NJ state parks closed by budget cuts

[fishlipper]

Anyone else read about these parks closing?


One in five New Jersey state parks would be forced to close at the height of the summer season and 80 parks workers would be laid off as part of cost-cutting measures forced by Gov. Jon S. Corzine's austere budget.

The Department of Environmental Protection is proposing to close nine state parks entirely, slash services at three more, and reduce offseason hours at all 42 sites.

"These cuts are very significant," said DEP Commissioner Lisa Jackson, who delivered the bad news Tuesday morning to park supervisors and union officials who represent the workers.

"I wouldn't want to minimize the impact on families who have used the parks, sometimes for a generation, and workers who care about the parks," she said. "These are painful decisions."

The list of parks slated for closure includes five in the Skylands region and two each in the Shore and Delaware River regions. Hours and services at three others would be drastically reduced. Parks targeted to close include High Point State Park and Round Valley Recreation Area in the north, Monmouth Battlefield State Park at the shore and Parvin State Park in the south.

The proposed closures would save about $4.5 million in salaries and maintenance, a small portion of the governor's proposed $33 billion budget. However, the DEP could not reach Corzine's mandate of slashing $8.8 million from the $34 million Parks Management General Fund without resorting to closing parks, Jackson said.

Legislators must agree to Corzine's budget plan; the state constitution requires a budget be adopted by July 1.

She said the DEP looked at attendance, revenue, nearby similar services and whether a park could be effectively closed before making the list.

Some 17 million visitors use New Jersey parks and forests each year for camping, swimming, hiking, boating, picnicking and more. The parks slated for closure had 2 million visitors last year, according to the DEP.

Environmentalists say the modest fiscal savings are not worth the quality-of-life trade off.

"We have too many people in government who don't understand how important parks are for the people of New Jersey," said Jeff Tittel, executive director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. "Not everybody can have a house on Long Beach Island or the Hamptons. This is where people go on their vacations."

Tittel called the park closings "shortsighted," saying that outdoor recreation generates $3.9 billion yearly for the state's economy.

Carla Katz, president of Communications Workers of America Local 1034, which represents some park workers, called the cuts "wrongheaded" and "draconian."

"Closing treasured state parks and cutting the jobs of the hardworking state workers who staff them is a grave injustice and remarkably shortsighted," Katz said.

The layoffs would affect full-time park rangers and supervisors, historic and natural preservation specialists, and clerical and maintenance staff. Seasonal workers would not be hired for the affected areas, but no park police or fire rangers would lose their jobs, Katz said.

Jackson said only Island Beach State Park operates at a surplus. However, she said the DEP was reluctant to raise fees for parking and camping because the parks are typically used by people of modest means.

The list:

Monmouth Battlefield State Park, 2,928 acres, Monmouth County. Visitor center, restrooms, closed.

Stephens State Park, 805 acres, Warren County. Camping area closed.

High Point State Park, 15,827 acres, Sussex County. Swimming, camping, interpretive center, office, closed. Trail access limited.

Brendan T. Byrne State Forest (formerly Lebanon State Forest), 36,647 acres, Burlington County. Camping, group picnic area, Indian King Tavern, office, closed. Trail access limited.

Round Valley Recreation Area, 3,684 acres, Hunterdon County. Swimming, camping, Wallace House, office, closed.

Parvin State Park, 1,952 acres, Salem County. Swimming, camping, interpretive center, office, closed.

Jenny Jump State Forest, 4,288 acres, Warren County. Camping and office, closed. Trail access limited.

Worthington State Forest, 6,584 acres, Warren County. Camping and office, closed. Trail access limited.

Fort Mott State Park, 104 acres, Salem County. Hancock House, historic sites, office, closed. Access to ferry service, open.

3 NJ state parks would partially close under the proposed budget:

Ringwood State Park, 4,044 acres, Bergen and Passaic counties. Shepherd Lake swimming area closed; Ringwood Manor, reduced hours. State Botanical Gardens and Skylands Manor, open.

D&R Canal State Park, 5,379 acres, central New Jersey. Bulls Island Recreation Area closed to campers. Rockingham Historic Site and towpath, open.

Washington Crossing State Park, 3,126 acres, Mercer and Hunterdon counties. Significantly reduced hours at Clark House, Johnson Ferry House and the museum.

