California State Parks and Wildlife Conservation Trust Fund Act

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has recently proposed to tie California state parks funding to proceeds from offshore oil drilling. This is a tradeoff that many, including the California State Parks Foundation, find unacceptable.

When a previous gubernatorial budget proposal aimed to eliminate half of state parks’ General Fund in 2009, then take the remaining half in 2010, California faced the likely closure of more than 80% of the entire parks system. Full closures were avoided only because parks users mobilized last summer under California State Parks Foundation's Save Our State Parks campaign.

In a major effort to secure a long-term sustainable funding mechanism, the foundation supports the California State Parks and Wildlife Conservation Trust Fund Act of 2010, which is in circulation to qualify for the November 2010 ballot. This funding, when approved by the voters, will provide a stable, reliable, and adequate funding source for the state park system, for wildlife conservation, and for increased and equitable access to those resources for all.