SACRAMENTO – Assemblymembers Wesley Chesbro (D-North Coast) and Jared Huffman (D- San Rafael) have introduced ground-breaking legislation to revive California’s ailing state parks system.

Assembly Bill 1589, the "California State Parks Stewardship Act of 2012," proposes to reshape the relationship between State Parks and state government and establishes a blueprint to stop park closures and ensure their long-term viability.

"The recent parks closures disproportionately impact rural California, and nowhere is that more true than on the North Coast," Chesbro said. "The economies of many of our small communities depend on state parks and the millions of visitors they draw every year. We must find a way to keep them open, safe and accessible. This legislation creates lasting security for the California State Parks system and saves the state money in the long-term."

Key provisions of AB 1589 include:

"We have an opportunity with this legislation to not only prevent park closures, but to begin to reinvigorate our neglected California State Parks system," Huffman said. "This bill is about charting a more sustainable approach to managing and financing our treasured state parks so that they will continue to be there for our economy and quality of life, and so that we can protect the valuable natural and cultural resources our parks contain."

"We are so dependent on our state parks on the North Coast," said Tony Smithers, executive director of the Humboldt County Convention & Visitors Bureau. "That is our product. That is what we are selling. State parks are the economic engines of our local communities. People don’t realize that in addition to our national parks California State Parks are admired around the world. Our wonderful natural lands we have preserved are one of the main reasons visitors come to California from around the world."

Assemblymember Roger Dickinson (D-Sacramento) is also a joint author of AB 1589.

Contact: Andrew Bird, communications director, (916) 319-2001