Parks Forward Initiative Begins Public Workshops

The Parks Forward Initiative and the California State Park andRecreation Commission will begin a series of public workshops statewide in September to gather new ideas on how to improve efficiency, create financial sustainability, and better leverage partnerships within California State Parks. The workshops are part of the Parks Forward Initiative, which will undertake a top-to-bottomevaluation to improve and sustain California’s underfunded State Parks System. In June, California Secretary of Natural Resources John Laird and California State Parks Director Major General Anthony L. Jackson, USMC (Ret.) unveiled the Initiative. Earlier this month, the 12 members of the Parks Forward Commission were announced. The public workshops will begin on the Central Coast on Monday. The meeting is 1-5 p.m. at Louden Nelson Community Center, 301 Center Street, Santa Cruz. A schedule of the public workshop meetings is available at www.ParksForward.com “These public workshops are intended to engage and interact with the public that California State Parks serve,” said Ken Wiseman, Executive Director of the Parks Forward Initiative. “We encourage people to participate, so that we can hear directly from every community. State Parks are an important resource for Californians, and this effort is to ensure that everyone has a seat at the table as we search for ideas to improve the way parks serve the public.” The workshops will be streamed live for viewing on the Parks Forward website, www. ParksForward.com