We’re pleased to present a video co-produced and directed by Treehuggers International founder and host Tommy Hough, in tandem with his Primary Focus production partner Gary Meade, for the California State Parks Foundation.

Created for this year’s Parks Advocacy Day, an annual lobbying event which Tommy takes part in to support California State Parks, the clip is a collection of the foundation’s Legacy Award winners from the past 10 years.

Since 2002, the California State Parks Foundation has given the Legacy Award to state legislators who go above and beyond the call of duty in protecting and enhancing California’s magnificent state park system.

We were especially honored to have Sen. Christine Kehoe, Asm. Wesley Chesbro, and Sec. of Natural Resources John Laird present for the March 20th screening of the video during the Parks Advocacy Day reception in Sacramento, when this year’s Legacy Award winner, Asm. Jared Huffman, was honored. Asm. Huffman is currently running for the U.S. House of Representatives from California’s 2nd Congressional District.

A big thanks to Traci Verardo-Torres, Jerry Emory, Linsey Fredenburg-Humes, and Kate Litzky at the California State Parks Foundation for their extraordinary help and support in making this project happen.

Primary Focus is continuing to assist former Asm. Lori Saldaña‘s campaign for the U.S. House of Representatives in California’s 52nd Congressional District with communications, media and video support.

Treehuggers International welcomes Sara Feldman, the Vice President for Programs at the California State Parks Foundation, back to the program to talk about potential state park closures, as well as the California State Park Foundation’s upcoming Earth Day Restoration and Clean-Up on April 16th.

Also on this edition of Treehuggers International is special guest Laura Davick, the President and Founder of the Crystal Cove Alliance in Orange County, a model for successful public/private partnerships with the mission of preserving California’s state parks.

A pelican enjoys the sunset from the Crystal Cove tidepools.

Familiar Ground

Since the beginning of Treehuggers International in 2007, founder and host Tommy Hough has often referred to California State Parks as the “envy of the nation.” While National Parks and National Monuments located in California typically defy superlatives and stand as some of the grandest in the nation, California’s state parks also hold a bounty of National Park-worthy sites, vistas, and resources, from Anza-Borrego to Montaña de Oro and Henry Coe, to the network of Redwood state parks along the North Coast.

California State Parks also go a long way towards preserving the history of the Golden State, from a park celebrating Southern California’s long-gone citrus empire in Riverside, to the one of the first African-American communities in the Central Valley, to the beginning of California’s gold rush at Sutter’s Mill along the American River.

With the failure of Proposition 21 in last November’s election, California’s remarkable state park system remains faced with the same threats of closure they’ve faced in previous years. As returning Governor Jerry Brown has made clear from the moment he took office, he intends to spread the pain of budget cuts across the board, including California State Parks. So far, the governor’s proposed 2011 budget calls for $11 million dollars in cuts to state parks, with an additional $11 million to be cut in 2012, making state park closures a certainty.

With park advocates’ backs to the wall and the impending release of a new state parks closure list, California State Parks, in conjunction with the California State Parks Foundation and various conservancies and associations around the state, is once again considering alternate sources of funding in order to keep parks open to the public and able to operate.

Earth Day Restoration and Clean-Up

Sara and Laura also take a few moments to talk about this year’s California State Parks Foundation annual Earth Day Restoration and Clean-Up, happening at state parks sites around California on Saturday, April 16th. You can join volunteers to plant trees, restore trails, and clean waterways at California’s magnificent state parks.

For individuals, groups or businesses interested in volunteering on Earth Day or to find an Earth Day Restoration and Clean-Up site a site near you, go to the California State Parks Foundation website, or call 1-888-98-PARKS.

For more information on Laura and the Crystal Cove Alliance, call (949) 376-0900.

Stately oak grotto at Los Osos Oaks State Reserve, San Luis Obispo County.

Statement On the Defeat of Proposition 21

By Tommy Hough, Founder of Treehuggers International

(San Diego, CA)  –  Sometimes you come up short.

Proposition 21 was a well-constructed piece of citizen legislation and a sensible idea, but even in a good economy, passing it would have been an uphill battle.

When it comes to preserving the environment and conservation initiatives, change has never come easy. With the mercurial nature of the proposition process and taking the temperature of the electorate, multiple tries at an issue are often required before the right formula is reached. Our only hope at Treehuggers International is we still have California State Parks to save once we arrive at the right formula, whether with the help of lawmakers in Sacramento or through another proposition measure.

While there are dozens of regional conservancies and organizations the length of the state doing tremendous work every day keeping California State Parks the “envy of the nation,” the system itself is reaching a point of critical mass.

