Lone Star Chapter Sierra Club
(October 19, 2006 Meeting)
Pedernales Falls State
Park
For Immediate Release: Thursday, October 12, 2006
Contacts:
Terry Burns, 432-689-2712 (Midland)
Ken Kramer, 512-476-6962 (Austin)
Donna Hoffman, 512-477-1729 (Austin)
www.texas.sierraclub.org
Parks Funding Crisis Public Meeting
October
19 in Midland
Texas State Parks and Sierra Club
State Directors to Speak
(Austin/Midland/Odessa)--The Sierra Club Permian Basin
Conservation Committee will hold a special meeting on “The Crisis in State and Local Parks Funding” in Midland on Thursday evening, October 19.
The meeting begins at 7 p.m. at the Unitarian Church of Midland, 3301 Neely Avenue (corner of Neely & Midkiff)
and is open to the public.
Featured speakers at the meeting will be Walt Dabney, Director
of the State Parks Division of Texas Parks and Wildlife
Department (Parks & Wildlife), and Ken Kramer, Director
of the Lone Star (state) Chapter of the Sierra Club.
Dabney will give an overview of the state parks budget crunch that caused the staff layoffs and park closures at several state parks several months ago.
He will also talk about the findings and recommendations of a State Parks Advisory Committee created earlier this year to address the crisis.
Kramer will explain how the state parks funding problems
are impacting Parks & Wildlife’s
program for local parks grants.
In addition he will talk
about how citizens may take action to support increased funding
for parks.
The Sierra Club has been one of the most active groups pushing
for additional funding to operate and maintain parks and
to provide more parkland for the growing population of the
state.
The parks funding issue is expected to be a major
topic when the Texas Legislature meets for its next regular
session, which begins this coming January.
