Press Release: Visitors to Santa Cruz State Parks from 145 Communities Across California Urge Legislators Statewide to Keep Parks Open and Funded

06/22/09

For Immediate Release
June 22, 2009

Contact
Bill Maxfield, 831-227-6469

Visitors to Santa Cruz State Parks from 145 Communities Across California Urge Legislators Statewide to Keep Parks Open and Funded

State Budget Vote Likely This Week

SANTA CRUZ, CA—Friends of Santa Cruz State Parks today announced the results of a weekend effort to encourage visitors to contact Governor Schwarzenegger and state legislators to support keeping parks open and fund the proposed Parks Access Pass. Volunteers armed with clipboards and sign-up sheets signed up hundreds of people who asked that the governor and their legislators be contacted via email, fax and postcards. The initial count is 1,205, with additional supporters being processed today.

“Santa Cruz County’s state parks and beaches are a destination for people from all over California and beyond,” said Bonny Hawley, executive director of Friends of Santa Cruz State Parks. “We wanted to provide visitors from other parts of California the opportunity to contact their legislators to tell them to keep the parks open and funded. We learned this weekend that visitors feel very strongly about letting their legislators know how important parks are in California—no matter where you live.”

Volunteers were stationed across the county at locations including Seacliff State Beach, New Brighton State Beach, Henry Cowell State Park, Wilder Ranch State Park, The Forest of Nisene Marks, downtown Santa Cruz, Capitola Village and Aptos Village. Email and fax communication was carried out on laptops via a Wi-Fi hotspot located at Seacliff State Beach.

Volunteers fanned out to contact visitors following remarks made by former Assemblymember John Laird, who proposed the Parks Access Pass in 2008 during his final year in the Assembly.

More on the numbers
-1,205: initial count of people who participated
-145: number of California cities and communities cited as home
-44: number of Assemblymembers contacted
-24: number of State Senators contacted
-13: number of other states cited as home
-3: number of foreign countries cited as home

List of California communities represented
Alameda, Albany, Anaheim Hills, Antelope, Aptos, Aromas, Atwater, Auburn, Bakersfield, Bayside, Belmont, Ben Lomond, Berkeley, Boulder Creek, Brentwood, Brookdale, Cameron Park, Campbell
Canyon Lake, Capitola, Castro Valley, Castroville, Chico, Clayton, Clovis, Concord, Corona, Corralitos, Cupertino, Daly City, Danville, Davenport, Davis, Denair, Discovery Bay, Dixon, Dublin, El Cerrito, El Dorado Hills, Escalon, Eureka, Exeter, Felton, Folsom, Foster City, Freedom, Fremont, French Camp, Fresno, Gilroy, Granite Bay, Grass Valley, Greenbrae, Greenfield, Gustine, Hayward, Hollister, Huntington Beach, Irvine, La Selva Beach, Lancaster, Le Grand, Lincoln, Linden, Livermore, Livingston, Lodi, Long Beach, Los Altos, Los Angeles, Los Banos, Los Gatos, Madera, Manteca, Martinez, Menlo Park, Merced, Mill Valley, Milpitas, Modesto, Monte Sereno, Monterey, Moraga, Morgan Hill, Moss Beach, Mountain View, Newark, North Highlands, Novato, Oakdale, Oakhurst, Oakland, Ontario, Orange, Pacific Grove, Palmdale, Palo Alto, Paradise, Pasadena, Petaluma, Planada, Pleasanton, Redwood City, Reedly, Rescue, Ripon, Riverbank, Rocklin, Rohnert Park, Sacramento, Salinas, San Anselmo, San Bruno, San Carlos, San Francisco, San Jose, San Juan Bautista, San Leandro, San Lorenzo, San Martin, San Rafael, San Ramon, San Ysidro, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Santa Maria, Saratoga, Scotts Valley, Sebastopol, Sonoma, Soquel, Stanford, Stockton, Sunnyvale, Torrance, Tracy, Turlock, Union City, Vacaville, Valencia, Visalia, Walnut Creek, Watsonville, Whittier and Woodbridge.

Proposed Santa Cruz County State Park and Beach Closures
Big Basin Redwoods State Park, Castle Rock State Park, Castro Adobe State Historic Park, Coast Dairies State Park, Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park, Lighthouse Field State Beach, Manresa State Beach, Manresa Uplands State Park, Natural Bridges State Beach, New Brighton State Beach, Palm State Beach, Rio Del Mar State Beach, Santa Cruz Mission State Historic Park, Seabright State Beach, Seacliff State Beach, Sunset State Beach, The Forest of Nisene Marks, Twin Lakes State Beach and Wilder Ranch State Park.

For more information about Friends of Santa Cruz State Parks, visit www.ThatsMyPark.org.

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