The best way to raise awareness, generate enthusiasm, and get people excited about the natural history and legacy of California State Parks is by getting friends, family, and neighbors into the Great Outdoors to experience parks and connect with them.

Whether in a Redwood grove at Prairie Creek, hiking the bluffs at Montaña de Oro, or savoring the view from Font’s Point at Anza-Borrego, it doesn’t take much for the average person, when confronted with the beauty and wonder California State Parks, to find their “batteries recharged” and their sense of peace and balance restored.

The dedicated men and women of California State Parks do an amazing job of adapting and making do with what they have, providing the best experience for park users. But only when the public can tangibly appreciate what California State Parks have to offer and what they stand to lose will they demand Sacramento cease strangling park budgets and leaving historic sites mothballed or in a state of permanent disrepair, from trails to visitor facilities to ranger-led law enforcement.

While we can’t control the end result of a proposition campaign, we can continue to pro-actively work toward solutions, building relationships and coalitions, and most importantly, getting our friends, family, and neighbors into California’s Great Outdoors with us. Lead a hike, organize an outing, and show your friends and neighbors what we value, and what natural wonders decades of conservation efforts and brave stands by wise lawmakers have set aside for us, in our name, at California State Parks.

California State Parks will likely suffer more closures and cuts, but if there is one silver lining, it is the fact California has a new governor. While Jerry Brown pledged there would be “no sacred cows” when it comes to the budget, Brown also understands the economic engine state parks represent for adjoining communities, and realizes current funding for the beleaguered park system takes up less than one-tenth of one percent of the state’s general fund, proportionally a microscopic sliver. Considering Jerry Brown also cut the ribbon on many state parks during his previous service as governor, he is also more aware than nearly any other California elected official of the importance and value parks have for the state’s citizens.

Prop. 21 would have effectively and economically enabled the survival of California State Parks and offer the opportunity for even more people to connect with them, but keep your chin up parks fans: we move forward. Over 760,000 signatures were collected around the state to put this proposition on the ballot. That’s no small number.

Now lace up your boots, grab a friend, get outside, and enjoy the Golden State’s natural heritage.

Treehuggers International

Treehuggers International is an environmental affairs and natural science program, dedicated to the preservation of parks, wilderness, and special places, which airs Sunday mornings on KBZT FM 94/9 in San Diego and on-line at KMTT 103.7 The Mountain in Seattle. Treehuggers International is the brainchild of radio personality, conservationist, and outdoorsman Tommy Hough.

More information at www.treehuggersintl.com.

Castle Crags State Park from Vista View, Shasta County.

Afternoon sunlight on the bluffs at Torrey Pines State Reserve, San Diego County.

Abundant springtime grass at Henry W. Coe State Park, Santa Clara County.

Big Basin Redwoods State Park, Santa Cruz County.

The California Parks Access Pass initiative has at last been certified for the November ballot, and it now has a number: Proposition 21.

We at Treehuggers International fully support the Parks Access Pass initiative, which will generate some $500 million dollars a year exclusively for California State Parks, thereby taking funding for treasured parks like Humboldt Redwoods, Mt. Tamalpais, Crystal Cove, Sutter’s Mill, and hundreds of others off the political roller coaster of the general fund and what has become annual threats of closure.

The cost of the Parks Access Pass to Californians? An annual $18 dollar fee on the vehicle license renewal for all Californians, which breaks down to about $1.50 per month for year-round, no-fee access to California state parks. No more entry fees, and fully-staffed parks.

When you consider the average day-use pass at a California State Park runs between $8.00 and $15.00, the California Parks Access Pass is a bargain for Californians, who get to enjoy their parks year-round with no entry fees, while long-standing, backlogged maintenance needs and renovation projects can at last get underway and return the Golden State’s parks to their rightful status as the Envy of the Nation, to say nothing of the economic engine they provide nearby communities and businesses.

Treehuggers International revisits our Septemer 2009 conversation with Sara Feldman, the Vice President for Programs with the California State Paks Foundation, when the closure of 100 California State Parks due to budget shortfalls appeared imminent. Even though state parks put $2.35 back into the local economies of areas around parks for every one dollar of taxpayer money spent, and take up less than one-tenth of one percent of the entire annual California budget, the budget crises of recent years has again and again rendered California’s state parks a pawn in a political tug-of-war between the Governor  and the legislature.

