Representatives of environmental, sportsmen’s, and historic preservation groups joined Assemblyman Reed Gusciora of Princeton and other legislators at Washington Crossing State Park in Titusville on Saturday to oppose Gov. Corzine’s plan to cut funding to the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and its Divisions of Parks and Forestry and Fish and Wildlife.
The DEP announced April 1 that a 12.5 percent cut in its budget, proposed by the governor, would force the closing of nine state parks and reduced hours and services at three others. Washington Crossing is among those slated for partial closure.
The groups participating in the Saturday protest argued that cutting parks is not the answer to balancing the state’s troubled budget.
”New Jersey offers some of the best parks and historical sites in the nation,” said Assemblyman Gusciora, a Democrat. “The closure of facilities at some parks and the complete shut down of others would impact individuals of all backgrounds by preventing them from enjoying our great historical traditions and natural beauty.”
The proposed cuts were criticized as an unwise that would devastate New Jersey’s outdoor recreation industry, which adds $3.9 billion to the state’s economy annually through park fees, sales tax, and tourism-based businesses.
”The governor’s budget proposes ill-timed closings and cutbacks for New Jersey’s historic parks and sites,” said Cate Litvack, executive director of the Crossroads of the American Revolution Association. “These actions would damage our Crossroads of the American Revolution State and National Heritage area at a critical moment. Federal funds are just beginning to flow into our heritage area and should be augmented by an investment of state funds. Cutting back services and hours at historic sites dishonors our heritage and discourages heritage-based tourism. These cuts are penny-wise and pound-foolish.”
The loss of revenues from tourism would be combined with other losses caused by the Division of Fish and Wildlife cuts, the groups said.
”Legislators need to understand that state funding is required to leverage federal matching grants that are critically important to the health of fish and wildlife programs in the state, as well as to our economy,” said Liz Silvernail, coordinator of the Keep It.Green Campaign for the Fish and Wildlife Coalition.
Responding to previously stated public opposition to the cuts, DEP Commissioner Lisa Jackson suggested in legislative testimony on April 23 that the parks might remain open, but with service cuts that would affect their availability for activities such as swimming and camping.
The groups that gathered on Saturday called such potential concessions insufficient and noted that funding for parks and open space in New Jersey has been provided by constitutional dedications approved by the state’s voters. The language of these various ballot questions included a guarantee of public access to properties that are part of Green Acres, they said. Preventing people from using the parks for recreation and family time or expecting that they would not continue to swim in lakes and reservoirs is not realistic, they said.
”When Commissioner Jackson promised to keep parks open, she was only promising something that is already law,” said Jeff Tittel, director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “If these parks were completely closed, we are prepared to go to court to uphold the right of the people of New Jersey to use their public land.”
Other proposals, such as the privatization of state parks, were also criticized. “We are concerned that the administration is using the current budget crisis as an excuse to outsource, privatize, corporatize, and monetize our state parks,” said Mr. Tittel.
”We don’t want a solution that is worse than the original problem,” said Eric Stiles, vice president for Conservation and Stewardship for the New Jersey Audubon Society. “That would just be jumping from the frying pan into the fire.”
One alternative the groups said they would favor is the establishment of a state parks foundation, modeled on those of the national park system and several other states, including New York. The foundation would raise money to support the parks and act as an advisory council for their management. from many different sources to benefit our parks, as well as act as a Parks Advisory Council to help the DEP come up with policy directives to better manage our parks.
”Time is running out,” Mr. Stiles said. “We need to take our public open spaces off the budget bargaining table. Our parks, wildlife, and natural resources are too important for us to play games with them.”
