PROTECTING OUR STATE PARKS...a word from our president

With Earth Day behind us and summer bearing down on us, I feel like I am getting surround sound on "green" this and "green" that. I don't mean to sound grouchy about the incredible work that Al Gore and the producers of An Inconvenient Truth did in raising the profile of global warming. I just fear that I am beginning to hear the sounds of a fad rather than a commitment. I am very grateful that the public has come alive to this issue. That is fabulous and long overdue. I am concerned about how this is translating into all of our individual choices and the choices we ask of our government.
As I was doing interviews for Earth Day, I frequently got a question about whether people seem more engaged in Earth Day this year than they have in the past. Well, if we judge according to the Foundation's Earth Day activities, then "yes", they are more engaged. We had the biggest turn-out ever, in our ten years of doing Earth Day. And our volunteers are incredible. I was at Eastshore State Park again this year. My favorite comment was that there just wasn't enough litter this year given the crowd that had gathered to pitch in! Got to love that!
However, the most important fact that I learned that day was about my refrigerator. We had a great booth from the Earth Team folks helping people think about their carbon footprint. I discovered that my refrigerator has coils that need to be cleaned every six months and it will be much more energy efficient if I do. Who knew! (Now you all think I am a lousy housekeeper and perhaps I am. But I ask you honestly, did you know your refrigerator has a coil that needed to be cleaned?)
The truth of the matter is that there were lots of events on Earth Day that were all about splash and not about the substance of the issue. That makes me nervous. Californians have every right to be proud of our groundbreaking environmental laws that seek to clean our air and our water. Those laws set a high standard that is admirable. But we Californians live in ways that are really hard on the earth. I don't have much choice but to drive to work every day. I don't really have a viable mass transportation alternative. So a colleague and I are trying to ride-share a couple of times a week. And that is better than nothing, but somehow insufficient. I am a pragmatist and I don't believe in extreme change, but the climate change issue is making me examine everything I and the Foundation do in a new light.
State Parks protects this incredible collection of natural and cultural places. These places are part of the web of things that are going right. How do we amplify these places to teach the quiet lessons we all need to be learning? These places inspire us, but they must send us away to do one more thing than we were already doing to make sure that we leave this place a better place than we found it. Excuse me now...I am going to clean my refrigerator coils!

UPDATE FROM SACRAMENTO
Legislation to Protect State Parks Held for Additional Consideration

In late April, legislation sponsored by the California State Parks Foundation and authored by Assemblymember Jared Huffman (D-Marin) was made a two-year bill. Assembly Bill 1457 was introduced to protect state parks from damaging road projects. In advance of AB 1457's first policy committee hearing, Assemblymember Huffman discussed the bill with his colleagues on the committee. At the same time, the Foundation and other environmental groups lobbied the members for their support. As a result of those discussions and visits, it became apparent that such a significant policy effort would benefit from further discussions and work with committee members. By holding the bill as a two-year bill, Assemblymember Huffman can continue to work with the Foundation and other park stakeholders to address the myriad issues that face state parks that are under threat from road development projects. We look forward to engaging park supporters from around the state as we continue these efforts to ensure permanent protection for state parks.

Foundation Delivers 70,000 Petitions to Governor Schwarzenegger

On May 10, the Foundation held a press conference on the steps of the State Capitol, calling on the Governor and Legislature to protect and fund California's state parks. With the May revision to the state budget scheduled to be released on Monday, May 14, Foundation President Elizabeth Goldstein urged the Governor and Legislature to work toward a final budget that will preserve funding for deferred maintenance and adequately fund state parks. Middle-school students from Southern California and the Bay Area helped "carry" the message by delivering backpacks full of petitions into the Governor's office to convey the concerns of park supporters from across the state. THANK YOU to all the students who participated! We look forward to sharing news regarding the revisions to the proposed state budget in the next E-newsletter.

THANK YOU TO ALL OUR EARTH DAY VOLUNTEERS!

From Patrick's Point State Park in Humboldt to Torrey Pines State Reserve in San Diego, more than 5,600 volunteers pitched in to care for our state parks on Saturday, April 21st. A special thanks goes to the 1,391 employee volunteers, family and friends from Pacific Gas and Electric Company, as well as employee volunteers from Oracle, Albertson's, Chevron, Wal-Mart, Edison International, The Stewardship Council, Fruit Guys and Starbucks Coffee. Your support enabled the completion of many long overdue environmental improvement projects that otherwise would not have been possible. THANK YOU!
This is the 10th year the Foundation has sponsored the Earth Day program activities at state parks. Since 1998, nearly 60,000 volunteers have contributed 250,000 volunteer hours worth an estimated $5,670,000 in park improvements. With a $1.2 billion backlog in overdue maintenance projects, state parks are in great need of the volunteer labor and sponsorship funding that the Earth Day program provides.
In addition to grant funding from program sponsors, the Earth Day program would not be possible without the support of media partners statewide. The California State Parks Foundation extends its thanks to all of our partners and friends for their valued support.
Visit the California State Parks (www.parks.ca.gov) website and learn how you can volunteer year round!

SAVE THE DATE: SATURDAY, OCTOBER 13!

On Saturday, October 13, the California State Parks Foundation will hold its 2007 Golden Poppy Awards Gala in the heart of the wine country -- Sonoma!
The event will take place at the Sonoma State Historic Park. Join us for a fun evening that will include a VIP reception at General Vallejo's home; special tours of the Mission San Francisco Solano de Sonoma; cocktails, dining at the historic Sonoma Barracks, dancing, and for the first time we will hold a live and silent auction.....all in support of a good cause! For more information, contact Erika Pringsheim-Moore at epringsheim@earthlink.net or 925/284-5069. Registration, information about sponsorship and a preview of auction items will be available on our website very soon!
Plan to join us if you would like to enjoy some special time in one of the most beautiful areas of California!

BOOK YOUR SUMMER TRAVEL NOW!

Planning a summer vacation? Did you know you can help the California State Parks Foundation AND our beautiful State Parks by booking all of your travel plans through our website?
Whether it be a flight, hotel, rental car or vacation package, you can now book all your travel needs on line. Simply click on the "Book your Travel" button on our homepage at www.calparks.org.
Our travel section is run by Travelocity so all the great travel deals still apply. The best part is thatÊthe Foundation receives a percentage of sales which helps support California State Parks. Don't forget to tell your friends, family and co-workers!

SPEAKING OF TRAVEL--

Would you like to get away? Really get away, and travel through time? Visit one of our historic state parks -- many of them offer "Living History" programs that will turn back the pages of time and show you how life was lived during the 19th century.
Have you ever wondered how the "old timers" panned for gold or what life was like at an US Army post? Docents and volunteers at many of our state parks don the clothing of the 19th century and demonstrate blacksmithing, bread baking, games that children played, and present historical skits. Attending one of these events is an incredible experience for young and old alike...so enjoy a peek at the olden days!
Check out "Inside the Parks" event section on our website (www.calparks.org) for activities in our state parks.