Along with the financial impact of potential park closures, Sara also discusses opportunities for joining parks with conservancies, foundations, and local governments to keep parks open in the event of mass closures, and goes over additional threats facing the integrity of California State Parks which have received less notice in light of threatened closures, particularly the long-proposed toll road through San Onofre State Beach and the proposed route of the Sunrise Powerlink transmission line through Anza-Borrego Desert State Park.

Learn more about the California Parks Access Pass and how you can help, take action, or volunteer at a state park near you at the California State Parks Foundation and the Yes On 21 for State Parks websites.

American River from Marshall Gold Discovery State Park, El Dorado County.

More about this post at:

• California State Parks Foundation
• Yes On 21 for State Parks
• Save Our State Parks
• Sacramento Topics: State Parks, state parks series from the Sacramento Bee
• State Parks’ Care Is Shared Responsibility (Modesto Bee; 7/29/10)
• Living History Day At Sugar Pine Point State Park (Sierra Sun; 7/28/10)
• It’s the Wild West In Our State Parks (Sacramento Bee; 7/27/10)
• Change On the Horizon for California’s Oldest State Park (Santa Cruz Sentinel; 7/27/10)
• Rising Crime Dims Luster of California State Parks (Sacramento Bee; 7/25/10)
• Historic Ranch Near Henry Coe State Park Preserved (San Jose Mercury News; 7/23/10)
• Park Your Opinion Here On State Parks (Los Angeles Times; 7/20/10)
• Hearst Castle, State Parks Need Prop. 21 Funding (San Luis Obispo Tribune; 7/4/10)
• State Parks In California In Disrepair (McClatchy News Services; 6/28/10)
• Maintenance Cutbacks Risk Our Safety and History (Modesto Bee; 6/28/10)
• We Need New Commitment to State Parks (Merced Sun-Star; 6/28/10)
• Overdue Maintenance Takes Toll On California’s Parks (Fresno Bee; 6/26/10)
• Guide to California State Parks (Sacramento Bee; 6/24/10)
• Measure for California Park Funding Makes November Ballot (San Jose Mercury News; 6/10/10)
• Federal Funding Drop Threatens Auburn State Recreation Area (Auburn Journal; 6/7/10)
• Tight Budget Keeps State Parks On the Brink (San Francisco Chronicle; 5/13/10)
• $18 Seems Small Price for Stability for State Parks (San Francisco Chronicle; 5/2/10)

Sycamore Canyon at Point Mugu State Park, Ventura County.

High tide at Montaña de Oro State Park, San Luis Obispo County.

Spring runoff along Big Rock Creek, San Gabriel Mountains.

With World Water Day coming up on Monday, March 22nd, it’s a good time to think about the myriad of directions water agencies tend to go, with some agencies charged with the task of bringing water to thirsty Southern California, while others are charged with the task of flood control, flushing any rainwater the region may receive into the ocean as quickly as possible.

It’s not counter-intuitive to take a step back and ask why these agencies’ goals aren’t more in tandem. When rainwater falls in Southern California or a similarly dry climate, it would make as much sense to keep more than just what winds up in reservoirs and use it, rather than expel the rainwater into the sea, only to pull it from the ocean again in the form of a desalination plant, thereby burning more fossil fuels to extract the same fresh water which was just flushed away.

Enter The Cycle of Insanity: The Real Story of Water, a new, animated film produced by a team of activists from different chapters of the Surfrider Foundation, with Surfrider San Diego member and Know Your H20 co-chair Belinda Smith at the helm as Executive Producer.

As part of Surfrider’s new Ocean Friendly Gardens campaign, The Cycle of Insanity: The Real Story of Water discusses how the current management of our water supply runs counter to grade-school lessons about the water cycle, highlights controversial problems and solutions related to water management, and serves as a practical, good sense-driven outline for individuals curious about water issues.

And from one cycle of insanity to another, there remains Governor Schwarzenegger’s ongoing scheme to remove California State Parks from the state’s general fund, and instead fund the operation of all 278 state parks (and several other starving state institutions, including the U.C. and Cal. State systems) from oil revenues collected from a long-delayed, highly-controversial, twice-rejected offshore drilling plan along the Tranquillon Ridge in the Santa Barbara Channel.

In conjunction with the California State Parks Foundation, Treehuggers International was recently in Sacramento for Parks Advocacy Day actively lobbying against such a move, and pressing state legislators for support of the Parks Access Pass initiative, currently in the signature-gathering stage and expected to be on the November ballot.  By adding an annual $18 surcharge to all California-registered vehicles, state parks will similarly be removed from the general fund and fully funded from a regular, annual source of support, with the added benefit of EVERY Californian enjoying free access into all state parks, year-round.

