"A Ray of Sunshine in the Gloom"

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!

Clean-Up Challenge

Over Memorial Day Weekend, I went camping with a large group of people and one of them suggested going on a beach clean-up. In only about an hour, we had gathered four huge bags of trash and an enormous brick of styrofoam. I also learned that our state parks run off of lottery money, fees, and any donations they may recieve. There is no steady income from taxpayers. I'm amazed at what Oregon State Parks manages to provide with such limited resources.

Therefore, I am issuing a challenge and making a personal commitment. Each time you go camp, hike, or otherwise enjoy a park, make an effort pick up trash at some point on your trip. It saves rangers and hosts time, creates a more consistantly beautiful and environmentally sound experience, and gives us a sense of ownership for the places we love! I'll be looking for little ways to make our parks a little nicer. Will you join me?