Future Uncertain For Palomar Mountain State Park

Now that Gov. Jerry Brown has , the bill that allows nonprofit organizations to operate failing state parks, it is unclear whether this will help keep Palomar Mountain State Park open.

Palomar Mountain State Park, a camping and day-use destination for residents in Riverside and San Diego counties, is among 70 parks slated for closure in summer 2012. to the state parks system enacted earlier this year. It is part of the first of two cuts that will total $22 million.

All of the 70 parks on the closure list are anticipated to have service reductions enacted between now and next spring that will become permanent closures on July 1, 2012.

Two campgrounds at the park atop Palomar Mountain have already closed. Doane Campground and Cedar Grove Campground were closed as of Oct. 2, according to Traci Verardo-Torres, vice president of government affairs for the California State Parks Foundation, which sponsored AB 42.

A spokesperson for California Department of Parks and Recreation, which runs the state's park system, confirmed the closures of the two campgrounds Wednesday.

"It is a service reduction," said Roy Stearns, CDPR spokesperson. "They are closed earlier than normal to save money. With the budget reduction we have, it is critical we save money and not spend what we don't have."

Verardo-Torres said to her knowledge, no organizations have announced their intentions to take over the Palomar Mountain park. A local citizens group has, however, stepped up their efforts to support the park by contacting legislators, she said.

Josh Kaskin, an Escondido resident who started a Facebook page, "Save Palomar Mountain State Park," said Wednesday he was "thrilled to see AB 42 pass as this could give Palomar Mountain State Park a second chance."

"I do know that the Cleveland National Forest is in talks with the powers-to-be at Palomar Mountain State Park and hopefully we'll hear something soon," Kaskin wrote in an email to Patch. "I believe they would be the best organization to take over PMST as they have experience with the area and experience running and maintaining campgrounds and hiking trails throughout Southern California."

That possibility could not be confirmed late Wednesday, but was reported by SignonSanDiego.com this week.

California State Parks Foundation President Elizabeth Goldstein said in a news release that although they are disappointed at the decision to close the parks in the first place, she was "pleased the governor has agreed that state parks can benefit from support, care, and stewardship by nonprofit organizations in these difficult times."

CSPF is actively working to help nonprofits who seek to operate parks under AB 42.

"In the more than 40-year history of CSPF, we’ve never seen our state park system at as much risk as it is today," Goldstein said. "Even with the success of AB 42, there may still be parks for which there is no easy solution, nor available community ‘safety net’ to keep them open.

"That is a difficult future to contemplate. In the coming months, we will be working to encourage qualified nonprofit organizations to pursue agreements under the provisions of AB 42, and we remain committed to helping organizations, businesses, agencies and Californians identify ways they can help work to save our state parks.” 

AB 42 was authored by Assemblyman Jared Huffman, D-San Rafael, and co-authored by Murrieta's assemblyman, Kevin Jeffries, R-Lake Elsinore, along with eight others and three state senators. It is the only legislation advanced in this legislative session that provides a new tool to help try to keep California’s state parks open.