State parks get hit in budgets

By Casey Newton and Dennis Wagner, USA TODAY

Leaders see the sites as non-essential, while others dispute that

WINSLOW, Ariz. — An Arizona road that once led to the ruins of the ancient Hopi Native American civilization now dead-ends at a shut gate.

"Due to budget reductions," a sign reads, "park closed."

Two miles down a bumpy road to the visitors center, Michael Freisinger, a curator with Arizona's parks system, wraps clay pots and stone tools in acid-free paper, preparing them for storage in a climate-controlled room in Tucson. He says the oldest pieces date back more than 800 years.

Now, he says, no one can say when they might be available to be viewed again.

"I'm the mothball curator now," he says.

Homolovi Ruins officially closed Feb. 22, victim of a state budget deficit that led Arizona lawmakers to cut parks funding last year by 61%.

Homolovi is part of the first in a wave of closures that by June are planned to padlock 21 of the state's 30 parks, leaving people far fewer places to explore the history and beauty of Arizona.

Arizona is one of many states struggling to balance recreational values and budget crises: Lawmakers in at least a dozen states have contemplated the closure of up to 400 state parks this year, according to a National Association of State Park Directors survey, says Philip McKnelly, the association's executive director.

The exact number to be closed remains a moving target, he says, as budget negotiations continue and compromises such as reducing hours and cutting staff are made to avoid closures.

Government leaders are tempted to view parks as expendable, McKnelly says, although public recreation facilities are important during an era of unemployment and financial stress. "They think, well, this is just play, it's frivolous ... but this is the worst time to be talking about closing parks."

In addition to Arizona's plan to close parks:

•New York is moving ahead with a plan in Democratic Gov. David Paterson's budget to close 41 parks and 14 historic sites, McKnelly says. Paterson has said the plan, which also includes cutbacks at 24 other sites, would save the state $6 million.

• California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican, last year proposed eliminating 220 of the state's 278 parks. Elizabeth Goldstein, president of the California State Parks Foundation, says that plan was dropped in the face of an "enormous outcry from the public," and now the state plans part-time closure of 60 parks and reduced services at 90 others.

• Virginia originally planned to shut five sites as part of budget cuts, but that strategy has been reversed, says Joe Elton, president of the National Association of State Park Directors and parks director in Virginia. "Parks are not one of those amenities or niceties that you can simply jettison in hard economic times," Elton says. "They're a necessity."

At Homolovi Ruins, Freisinger works at a table in a space where schoolchildren once lined up to see pots and petroglyphs made by Hopis in the 13th and 14th centuries.

When he is done packing, he will drive them 300 miles to the Arizona State Museum in Tucson, the state's official repository for archaeological artifacts. The objects won't be open to public viewing.

Karen Berggren has spent nearly 23 years at Homolovi. She became the park's first manager when it opened. She lives in one of two residences in the park and used to manage all its operations.

Homolovi's closure means more than a lost job and a house to Berggren. She says she is losing her chance to connect people with the past.

"These parks are Arizona treasures," she says. "Reducing them to 'revenues produced' is a tragedy. It's a tragedy for our citizens and for our history. And for our visitors."

Berggren, 60, takes the closure personally. Homolovi has been her life's work and her home.

The park, Berggren says, is a microcosm of Arizona.

In addition to the Hopi pueblos, there is a cemetery from an early Mormon settlement.

"Spanish conquistadors came right past our campground," she says, an unmistakable sense of wonder in her voice. When the layoffs come, Berggren will retire.

Several ideas about how to reopen Homolovi and other parks are percolating in the Arizona Legislature.

One would ask voters in November to approve a $12 annual charge to non-commercial vehicle registration renewals to provide long-term funding for parks and highway rest areas. "We have to do whatever we can to save the park system, and this is one of several tools that is being proposed," says Rep. Bill Konopnicki, R-Safford.

Rep. Jerry Weiers, R-Glendale, opposes the surcharge, saying it would be a financial burden on families already struggling to get by. "Everybody is hurting, not just the parks," he says.

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