Tonight I went to my first Audubon Society meeting. (Now I may have gone to a meeting or a bird slide show as a child . . . but that was a long time ago.) I was looking forward to it. There was going to be a presentation by Texas Parks and WIldlife.
Sigh . . . . .
I came home depressed.
I've been visiting state parks since I was a child. I grew up in the flat panhandle of Texas. Palo Duro Canyon was a welcome scenic respite with its panoramic beauty, tall cottonwood trees, and flowing water in the midst of the dry prairie. The cottonwood trees of my childhood have died. I was there this year and they are cutting the rotting trunks down. Sadly, there don't seem to be new generations of cottonwoods coming up to take their place. While I don't know why there are not younger cottonwood trees, I suspect that the lakes in the watershed above have removed some of the water flow that fed these trees. Or perhaps the pumping of the aquifer for city water and irrigation has left the water table too low to nurture these water loving trees. With our family living in Amarillo, I've made frequent trips to Palo Duro Canyon throughout my adult years. It holds a special place in my heart.
Since moving to Austin, we've frequented the parks in the surrounding area - McKinney Falls, Bastrop, Pedernales Falls, Palmetto, Dinosaur Valley, Inks Lake, Enchanted Rock, Lost Maples, etc. While we don't buy a park pass every year, we have bought them frequently. We've hiked them, biked them, and camped in them. I have many special memories.
Walt Dabney, Director of State Parks, gave a presentation. It was a good presentation, emphasizing all the good and important facets of parkland - historical, scenic, recreation, and the economic value to the surrounding communities. So why was this presentation distressing? . . . . Sometime in the late 1990's tax money derived from the sale of sporting and camping equipment that had originally been earmarked for state parks was capped and the money diverted to other projects. Just as the costs for everything we do in our personal lives has gone up in price - so has the cost to operate and maintain state parks. The costs to provide personnel, repair, and maintain the facilities has risen dramatically, but the tax dollars to fund this seems to have been kept at a fixed rate. So . . . . . . facilities at many parks are in disrepair, historical buildings are decaying, and park hours and days of operation have been severely curtailed. The park service vehicles average about 10 years old, the tractors and mowers are being scavenged for parts to keep other ones going. We've actually lost 7 parks.
I know for a fact that there are still several special areas in Texas that deserve protection as parkland. Plus as our population continues to grow, we will need more park area to accommodate the additional people. And with land values continually increasing, land should be purchased now. Not only will it be cheaper to buy land now, but later those special places could easily be covered in houses, shopping malls, or business parks.
How did we as Texans allow our parks to get in this sad shape? Part of it is apathy - what is out of sight is out of mind. If we go to a state park, find it to be closed, or notice crumbling infrastructure, we may be dismayed, but we probably don't go home and write our representatives to protest.
But when the subject of taxes comes up, oh boy, the vocal people come out in droves. It seems that no one wants to pay any more tax than they have to . . . . tax reform and no new taxes are popular campaign slogans. And our country was founded in a way in a tax revolt. Remember Boston Harbor and that tea????? Remember that slogan, "No taxes without representation!" But I think sometimes we get so caught up in trying to save a buck, that we forget what taxes are for.
Taxes are designed to benefit the whole community. As a democracy, we get to vote directly on many issues - school bonds for example. But on other issues, we elect representatives to decide what tax dollars should be spent on and how people will be taxed to provide the money for the needed projects.
And in Texas we've been fighting about how to do taxes for a long time. We've been fighting over how to fund our children's education for years now. We're building our new roads as toll roads rather than raise taxes to pay for them. And I hear that this time, these roads will remain toll even after they are paid for. We live next to the newest of Texas' toll roads, nearing completion. There is a group of people fighting the toll concept. It is obvious that we don't want to add taxes to build these necessary roads, so I think toll is here to stay.
Let's see now - taxes build roads, fund some hospitals, provide Emergency Medical Services, Fire Departments, Police Departments, State Troopers, build schools, pay educators, buy textbooks, build jails, pay jailers, provide services for needy people, provide community library services, build parks, provide hike and bike trails, recreation centers with workout rooms, fitness classes, swimming pools . . . . . the list goes on and on and on. We may argue over how to allocate tax money among these things, but they are all important to us as a society.
So why did I come home depressed? Sometimes I feel like I am only one person. I have many things I am interested in and care about, but I only have a finite amount of time. The major problems with the state parks concern me a great deal - they are something I value highly. Often I feel like I am walking to the drum of a different drummer in terms of politics. During so much of my life the popular political tides did not reflect my beliefs. When it was "popular" to be Democratic and liberal, I was Republican and conservative. I don't feel that my values have changed that much, but now I find myself not in tune with the current popular political thinking. I do care about environmental issues and providing safety nets for people in need.
If the problems in our state parks disturbs you, (and it DOES disturb me - in terms of spending Texas is 49th in how much it spends on its parks!) take time to write your state representatives in the House and Senate. Write them a physical letter, not an email. Tell them about why you value your local state park and why you think that funding state parks is important. (And it is amazing the economic impact a state park has for the communities near it - tourist dollars from visitors from all over the United States benefits our economy.)
Our national Parks are a whole other story . . . . they need attention now also. Write your US Congressman and Senator to remind them that we still value our parklands and historical sites.
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