Stefanie Sekich is best-known for her work in helping defeat the proposed Orange County toll road through the backcountry of San Onofre State Beach as part of Surfrider’s coastal campaigns and Save Trestles initiatives, and along with Belinda Smith, she stops by Treehuggers International for an update on not only the possibility of expanded offshore oil drilling in California’s coastal waters, but also in federal waters beyond the three-mile offshore mark of the state. While President Obama has been instrumental in the resuscitation of federal regulatory agencies and the creation of new wilderness areas with last year’s omnibus bill, he’s been reluctant to remove the option of renewed offshore oil drilling off the California coast.

From The Cycle of Insanity film to the ongoing parks-for-oil cycle of insanity, we cover some extra ground on this edition of Treehuggers International.

The San Diego Surfrider chapter is hosting the premiere screening of The Cycle of Insanity: The Real Story of Water on March 22nd at 4:00, 6:00, and 7:30 pm at The Loft on the UCSD campus. The screenings are open and free to the public, with a Q & A session following the 4:00 and 6:00 screenings.

More about this post at:

• San Diego Surfrider Chapter
• Not the Answer, Surfrider anti-offshore oil drilling advocacy website
• World Water Day
• Know Your H2O
• Save Trestles, updates on Trestles and San Onofre State Beach
• California State Parks Foundation
• Ocean Waves Beaches
• Oil for Parks Plan Derided As Blackmail (San Diego Union-Tribune; 1/22/10)
• On the Money: Oil Drilling Controversy (KOVR-TV Sacramento; 1/15/10)
• Governor Seeks to Use Oil Money to Save State Parks (San Francisco Chronicle; 1/9/10)
• Initiative Seeks Long-Term Funding for Cash-Strapped State (San Diego Newsroom; 1/8/10)
• Enviros Blast Arnold’s Oil for Parks Plan (Contra Costa Times; 1/8/10)
• Schwarzenegger: Fund State Parks Via Offshore Oil Money (LAist; 1/8/10)

Headwaters: Scott Gomer Creek at treeline, Pike-Arapaho National Forest, Colorado.

A Save Our State Parks demonstration at the state capitol in Sacramento.

Treehuggers International is heading to Sacramento on March 8th to put in a little face time with California state legislators on Parks Advocacy Day.

The mission is to not only encourage legislators to keep California State Parks open, but to encourage lawmakers to reject Gov. Schwarzenegger’s proposal to eliminate public funding for California State Parks by replacing it with funding from offshore oil drilling projects which are controversial at best, twice rejected by the California Coastal Commission, and far from being approved.

Along with our partners at the California State Parks Foundation, Treehuggers International continues to advocate for a statewide measure to put the State Park Access Pass on the ballot in November. Called the California State Parks and Wildlife Conservation Trust Fund Act of 2010, the initiative is currently in the signature-gathering stage.

If passed, Californians would support their state park system and wildlife conservation areas by paying an $18 dollar annual surcharge on vehicle license fees. In return, state parks would not only remain open, but ALL Californians with vehicles registered in their name would be able to access any California State Park, at any time, for free.

Talk about a win-win. Californians get free access to their parks, and the parks remain open with a steady, reliable, regular funding apparatus.

Sacramento, we’re coming your way on March 8th. See you then.

An eagle makes a stand at Ahjumawi Lava Springs State Park.

More about this post at:

• California State Parks Foundation
• Save Our State Parks
• Take A Hike On Mt. Diablo (Martinez News-Gazette; 2/13/10)
• Don’t Trade Oil for Parks (Santa Cruz Sentinel; 2/7/10)
• Budget Cutters Again Target State Parks (Capitol Weekly; 2/4/10)
• Ballot, Budget Targeted In Dispute Over State Parks Funding (Capitol Weekly; 2/4/10)
• Oil-for-Parks Plan Derided As Blackmail (San Diego Union-Tribune; 1/22/10)
• Arizona Decides to Close Most State Parks (Los Angeles Times; 1/16/10)
• Governor Warns of Deep Fiscal Crisis As He Unveils Budget Plan (Los Angeles Times; 1/9/10)
• State Budget Calls for Big Cuts (San Diego Union-Tribune; 1/9/10)
• Audubon California Audublog, excellent list of Southern California signature-gathering locations
• Stewards of the Coast and Redwoods
• Friends of Santa Cruz State Parks
• Sonoma Trails
• Anza Borrego Foundation

Is it too late to save Montaña de Oro and 100 other California State Parks from closure?

