While waiting in the dentist's office today(hooray for being insured!), I leafed through the newspaper. This article in The Oregonian caught my eye. It mentions that California and Idaho have put their public parks on the chopping block while Oregon's remain safe. It references a ballot measure passed in 1998 that designates 15% of net lottery profits go to the Parks and Natural Resource Fund. According to this article, the money is split evenly between salmon restoration, state parks, and heritage programs.
In my opinion, this is great news! Last spring break, I took a driving trip to San Diego to visit relatives and friends - my first vacation as an adult. Particularly in these economic times, that's not an option again in the short-term future and, therefore, 100% of my vacationing activities will be outdoor getaways - camping, hiking, backpacking, disc golf. Those free or next-to-free activities we have all come to love. Let's remember to support our parks with actions and words when dollars aren't possible and remember the availability of these wonders when that law expires in 2014!
