CONSERVATION projects in California鈥檚 state parks face a bleak future if plans by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to tackle the swelling state deficit of $24.3 billion go through.
His would include funding for 80 per cent of the 270 sites run by the . Those include world-famous attractions such as the giant sequoias at in the Sierra Nevada.
If the parks close, activities such as the removal of invasive plants and efforts to prevent catastrophic fires would also go. In Calaveras, this involves cutting down fir trees to stop any fires engulfing the sequoias. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 work that would have to stop,鈥� says Rick Rayburn, chief of natural resources at the parks department.
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California鈥檚 state parks also host at least 120 field research projects each year. These include a four-decade study of a breeding population of elephant seals (pictured) at the by researchers at the University of California, Santa Cruz. 鈥淲e鈥檙e concerned that we鈥檒l be locked out of our research sites,鈥� says Steve Davenport, who manages the site for the university.
In an attempt to keep the parks open, the state legislature鈥檚 budget committee on Monday backed a proposal to fund the parks through a $15 surcharge on vehicle registration fees paid by motorists 鈥� but it is not clear whether the proposal will pass.