Winter hours at all remaining parks would be reduced. All but Liberty and Island Beach state parks would be closed Mondays and Tuesdays from Nov. 1 through March 31.

[FishFish_23]

Yep! It is completely ridiculous what the NJ governor is trying to do to our national parks!!

Thank goodness IBSP management has been smart in the past years to find creative ways to generate more revenue for their park and not rely on "state money" and will not be affected by the budget cuts...

“Island Beach State Park is the only state park that pays for itself through fees, the DEP said, and neither it nor the governor's official residence there will be affected by the cuts unveiled Tuesday.”

Here is a good article just ran in the Courier....

http://www.courierpostonline.com/app...=2008804020375

now the big question is HOW DO WE SAVE OUR OTHER PARKS?!

[captnemo]

Fishfish, I c&ped part of that article.

It's one time in my life I have to agree with the environmentalists, especially Tittel. Normally he strikes me as a pompous self-important windbag, but here I think what he is saying makes sense.

We as the people of NJ paid for the use of those parks through the open-space program and other set-asides of public funds. At least that's what we were told.

I normally approve of most cuts and "trim the fat" measures, can't stand when public money is wasted just because it's in their budget.

However, these parks are a NJ precious resource. Some families have been using them for years, through continuing generations.

There should be some sort of financial or cost-benefit analysis done to really see what they add to our state in terms of tourism and dollars spent. Only then should the assessments be made. If you have to charge user fees, so be it. It's been my experience that people treat places better when they have to pay to keep them clean, most people anyway.

I know we will probably not be listened to, but we as taxpayers are the small voices that can make a difference. I would encourage anyone who reads this and has ever used one of these parks to take 5 short minutes and write a letter to our governor telling him why it's a bad move, and suggesting alternative solutions.

Here's part of the article. I thought it significant that Corzine is the first governor ever to propose closing the parks. We have to spend taxpayer money wisely, but how about doing away with some of the $250,000 executive positions before you lay off the $43,000/year Rangers?





"Environmentalists and open-space advocates called the cuts "absurd" and "unconscionable."

"This sounds like a cruel April Fool's joke," said Jeff Tittel, director of the New Jersey Sierra Club.

Noting that New Jerseyans have routinely voted for Green Acres and other open space funding, Tittel called the plan to close state parks a betrayal, particularly now, "with gas prices going up and the economy weak."
"These are not people with houses on Long Beach Island," Tittel said of those who use and enjoy the parks.

Eric Stiles, of the New Jersey Audubon Society, described the plan to close state parks as "failed economic policy," as well as a blow to "social justice."
"This governor is supposed to have business acumen," Stiles said. "But here he is closing state parks that bring in some $812 million in tourism revenue."

"No governor, even during the Great Depression, has ever closed a state park," Tittel said, adding that "maybe they should close the governor's house at Island Beach State Park. Why should the governor get to use state parks and not the people of New Jersey?"

Island Beach State Park is the only state park that pays for itself through fees, the DEP said, and neither it nor the governor's official residence there will be affected by the cuts unveiled Tuesday.

[bababooey]

This is just bad policy, there has to be another way.

[clamchucker]

Good point about writing letters, nemo. I wrote to him this week. Maybe they'll just file it, but I felt I had to do something. IBSP is a crown jewel, so it stays open. Other parks bring tourists, I think someone was a little too hasty in the calculations.

[captnemo]

There was a pretty well thought-article put up the other day by JB Kasper, a well-known NJ freshwater guide. What he said.


Sunday, April 13, 2008 trenton times
BY J.B. KASPER
OUTDOORS

In the last two weeks I got several e-mails and phone calls from readers asking about the closures of state parks and some of the cuts and how they will affect the outdoors and sportsmen.

One recent call had to do with the kids fishing derby that is held by the city of Trenton in August. Seems the Division of Fish and Wildlife is no longer stocking lakes and ponds for the kids fishing derbies. This has been common knowledge for several months, and I did a couple of columns on this a while back.

What is interesting is that some of the cuts and things that are being forced upon the public are starting to take on a pattern.

First, the reason for cutting the kids fishing derbies had nothing to do with the state budget.

