LAKEPORT – The Board of Supervisors agreed Tuesday to send a letter to the state to seek ways of keeping Anderson Marsh State Historic Park open, despite the park being placed on a potential closure list.
Anderson Marsh, located on Highway 53 between Clearlake and Lower Lake, came up on list of 220 state parks Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is proposing to shutter due to budget constraints.
Last year, Schwarzenegger had proposed closing 48 state parks, a list that also included Anderson Marsh and Clear Lake State Park, as Lake County News has reported. Because Clear Lake State Park gets boat and gas tax fees, it would be spared under the plan, while parks that receive state general funds could be cut.
On Tuesday the board discussed sending a letter to the state regarding the park closures, but county staff and officials agreed that a moderated approach needed to be taken.
County Administrative Officer Kelly Cox emphasized that it was important that Clear Lake State Park was not on this year's list. “I think it is absolutely essential that that park remains open,” he said.
He passed along a caution to the board that he said county staff received when they visited with state officials two weeks ago. Cox said they were told not to continually ask to be spared cuts, because cuts are coming in one form or another.
“We have to determine at some point what is the highest priority,” said Cox, adding that it needs to be made clear that Clear Lake State Park is a priority.
He suggested there are alternatives for keeping Anderson Marsh open, including the county working with the state.
The state is proposing to make major cuts to many programs that in the past would have been unthinkable to reduce, said Cox.
That includes gas tax revenues the state is suggesting taking from counties. “If they take all of our gas tax revenues we can't maintain roads anymore,” he said, and that would necessitate laying off half of the county's roads department.
“Something has to be cut, so be careful what you ask for,” he said.
Supervisor Jeff Smith said he believed there was a possibility of volunteers helping keep Anderson Marsh open, a sentiment that Gae Henry, secretary of the Anderson Marsh Interpretive Association Board of Directors had shared with Lake County News previously.
Smith said the letter the county sends to the state should express thanks for keeping Clear Lake State Park open. He said Anderson Marsh isn't as “high impact” as Clear Lake State Park.
Supervisor Anthony Farrington echoed Smith's comments, saying he assumed Anderson Marsh would require less manpower than its local sister park.
He agreed that they needed to arrive at priorities, considering cuts are coming, adding, “I support whatever we can do to protect the park.”
Supervisor Jim Comstock said the board shouldn't oppose all cuts across the board, but said closing Anderson Marsh would be “tragic” for the county.
He suggested seeking creative solutions to keep it open, noting that state parks offer communities tremendous cultural advantages.
Comstock said it's important to look at the fiscal impact of a park to its surrounding community and determine if that is greater than the cost of the park's operation.
Recalling efforts last year in delivering to Sacramento petitions to spare local parks, Supervisor Rob Brown noted that in a year's time the state's condition has changed dramatically – for the worse.
“As bad as it sounds, for them to compromise that only one park would be considered is a big step,” he said of local parks.
Last year, the state was open to options of working with the county to keeping its parks open, he said.
Cox said many people don't know about some of the state cutbacks being considered, many of them “safety net” programs that will impact many peoples' lives. “Something has got to give,” he said. “There are going to be cuts.”
Support for finding alternatives to spare park
Smith suggested the county's letter to the state should be worded in such a way that it offers alternatives for keeping Anderson Marsh open with volunteer help.
Victoria Brandon of the Lake County Sierra Club suggested this is a great opportunity for local groups and the county parks department to sit down and come up with a proposal for keeping Anderson March open. “I think we can find a solution.”
She said the county's letter should encourage the state to work with local groups.
Roberta Lyons, president of the Anderson Marsh Interpretive Association, said she felt Smith was approaching the situation from a good perspective.
Lyons said the group has volunteers ready and willing to go through fingerprinting, training and any other state requirements in order to get the clearance to operate the park.
She raised concerns over protecting the park's archaeological resources, which would be more in danger than ever if the park were closed. Vandalism at those sites already has been an issue, she said.
Anderson Marsh Interpretive Association is willing to put money toward the park's operation, Lyons said. She added that she appreciated the board's support. “I think we should be able to make this work.”
The board agreed to send the letter, offering local support options, to the state.
That action comes just as a state university has completed a fiscal analysis of the importance parks have for their communities.
California State University, Sacramento, released a study on Monday that found that 74.9 million people visit California state parks annually, spending an average of $4.32 billion per year in park-related expenditures.
A report issued last year by the California State Parks Foundation found that Anderson Marsh is visited by 43,499 people each year.
This Saturday, the Anderson Marsh Interpretive Association will present “A Day In Your Park” from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. at Anderson Marsh.
They'll offer guided walks, tours of the old ranch house, music by local bands, Children’s Museum of Art and Science activities and more. The cost for the event is $2 for adults and $1 for children.
Petitions supporting Anderson Marsh will be available at the event.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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