Where To Cut?

New Jersey Governor Corzine's answer to dealing with the massive budget hole is to consider cutting the public's access to state parks. Nice. (HT: Mrs. Lawhawk)

One in five New Jersey state parks would be forced to close at the height of the summer season and 80 parks workers would be laid off as part of cost-cutting measures forced by Gov. Jon S. Corzine's austere budget.

The Department of Environmental Protection is proposing to close nine state parks entirely, slash services at three more, and reduce offseason hours at all 42 sites.

"These cuts are very significant,'' said DEP Commissioner Lisa Jackson, who delivered the bad news Tuesday morning to park supervisors and union officials who represent the workers.

"I wouldn't want to minimize the impact on families who have used the parks, sometimes for a generation, and workers who care about the parks,'' she said. "These are painful decisions.''

The list of parks slated for closure includes five in the Skylands region and two each in the Shore and Delaware River regions. Hours and services at three others would be drastically reduced. Parks targeted to close include High Point State Park and Round Valley Recreation Area in the north, Monmouth Battlefield State Park at the shore and Parvin State Park in the south.

The proposed closures would save about $4.5 million in salaries and maintenance, a small portion of the governor's proposed $33 billion budget. However, the DEP could not reach Corzine's mandate of slashing $8.8 million from the $34 million Parks Management General Fund without resorting to closing parks, Jackson said.

The Record notes that nine parks would be shuttered, three more would have significantly reduced hours, and off-season hours would be drastically cut.

The nine state parks that would close:

• Monmouth Battlefield State Park, 2,928 acres, Monmouth County. Visitor center, restrooms, closed.

• Stephens State Park, 805 acres, Warren County. Camping area closed.

• High Point State Park, 15,827 acres, Sussex County. Swimming, camping, interpretive center, office, closed. Trail access limited.

• Brendan T. Byrne State Forest (formerly Lebanon State Forest), 36,647 acres, Burlington County. Camping, group picnic area, Indian King Tavern, office, closed. Trail access limited.

• Round Valley Recreation Area, 3,684 acres, Hunterdon County. Swimming, camping, Wallace House, office, closed.

• Parvin State Park, 1,952 acres, Salem County. Swimming, camping, interpretive center, office, closed.

• Jenny Jump State Forest, 4,288 acres, Warren County. Camping and office, closed. Trail access limited.

• Worthington State Forest, 6,584 acres, Warren County. Camping and office, closed. Trail access limited.

• Fort Mott State Park, 104 acres, Salem County. Hancock House, historic sites, office, closed. Access to ferry service, open.

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The list of three New Jersey state parks that would partially close under the proposed budget:

• Ringwood State Park, 4,044 acres, Bergen and Passaic counties. Shepherd Lake swimming area closed; Ringwood Manor, reduced hours. State Botanical Gardens and Skylands Manor, open.

• D&R Canal State Park, 5,379 acres, central New Jersey. Bulls Island Recreation Area closed to campers. Rockingham Historic Site and towpath, open.

• Washington Crossing State Park, 3,126 acres, Mercer and Hunterdon counties. Significantly reduced hours at Clark House, Johnson Ferry House and the museum.

I've been to several of these parks, including High Point and Ringwood, and both are tremendous facilities that serve a vital public need. In a state which is often noted as one of the most densely populated in the nation, these quiet oases are a refuge from daily life and allow millions of visitors to partake in the natural beauty found in and around the Garden State. Indeed, Skylands Manor is notable for its gardens.

The money supposedly saved in maintenance costs will be phantom savings since that maintenance will simply be deferred so that when those facilities are reopened, the maintenance costs will need to be spent to get the facilities ready for the public.

The state has a major problem with its budget, and someone apparently thinks that laying off a bunch of park rangers and closing state parks is the way to close the budget gap. Here's a better idea. Instead of starting up new programs with dubious prospects for success or that which could be better served by having private entities engage in the work instead - and I'm thinking here of the hundreds of millions that Trenton wants to spend on stem cell research, fully fund the state parks to keep them open, and use the money saved by devoting it one of the following: (1) cut spending; (2) pay down the state's debt; or (3) fund the state pension. The time for spending on new programs is over in New Jersey - and it has been for far too many years. The budget crunch is finally starting to catch up with the state, and while it's nice to see Corzine look to find places to cut in the budget, restricting access to public lands is not the way to do it.

Failing that, to keep these facilities open, the DEP could raise the fee at all these parks by $.50 per visitor. That would more than cover the costs and maintain not only the access to the parks, but provide a dedicated revenue stream. While I'm loathe to call for increased taxes and fees in a state where such taxes and fees are already onerous, this may be necessary to keep these parks open to the public.