population. The rest spent their days outside — farming, milking cows, building their own houses, swimming in ponds, playing games, riding wagons into town.

Today, however, the outdoor survival and physical activity that used to define day-to-day human existence is instead restricted to something we do in our free time.

But, seriously, we all need a break. The fluorescent lights and glowing computer screens often leave us longing for a chance at some sunshine, at running through an open door or working with our hands — hands that most of us use for typing on keyboards instead of hammering nails and tugging weeds. Meanwhile, the incessant hum of technology has us looking for an answer, an escape.

Since I came to UC Santa Cruz, I have found my escape in my cousin Mike’s ranch, hidden away in the Santa Cruz Mountains. There, he and I spend our weekends pulling together pieces of sheet rock and plywood to build a wooden cabin, or something that resembles one.

Once we start to break a sweat in the 90 degree heat, or maybe get hungry and need something to eat or drink, there is only one solution.

“There’s calories in beer,” Mike likes to remind me. We try to strike a balance between the work we do on the house, and the damage we do on 24-ounce tall cans of Olde English.

Spending time working with my hands feels like traveling back to a simpler time — one that has somehow been lost during the disconnect of the 21st century. We work in the blazing heat on termite-infested wooden ladders, with chain saws that I swear have lives of their own. We drink otherwise watery, tasteless beer, specially fermented by the sun and with the added flavor of sawdust.

I have to admit, the more hours we spend in this manner, the harder they get — and the less productive, too. Also, measuring isn’t exactly our strong suit. Sometimes, as we peer over our hazing cigarettes and squint through the fumes of smoke, additionally fogged up by our beer-blurred eyesight, Mike looks at me holding the giant rectangle of sheet rock we’re going to slam onto some wall and says, “So, in theory …”

That’s usually about the moment at which I know that whatever we’re about to try probably isn’t going to work.

Instead, we spend the rest of the day trudging through thickets of redwood trees and poison oak. On a warm day, we’ll even treat ourselves to a swim in the pond.

The midterm season, now upon us, provides the need to take a few breaks. The spring season, also upon us, makes it the perfect quarter for this, with the green fields and warm weather. In America, 34 percent of adults are obese, double the percentage from 30 years ago. The number is currently at 17 percent for American children, a whopping 300 percent increase since that same time. Just one more reason to open a new door.

You don’t have to make drunken attempts to build a cabin in the woods, but a little bit of a change can’t hurt. Work with your hands. Run around. Throw a Frisbee.

And, if you get tired, you can always come back inside to the world of futons and couches. But I recommend napping outside.

---- (C) 2011 City on a Hill Press. All Rights Reserved. View online at The Great Escape

Experienced archer David Delaney readies his bow Saturday at the DeLaveaga Archery Range. Photo by Isaac Miller.

Armed with bows ranging from highly sophisticated design products to rudimentary sticks with nylon strings, the Santa Cruz Archers roam the hills of DeLaveaga Park, unbeknownst to the neighboring golf and disc-golf course visitors.

The club was founded in 1968 and pledges to “foster, expand and perpetuate the practice of field and target archery and the spirit of good fellowship among all archers.” By offering quick start-up lessons and lending out equipment in exchange for donations, all in good humor and with great generosity, this is exactly what happens during an archer’s afternoon on the range. 

Randy Redmond has been shooting for over 40 years, and if you head to DeLaveaga during public hours, chances are he’ll be the one taking care of you. 

He’ll get you started in about five minutes with the basics.

“Stand up straight, just like your mother taught you,” Redmond instructed. “The basics are what it’s all about. Now I want you to do that exact thing, forever.”

And don’t worry about not owning a bow and arrows.

“We won’t rent out the equipment,” said club president Henry Bertram, “but we’ll let you borrow some.” 

Five-year-old Daisy Delaney uses a compound bow, which makes the bow lighter and therefore easier for her to shoot. She never misses the target. 

Her father, David Delaney, said he was a member of the archery club “years and years ago. My whole family was.” And indeed, the main building is dedicated to a Delaney, David’s father, who helped build it. Although it’s been a while since David has visited the range regularly, he and Daisy are getting back into it.

Back inside the Delaney building, a handful of UC Santa Cruz students are learning how to shoot. 

“It’s a lot of fun,” fourth-year Erin Nolan said, “but definitely challenging. I want to come back and go out on the range, see how well I fare out there.”

