Arizona State Parks Chopped by Budget Ax
Monday, February 23, 2009
Phoenix, AZ – Arizona's State Parks Board has voted to close three of the agency’s 27 parks indefinitely, after lawmakers slashed funding last month as part of a budget fix. The board is considering closure of eight more parks, possibly by early summer.
The director of the Grand Canyon Chapter of the Sierra Club, Sandy Bahr, notes that it's not the first time state parks funding has been diverted during lean budget years.
"We need to figure out a way to fund these parks consistently. What's basically crisis management is no way to run a park system."
The additional eight parks being considered for closing will remain open at least until the end of June, when even larger state budget cuts are to take effect.
Bahr says she'd like to see a stable funding source for state parks, such as a surcharge on auto license tags.
"Arizona residents get into the parks for free, and the out-of-state folks that come to visit pay a fee."
Bahr suggests an annual resident license fee might be in the range of five dollars per vehicle.
The three parks being closed at once are in dire need of repair work to their facilities, because of years of deferred maintenance. But Bahr says shutting the parks down just makes the situation worse.
"We need people there to keep an eye on them, because there are those that would go in and take things or destroy them; vandalism is an issue. But the main thing about having them closed is that they're not available to the people of Arizona."
The closed parks are Tonto Natural Bridge, Jerome and McFarland.
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