[Source: Tucson Weekly, Jim Nintzel, 1-29-2010] — The latest bulletin from Sierra Club lobbyist Sandy Bahr: Hi everyone! Don’t forget Environmental Day — Rally for Parks at the Capitol on Monday from 10:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. We will have a brief program on the House Lawn. Speakers will focus on parks and environmental programs and let us know how we can help turn the tide.
Please contact your legislators and tell them you support State Parks! Ask them to:
- Discontinue the transfer of monies from the Heritage Fund to the State Forester.
- Eliminate all of the Fund Reductions and Transfers and Excess Balance Transfers from December 2009 — totaling about $8.6 million.
- Allow Parks to keep all enhancement dollars (park fees) for operations, including those being collected currently.
- Reject proposals for Fiscal Year 2011 that would divert all of the Heritage Fund dollars to the General Fund or any proposals to permanently divert all of the lottery revenues to the General Fund. This affects Game and Fish habitat and endangered species programs too.
- Support a program that would allow Arizona residents with an Arizona license plate to visit all Arizona parks without paying an entrance fee. This can be accommodated by implementation of a $9 fee on Arizona vehicle licenses that will generate about $39 million, which will allow parks to maintain and operate the system.
- Stop all Fund Reductions and Transfers and Excess Balance Transfers — keep fee funds for their intended purposes.
- Expand partnerships with local governments and volunteer entities to keep parks operating and maintained.
- Recognize parks and open space as integral to our quality of life, our economy, and to the future of our state and generations yet to come.
To email your legislators or find their direct phone numbers, click on Legislators or paste http://www.azleg.gov/MemberRoster.asp into your browser. If you’re outside the Phoenix area, you can call your legislators’ offices toll free at 1-800-352-8404. In the Phoenix area call (602) 926-3559 (Senate) or (602) 926-4221 (House) and ask them to connect you with your legislators.