The Smart Set: Sunday in the Park with Georgia - June 15, 2010

The Smart Set: Sunday in the Park with Georgia - June 15, 2010
Looking for some outdoor summer fun but hate the crowds of Yellowstone, the remoteness of Dry Tortugas, the heat of Death Valley, and the obviousness of the Grand Canyon? Maybe you'd instead enjoy picnicking in James H. "Sloppy" Floyd State Park in Georgia. Or swimming at E.P. "Tom" Sawyer State Park in Kentucky. Or walking your leashed pet through Harry "Babe" Woodyard State Natural Area in Illinois.
If so, you should get on that now. This is not a good time for state parks. With economic conditions making employment and education seem like privileges, recreation is hardly thought a right. Which is why the state parks make easy targets for the nation's 50 governors and 7,382 state legislators looking to cut costs. Which is why the National Trust for Historic Preservation, in turn, has placed state parks and historic sites on its latest list of America's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places.

According to the organization, 26 states have seen reductions in state park funding. This means cuts in staffing, maintenance, and access. A New York Times slideshow of the impact includes wistful photos of a donation box in an Arizona park, a Colorado ranger at sunset by a sign that reads "No Services Availalble in this Area Due to Budget Cuts," a motorcycle club whose members have volunteered to mow the lawns of an Idaho park, and — perhaps most elegiac — a picnic table overtaken by a pale green sea of early summer grasses in New York.