The derbies were cut because the Division did not have the personnel to staff the Charles O'Hayford Fish Hatchery, which supplied the fish for the derbies.

The truth is the Division had the money to hire the people under a $300,000 grant from the Federal Government under the Aid to Fisheries Restoration program. The Governor would not let the Division hire the personnel because he had a hiring freeze on state departments, even though the money had nothing to do with the state budget. So the Division had to turn the money back the Feds and the big losers were the kids. I'm sure you have heard the story of the Grinch who stole Christmas. Well, now we have the governor who stole the kids fishing contests.

I recently attended an outdoor writers meeting with the Division of Fish & Wildlife and it was explained that the Division has had to shut down the education programs at the Pequest Trout Hatchery, once again because of a lack of staffing. At a time when we need to get people, and in particular kids, into the outdoors and away from the TVs, video games and the couch potato sports, what does the governor do? Through his hiring freeze he forces the Division to cut the very programs that help get people into the outdoors.

But wait, it gets better. Now the governor is threatening to close down nine state parks, cut services to three others and severely curtail services and operating hours of all state parks.

Slated to be closed at the start of the new fiscal year in July are:

Monmouth Battlefield State Park in Monmouth County -- visitor center, restrooms, closed.

Stephens State Park, Warren County -- camping area closed.

High Point State Park, Sussex County -- swimming, camping, interpretive center, office, closed. Trail access limited.

Brendan T. Byrne State Forest (formerly Lebanon State Forest), Burlington County -- camping, group picnic area, Indian King Tavern, office, closed. Trail access limited.

Round Valley Recreation Area, Hunterdon County -- swimming, camping, Wallace House, office, closed.

Parvin State Park, Salem County -- swimming, camping, interpretive center, office, closed.

Jenny Jump State Forest, Warren County -- camping and office, closed. Trail access limited.

Worthington State Forest, Warren County -- Camping and office, closed. Trail access limited.

Fort Mott State Park, Salem County -- Hancock House, historic sites, office, closed. Access to ferry service, open.

Three state parks would be partially closed:

Ringwood State Park, Bergen and Passaic counties -- Shepherd Lake swimming area closed; Ringwood Manor, reduced hours. State Botanical Gardens and Skylands Manor, open.

D&R Canal State Park, central New Jersey -- Bulls Island Recreation Area closed to campers. Rockingham Historic Site and towpath, open.

Washington Crossing State Park -- Mercer and Hunterdon counties. Reduced hours at Clark House, Johnson Ferry House and the museum.

In addition, winter hours at all remaining parks would be reduced. All but Liberty and Island Beach state parks would be closed Mondays and Tuesdays from Nov. 1 through March 31.

Think about it, once again the governor is shutting down access to the outdoor recreation that the state parks provide.

When a reporter asked if the closures would mean that no one could use or enter the parks, Lisa Jackson of the DEP said if it's closed, you can't use it. If this means no one will be allowed to use the parks, what about the limited hunts that are held in some of the parks that are used to control the exploding deer populations? Will boat ramps at parks like Worthington and the D & R Canal State Park (Bulls Island Access and Byram Access) be closed to boaters and fishermen? Will access to streams and lakes on those state parks be cut off to fishermen?

With gas at $3-plus a gallon, more and more people are looking for things to do closer to home to save money. The tougher the economy gets, the more the working man will need to have swimming, camping and other outdoor activities close to home.

Let's face it, at a time when the governor should be keeping open and promoting the state parks as a way to enjoy the outdoors and save money, he does just the opposite.

People use the state parks to swim, camp, fish and participate in other outdoor activities because it is less expensive than many of the alternatives, especially for larger families and those that are struggling to make ends meet. A person can camp at a state park for a week for what it would cost them to get a motel or hotel room for a night. In hard times that can mean the difference between going on a vacation with the family and not going for many hard-working people.

One Times reader e-mailed me and said how disgusted he was about the closings and made a very astute comment at the end of his e-mail. He simply said, "aren't the Wall Street money men responsible for many of the economic problems we are now facing, and did not the governor work and make his fortune on Wall Street?" My answer was, yes he did, and I guess he is taking a Wall Street-approach to the state parks and the outdoors. I just hope sportsmen and people who use the outdoors remember the governor's Wall Street-approach to state parks come next election.