State Park funding returns $2 for every $1 spent!!!

By Mary Cruse …For us, it means 22 potential closures in the North Coast Redwood District, which includes Humboldt and Del Norte counties, and 16 in the Mendocino District. The area with the most proposed closures is the Santa Cruz District, at a whopping 28. Let me correct my terminology here. The official term isn’t closures. It is to “be placed in caretaker status,” which equals closed. And closed equals “public, private or commercial use of the land would be prohibited.” We’re not naïve here on the Redwood Coast. We know we are underserved. We have had to get used to the fact that the state powers-that-be continually make financial decisions based on population numbers or the size of corporations in a region.

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This would include film and commercial shoots, which brought in approximately $1.2 million to the region last year, just in Humboldt County. Approximately 80 percent of our visiting productions shot at least part of their project in at least one of our state parks. The permitting for filming in state parks almost exclusively goes through the California Film Commission (CFC). Locally, the exceptions are Prairie Creek, Del Norte and Jedediah Smith, where permitting goes through the National Park Service. I spoke with National Parks Special Use Permit Supervisor Janet Cooper, based in Crescent City. She is as yet unclear how this will affect state parks usage under their jurisdiction. The votes are still out. So, it is still possible to stop these closures.

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CFC Director Amy Lemisch said, “State Parks are one of our most valuable partners in hosting film productions. In fact, filming in our state parks accounts for 54 percent of filming on all state property annually. Productions come back again and again to highlight these majestic locations.” For rural areas, many who have lost other industries such as logging and fishing, the park closures will be economically devastating. The layoffs to park staff will result in around 73,000 job losses statewide, many of these our neighbors and friends.

Then there are the related businesses – the motels, the restaurants, markets, sporting goods stores, grocery stores, breweries, wineries and local retail merchants. And then there are the events. There are biking, hiking, motorcycling and auto club competitions and rides that include parklands as part of their course. The annual marathon through the Avenue of the Giants would be no more. These events also bring more digital productions to the area for covering these events, which, in turn, means more positive exposure to our area. On June 2, the public had the opportunity to voice their concerns over the park closures. More than 100 people showed up from across the state, and two fellow film commissioners drove to Sacramento to make their plea.

The Humboldt Film Commission is a member of Film Liaisons in California Statewide (FLICS). FLICS board president, Jerry Day, had this to say about his testimony. ”I spoke about the economy in Tuolumne County. All of the traditional industries are long gone; two of the three largest retailers have shut down. Our economy is dependent on tourism to survive and our two state historic parks, Railtown 1897 and Columbia, drive that economy. If these parks were to be placed in receivership the legislators may need to take a similar action with Tuolumne County soon after.”  hhttp://www.times-standard.com/business/ci_12533591