Sara Feldman from the California State Paks Foundation talks about the imminent closure of 100 California State Parks. Even though state parks put over two dollars back into the local economies of areas around parks for every one dollar of taxpayer money spent, and take up less than one-tenth of one percent of the entire annual California budget, the recent budget crisis and compromise between Governor Schwarzenegger and the legislature has made nearly 100 closures official.

Along with the financial impact of park closures, Sara also discusses opportunities for joining parks with conservancies, foundations, and local governments to keep them open, and goes over additional threats facing the integrity of California State Parks which have received less notice in light of the current round of closures.

While we at Treehuggers International are disappointed in having to report the news of imminent park closures, it’s a good reality check on what parks are ultimately for, who stands to lose the most, and why these closures have repercussions for every citizen in California, from outdoor recreation to educational opportunities for children.

Learn more about how you can help, take action, or volunteer at a state park near you, at the California State Parks Foundation website.

Campers may find Palomar Mountain State Park closed after Labor Day.

More about this post at:

• California State Parks Foundation
• Anza-Borrego Foundation
• Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy
• Friends of Santa Cruz State Parks
• Saving Richardson Grove, website from the Center for Biological Diversity
• Reports: Revenue from State Parks Exceeds Cost (Santa Cruz News; 7/16/09)
• More Cuts to California State Parks (Los Angeles Times; 7/28/09)
• California Seeks Sponsors for State Parks (Los Angeles Times, 7/30/09)
• California State Parks Closure List Due Soon (Sacramento Bee, 8/30/09)
• State Halts Camping Reservations (San Francisco Examiner, 9/6/09)
• Tight Budget Pinch State Park Funds (CBS News, 8/16/09)

Desert Valley at Anza-Borrego erupts into a riot of color in the spring.

California’s State Parks are the envy of the nation, but they are facing grim times as Governor Schwarzenegger intends to close, padlock, and mothball 80% of California’s State Parks by the end of the summer in order to help pay down the state’s $24 billion dollar budget deficit. 80% of California’s duly revered state park system comes down to 220 out of 279 properties, and the volume and quality of the parks set to be closed is staggering. It’s not even a matter of which parks will close, but which ones will remain open.

In San Diego County, the current home of Treehuggers International, nine parks and beaches are set to be padlocked including: Palomar Mountain State Park, Cuyamaca Rancho State Park, Torrey Pines State Beach, Torrey Pines State Reserve, Border Field State Park, Silver Strand State Beach, Carlsbad State Beach, San Pasqual Battlefield State Park, and perhaps most impossibly of all, massive Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, the biggest state park in the nation.

So far, the projected fiscal savings are coming up as microscopic. The annual budget for state parks makes up less than one-tenth of one percent of the entire state budget, while at the same time, for every one dollar from the general fund which goes into California State Parks, a full $2.35 on the dollar goes back into the local economies of communities around parks, and state parks generate $4.3 billion dollars annually.

The price tag for closing the parks down, only to eventually re-open them, does not result in a net savings. So why close them in the name fiscal responsibility? Even as the illogical nature of the proposal is becoming clear, communities around the state are bracing for a financial calamity with park closures, so keep writing those letters and making calls to your state legislators.

Making special in-studio appearances for this urgent edition of Treehuggers International are Traci Verardo-Torres, the Legislative and Policy Director at the California State Parks Foundation, and Michael Cipra, the California Desert Program Manager at the National Parks Conservation Association’s California Desert Field Office in Joshua Tree.

For more information and to take action, click HERE.

Big Basin Redwoods State Park

More about this post at:

• California State Parks Foundation
• National Parks Conservation Association
• Californians Rallying to Prevent Closure of State Parks (Los Angeles Times; 6/4/09)
• State Parks Access Pass Might Be Key to Preventing Their Closure (Los Angeles Times; 6/16/09)
• Close to 600 Rally at Natural Bridges Over Fight to Save Parks (San Jose Mercury-News; 6/2/09)
• Park Closure Plan Outrageous and Costly (Modesto Bee; 6/4/09)
• Governor Considers Closing 220 State Parks to Save Money (Santa Barbara Independent; 5/29/09)
• Parks Under Budget Ax (Fresno Bee; 6/17/09)
• Proposed State Parks Closure List Is Not for Faint of Heart (Los Angeles Times; 6/1/09)
• Closing California State Parks: Too Costly? (Los Angeles Times, 6/3/09)
• Closure of State Parks Would Affect National Parks Too (Los Angeles Times; 6/10/09)
• Save Our State Parks, KBZT blog posting by Tommy Hough
• Sacramento State University, study on spending habits of state park visitors