Oceano Dunes – Pismo Beach – Closed
by Nick Harris
Two women walking their dogs on Pismo Beach
“The Oceano Dunes OHV park is closed to everyone including ATV riders”. That is the front page headline to become reality according to California Governor Schwarzenegger’s proposed cuts for California. The Oceano Dunes OHV area, better known as Pismo or Pismo beach, is on a list presented to congress June 2nd, 2009 which contains over 220 state parks to be closed, a plan that would leave only 59 state parks available to people.
Nick Franco, superintendent of State Parks, was quoted by The Tribune as saying “he doubts physical barriers would be erected at the parks, but signs would proclaim them closed and people caught inside the boundaries could be ejected or cited“. Many area residents and seasonal tourists know that without the beach and OHV area the city of Pismo is in trouble. A tourist area without tourism means lost revenue, taxes and income.
California is in trouble financially and according to Gov Schwarzenegger the funds have run out and the state will fail unless drastic measures are taken. It’s my opinion that he knows what he is talking about but it’s clear that closing state parks will be detrimental to tourism and will likely cost more long term than it saves short term. There is still time to save the parks but something of equivalent savings will need to be sacrificed to meet the Governors demands, and time is very short. If you’d like to help save the Oceano Dunes contact your congressman and let him/her know your views.
While taking a walk this morning I spotted a sign on a front lawn that reads “CUT POLITICIANS, NOT PARKS” which I think sums up the feeling shared by many Californians that a finger can be pointed directly at the overspending on bureaucracy for getting the state into this mess. Overpaid and redundant government positions should be the first to bear the brunt of this financial crisis, which is something that doesn’t seem lost on the Gov. Simply closing the parks would be the worst idea ever in my opinion, a California without State park tourism is a loss of millions of dollars annually.
I believe Governor Schwarzenegger hopes the people step up and find a way to keep the parks open, that’s the challenge in front of everyone, and the California State Parks foundation is asking for your help.
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