California State Parks: Salton Sea, Palomar on list of possible shutdowns

Come fall, Californians could find themselves with fewer parks to visit and fewer services available at parks that are open. That was the tenor of the plan that California State Parks officials outlined Friday as they targeted for shutdown 70 of the state’s 278 parks because of budget problems.

But don’t panic. The closure plan is far from final, and in the meantime, summer camping reservations are being honored, officials said.

Several parks on the hit list are in Southern California, including popular and well-known places such as:

McGrath State Beach near Ventura, which draws campers and bird-watchers;

Fort Tejon State Historic Park in the Grapevine Canyon north of Los Angeles, with restored adobes and exhibits on Army life;

Palomar Mountain State Park in San Diego County, near the world-famous Palomar Observatory, which offers mountainous hiking trails with views of the Pacific;

And the quirky and fascinating Salton Sea State Recreation Area in Riverside County, known for its bird life and infamous for its periodic mass die-offs of fish.

How likely are these cuts to happen? Anthony York writes on the L.A. Times’ PolitiCal blog:

“State lawmakers passed $33 million in parks cuts earlier this year, but [Gov. Jerry] Brown has not signed them into law. Whether the closures will be included in a final state budget this year is unclear, because the spending plan is still being negotiated. Administration officials said they do not intend to alter the parks budget further.”

On Monday, Brown is scheduled to announce his revised budget, along with new state revenue projections.

So stay tuned. If this does come to pass, the closures wouldn’t go into effect until September, said State Parks Director Ruth Coleman.

Coleman also raised the possibility of diminished services -- i.e., closing bathrooms, lifeguard towers and other facilities -- throughout the state park system to cut $11 million in the coming fiscal year and $22 million in the 2012-13 fiscal year. But the budget details haven’t been finalized.

Here’s the list of state parks, released Friday, that could be shut down:

1. Anderson Marsh State Historic Park
2. Annadel State Park
3. Antelope Valley Indian Museum
4. Austin Creek State Recreation Area
5. Bale Grist Mill State Historic Park
6. Benbow Lake State Recreation Area
7. Benicia Capitol State Historic Park
8. Benicia State Recreation Area
9. Bidwell Mansion State Historic Park
10. Bothe-Napa Valley State Park
11. Brannan Island State Recreation Area
12. California Mining & Mineral Museum
13. Candlestick Point State Recreation Area
14. Castle Crags State Park
15. Castle Rock State Park
16. China Camp State Park
17. Colusa-Sacramento River State Recreation Area
18. Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park
19. Fort Humboldt State Historic Park
20. Fort Tejon State Historic Park
21. Garrapata State Park
22. George J. Hatfield State Recreation Area
23. Governor’s Mansion State Historic Park
24. Gray Whale Cove State Beach
25. Greenwood State Beach
26. Grizzly Creek Redwoods State Park
27. Hendy Woods State Park
28. Henry W. Coe State Park
29. Jack London State Historic Park
30. Jug Handle State Natural Reserve
31. Leland Stanford Mansion State Historic Park
32. Limekiln State Park
33. Los Encinos State Historic Park
34. Malakoff Diggins State Historic Park
35. Manchester State Park
36. McConnell State Recreation Area
37. McGrath State Beach
38. Mono Lake Tufa State Reserve
39. Morro Strand State Beach
40. Moss Landing State Beach
41. Olompali State Historic Park
42. Palomar Mountain State Park
43. Petaluma Adobe State Historic Park
44. Picacho State Recreation Area
45. Pio Pico State Historic Park
46. Plumas-Eureka State Park
47. Point Cabrillo Light Station
48. Portola Redwoods State Park
49. Providence Mountains State Recreation Area
50. Railtown 1897 State Historic Park
51. Russian Gulch State Park
52. Saddleback Butte State Park
53. Salton Sea State Recreation Area
54. Samuel P. Taylor State Park
55. San Pasqual Battlefield State Historic Park
56. Santa Cruz Mission State Historic Park
57. Santa Susana Pass State Historic Park
58. Shasta State Historic Park
59. South Yuba River State Park
60. Standish-Hickey State Recreation Area
61. Sugarloaf Ridge State Park
62. Tomales Bay State Park
63. Tule Elk State Natural Reserve
64. Turlock Lake State Recreation Area
65. Twin Lakes State Beach
66. Weaverville Joss House State Historic Park
67. Westport-Union Landing State Beach
68. William B. Ide Adobe State Historic Park
69. Woodson Bridge State Recreation Area
70. Zmudowski State Beach