This class, a quarterly event, is sponsored and organized by UCSC’s Office of Physical Education and Recreation (OPERS). 

The OPERS archery trips fill out fast, said Nolan, and she tried to get in for many quarters. “This was my last chance, and it was worth it. I really recommend it to anyone who wants to take a few hours out on their Saturday to learn to shoot.” 

Many of the club members will be going back with sore arms from carrying the bows, some even with bruises from where the taut string stuck their elbows.

Club president Bertram was teaching the class. 

“Come back and check out the range,” he said to the group. “It’s a nice walk, but it’s even nicer if you’re carrying a bow and arrow.” 

The club encourages donations, with a suggested amount of $3 if you come to learn and borrow.

Although a Santa Cruz park, the range is entirely built and maintained by club members. 

“In the last couple of years, we have had a fantastic group of people who come by and work hard to maintain the range,” Bertram said.

Inside the “animal shed” lays an array of tools and paint buckets alongside foam cougars, elk and other animals, the biggest an impressive gorilla. They will be used in the upcoming event “Stick Bow in the Woods,” where 28 foam animals will be scattered as targets amid the old oaks and redwoods.

“It’s all for fun,” Bertram said. “You want bias? This is the best range in the area, no question. Go around, fling a few arrows, don’t tell the wife, and that’s all there is to it.”

A close-up of a target at the range. A variety of arrows and bows are available to borrow from the Sant Cruz Archers. Photo by Isaac Miller.

---- (C) 2011 City on a Hill Press. All Rights Reserved. View online at Local Archers Take Aim

Illustration by Joe Lai.

After a three-day, 27-mile trek up the edge of the northernmost coast of California — aptly called the Lost Coast — during which they were forced to overcome obstacles such as untimely tides, bears, bugs and poison oak, a small group of backpackers found themselves overlooking a beautiful ocean panorama among a sea of black sand and grassy knolls. 

This ragtag group of hikers, self-proclaimed on their Web page as UC Santa Cruz’s “best-kept secret,” is a student-organized backpacking group dedicated to exploring the finest parts of nature. Averaging around two to three hikes of varying difficulty each quarter, the backpacking club is known for its free admission and affordable trips, each one costing only $30 per student.

“It’s cheaper than OPERS, and you get to discover the landscape more,” said Jonathan Kinnear, a second-year ELP exchange student. “We go to the places the tourists don’t go to.”

During weekly Wednesday meetings, students come prepared with backpacking trail ideas. Meetings are open to student input, reflecting the laid-back approach the club prides itself upon.

Tamsen Peeples, a second-year marine biology major and current leader of the backpacking club, emphasized the casual style in which the group conducts itself.

“The logistics of the trip involve people shouting out ideas,” Peeples said. “The backpacking club is a really low-key kind of club. People come and go every quarter.”

Many suggestions for trips this quarter have also been discussed among its members, including a hike through southwest Lake Tahoe, a trip to Yosemite’s Half-Dome and possibly another visit to the Lost Coast in Humboldt County. Though many ideas have been mentioned, the trips are often dependent upon the availability of its members and whether or not the group can get a permit.

“Permits can be limiting,” Peeples said. “If you don’t have a permit, you can’t get in [to the trail].”

Few plans have been finalized this quarter, but the backpacking club has activities and events in mind for their next trip, including T-shirt making and a “make your own trail mix” contest. They also have hopes for a night hike, preferably on a night with a full moon.

Though Peeples expressed her joy for hiking, she said that it is being with fellow backpackers and friends that she considers the most fun part of the club.

“They’re a great group of people,” she said. “It’s a lot of fun to be with them.”

Torsten Wendav, a fourth-year physics major and transfer student, joined in the conversation to add his opinion.

“It’s a cool group,” he said. “Not many kids hear about this.”

As a few members of the backpacking club talked about their hiking experiences together, Kinnear expressed his gratitude toward the club.

“We found it from the start, we were really lucky,” he said. “There’s no way we could have done [these hikes] without it.”

The backpacking club is open to all students regardless of experience. Though some hikes, including the Lost Coast, can be quite strenuous, Peeples said, the pain is worth it in the long run.

“It’s all mental,” Peeples said. “You know how fast and far you can go. Cherish the scars.” 

—–

The backpacking club meets Wednesday nights at 8 p.m. above the OPERS office.

---- (C) 2011 City on a Hill Press. All Rights Reserved. View online at Students Quench Thirst for Adventure with Campus Club