Jaunted

Luckily for nature lovers, Sacramento is a mind-bending bureaucratic black hole. Diagraming which politicians are beholden to what interest groups makes climate modeling look like grade school algebra. State employee unions, which are particularly strong, are not going to like this plan at all.

Add to that how Californians refuse to give up their entitlements, especially ones that have any whiff of environmentalism, and yeah, there's a good chance this is at least a partial bluff.

On the other hand, the state really is broke. So there are going to be a few cuts, if only in the context of broader belt-tightening. The most likely scenario is a few total closures of some really obscure parks, partial cutbacks at other parks, and no action at all on the rest. California is the state of San Francisco and Santa Monica; there are going to be at least a few more tax hikes before nature goes on the chopping block.

[Photo: Emerald Bay State Park. Neil Li / Wikimedia]

Related Stories:
· Closing parks will be hard, may not give enough relief [San Diego Union Tribune]
· Nature Coverage [Jaunted]
· California Travel Coverage [Jaunted]