photo credit: Elizabeth Bishay, courtesy of CA State Parks Foundation website
Sonoma Coast State Park won "Best California state park for dog-friendly adventures" in the inaugural Best of California State Park poll from the CA State Parks Foundation.

A California State Parks program that provides low-income and underserved residents free state park access is on the chopping block as the state Legislature seeks to reduce a $12 billion budget deficit.

The California State Library Parks Pass is a state-funded program that allows library card holders to borrow park passes from their local library, providing them free access to over 200 participating state parks. Passes are returned to the library by a set date just like a borrowed book.

The impending cuts are a big concern for Rachel Norton, executive director of the California State Parks Foundation.

"While it was included in the governor's original budget proposal, it was zeroed out in a legislative version of the budget that is going to the governor on Sunday," Norton said. "So time is short. There is, I think, an opportunity to get funding restored in sort of the budget cleanup process that happens after the governor signs the budget."

The program was created by Gov. Gavin Newsom and First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom as part of their California for All program, which seeks to provide opportunities to underserved communities across the state.

The program is managed by the California State Library in conjunction with California State Parks.

The California State Parks Foundation, a nonprofit that supports the state's park system through lobbying, fundraising, volunteering, and programming, says that the program has loaned 38,000 passes through 1,100 public libraries across the state since its launch in 2021.

A 2023 foundation survey reports that 63% of the program participants cited cost as the primary barrier for visiting state parks. Day-use fees at state parks average $5 to $35 per vehicle. At face value, the pass would cost around $195 to purchase.

Of the survey respondents, nearly 70% reported household incomes below $60,000 and over 63% identify as people of color.

"We have data that shows that it is a program that is getting people of color into parks," Norton said. "That's exactly what we was intended to do and many of them are realizing that when they use the pass and they go that they have such a good experience that they want to go back."

The survey also reported that 90% of participants planned to visit parks more than seven times a year thanks to the pass. Norton said those repeat visits are important.

"[It is] when all of those benefits to our health and wellness of spending time in parks really start to matter," Norton said.

Now the program is set to end on Dec. 31 as the state Legislature works to reduce the state's deficit for the 2025-26 fiscal year.

"Cutting funding for this program sends the wrong message about California's commitment to equity in outdoor access," said Norton. "The California State Library Parks Pass is a proven and well-used program that's reaching the people it was created to serve. Ending it now would waste years of investment and undermine meaningful progress in expanding access to nature."

While the library pass program is slated to be cut, two programs also funded by the state, the California State Park Adventure Pass for fourth graders and the Golden Bear Pass for income-eligible households, will continue.

The foundation is asking residents to contact their legislators to demand that the California State Library Parks Pass funding is restored.

More information can be found at http://calparks.org/librarypass2025.