Plan to close 13 is shortsighted

While the current recession will claim many casualties, Washington state parks shouldn’t be among them. With more than 6 million visitations each year, our state parks provide close-to-home recreation accessible to folks of all income levels.

It is baffling then that our governor is instructing the State Parks Commission to liquidate 13 parks. Why should these recreational gems pay the price for the governor’s and Legislature’s reckless spending of the past four years?

I understand the mandate to move parks that don’t represent statewide significance to other government agencies such as city or county parks departments. But many local governments don’t have the money to manage them.

And many of the slated parks for liquidation do, in fact, have statewide significance.
Osoyoos Lake and Fort Okanogan are the only two state parks in the Okanogan Valley, a desert-steppe community of immense biological diversity rife with history (fur trade, historic caribou route). A huge natural body of water shared by Washington and British Columbia, Osoyoos is rapidly being developed. But instead of protecting more lakeshore, the governor and commission find it prudent to get rid of this park? A simple solution for keeping our parks open is to enact a nominal day use fee.

It’s ironic that in the worst economic times since the Great Depression our governor is closing state parks. During the Great Depression we increased our inventory of parks. And it’s ironic too that Osoyoos, whose full name is Osoyoos Lake State Veteran’s Memorial Park, because some of its land was donated by the American Legion, and now houses a plaque donated by veterans as a memorial to all veterans who served our country, is about to be a casualty of the Gregoire budget. What a way to honor our veterans and rest of the citizens of Washington.
 
Craig Romano
Mount Vernon