National parks face new threat

In addition to working to protect our national parks by increasing federal funding, Environment California launched a campaign to protect the state’s special places from the threat of toxic mining.

The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that hardrock mining is the number one source of toxic pollution in the United States, and has polluted 40 percent of the watersheds in the West. Currently, within 10 miles of Yosemite National Park, there are 285 claims to mine for hardrock metals such as gold; 131 of these claims have been made in the past five years. We are working to reform a 1872 Mining Law so that it provides additional protections for public land and requires a royalty from mining to pay for abandoned mine cleanup.

Close 48 state parks? Just say “No!”

Believe it or not, the governor has proposed closing 48 state parks as a way to balance the budget. Especially shocking is that this move only saves $9 million, less than 0.1 percent of the annual budget.

Environment California is working to make sure our parks stay open. We have already generated more than 31,000 e-mails to the governor urging him to keep them open and proposing permanent funding for parks.

We simply shouldn’t balance the budget at the expense of our state parks. They provide invaluable environmental and social benefits for the stat, and every year, millions of visitors enjoy the parks, bringing billions of dollars to local economies. Chronic underfunding has led to a host of environmental problems, such as air and water pollution, and invasive species. Instead of closing our parks, we need to push for solutions that will allow our parks to thrive.

Montaña de Oro, one of the 48 state parks at risk.