Non-profits allowed to take over some Cal state park operations

California's Governor, Jerry Brown, has signed off on a bill that will allow non profit groups to take over operating a quarter of the state's budget plagued parks. After threatening to close 70 of the lowest visited parks in the Golden State, park users are heaving a collective sigh of relief.

"We're thrilled the governor has signed the legislation and we look forward to forward to working with state parks to keep the doors to the Mission open," said Bonny Hawley, executive director of Friends of Santa Cruz State Parks. Hawley's comments were reported in the Mercury News. She represents a group that will work hard to keep the Santa Cruz Mission State Historic Park operating, to the tune of nearly $100,000 a year. The group says it will raise the funds through donations.

Popular parks didn't appear to be immediately threatened under the Governor's threats. Friends groups say the parks most likely to be closed are the ones hardest to keep open from a financial standpoint, generally historic parks. These often have buildings with maintenance woes, and with fewer visitors, the state isn't as interested in pumping money into upkeep.

California holds 1.3 million of acres in state parks. Parks operations have an annual budget of $845 million, about $123 million of which comes from the state's general fund.

Santa Cruz Mission photo: wikipedia.org