California’s independent Parks Forward Commission has released what it is calling a 10-year “ready roadmap for transforming how state parks are run.”

But while those associated with the two state parks in Benicia said they agree with the bulk of the report, called “A New Vision for California State Parks,” they said it falls short in providing the financial support the parks need.

The Parks Forward Commission was established by Gov. Jerry Brown to study the steady deterioration of state parks and to make recommendations to the governor and Legislature on how to reverse that trend.

“Now is the time to transform the department into one that can collaboratively manage a vital system of parks used by a broader base of visitors from both within and outside of California for decades to come,” the commission said in its report.

The dozen commissioners recognized their recommendations “(require) a new paradigm for California parks,” one that depends on a network of parks and protected lands; a partnership between the state Parks and Recreation Department and those who value the parks within its authority; and a transformation within that department that needs to be completed during the next two years.

“We believe wholeheartedly that California is uniquely capable of accomplishing our recommendations and achieving this vision,” the panel wrote.

The report was produced after multiple public meetings at which hundreds of park proponents, visitors and partners gave testimony to the panel.

Based on those comments and its own research, the commission said it has formulated recommendations for “a fundamental transformation” of the state’s Parks Department, urging it to work with park partners and to increase park access to California residents.

The report said its 10-year vision wouldn’t be achieved overnight. Among the components are creating a team of experienced personnel to change the department’s organizational structure and update the way it works.

It also calls for a “robust revenue generation strategy” and reliable public funding so parks can be assured of a stable source of money.

The report also calls for finding and hiring better-qualified employees, creating a statewide nonprofit partner with resources the Parks Department doesn’t have that would undertake projects in cooperation with the department.

Priorities should be set for the type of support the parks system needs so its resources are preserved for future generations, the panel wrote, and access should be expanded for those in urban areas and “under-served communities.”

“The Benicia State Parks Association agrees with the majority of the Parks Forward Commission’s report,” BSPA Vice President Bob Berman said this week.

“As volunteers who support the operation of the Benicia Capitol State Historic Park and the Benicia State Recreation Area, we fully agree that major changes are absolutely necessary to the state park system.

“Unfortunately, the report does not immediately address the park system’s current fiscal problems,” Berman said.

“The hours of operation and staffing at the two Benicia state parks will continue to suffer under the governor’s proposed budget. The BSPA urges the Parks Forward Commission and the governor to recommend increasing funding for the continued operation of state parks in the coming fiscal year.”

California has 1.6 million acres in its 279 state parks, and in recent years has been in danger of losing many — if not all — of its parks because of budgetary cutbacks.

During his administration, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger threatened a complete parks shutdown. His successor, Brown, developed a shorter list of some 70 parks slated for closure.

Benicia’s two state parks, the only ones in Solano County, were on Brown’s short list. At the Benicia Capitol Historic State Park, 115 West G St., windows were measured for plywood covers and artifacts at both the Capitol and the adjacent Fisher-Hanlon House were inventoried for storage.

While the Benicia State Recreation Area, on the city’s west side, has benefitted from grants, conditions and regional trails that prevent its complete closure, the park also was on the closure list.

At one point its gates were locked to vehicles, preventing entry by both the fishing community and those who appreciated the Forrest Deaner Native Plant Botanic Garden, more than 3 acres of California native plants growing in the park and tended by volunteers.

Contracts with the city of Benicia, Benicia State Parks Association and, later, Vallejo and Solano County allowed limited public access and provided maintenance of portions of both parks.

Then, shortly before the 70 parks were expected to be shuttered in July 2012, state officials discovered that that as much as $54 million of Parks Department money might have been hidden away in what the state called “significant budgetary irregularities” dating back a dozen years.

Ruth Coleman, the department’s director, abruptly resigned. Acting Deputy Director Michael Harris was fired the same day. Brown launched an investigation, not only of the parks budget and former deputy parks director Manuel Lopez but of other state departments’ finances as well.

The probe discovered that the actual amount of misreported money was smaller than earlier thought. But the scandal led to the formation of the independent Parks Forward Commission, among other remedies.

And the next parks director, retired U.S. Marine Maj. Gen. Anthony L. Jackson, announced that talk of park closures was over.

Jackson has since retired, leaving June 30, 2014. The department is again under interim leadership.

The Parks Forward report, released earlier this week, called for an action plan to accomplish multiple goals, specifically:

• Develop a department staff that is a model for “public agency excellence and innovation and reflects the state’s diversity”;

• Eliminate park maintenance backlog and fully pay for ongoing park maintenance needs;

• Have the department collaborate with public agencies and nonprofit organizations to manage the state’s natural, historical, cultural, and recreational assets as “an interconnected landscape of parks and open space”;

• Assure that a “cadre of park partners,” including the proposed statewide park support organization, would work with the Parks Department on park projects;

• Ensure that everyone in a California city lives within a safe half-mile walk of “a well-maintained park that provides relevant educational, interpretive, spiritual, cultural, familial, community and recreational experiences”;

• Have visitor demographics reflect the state’s ethnic, age and income diversity;

• Provide inspiring educational, training and mentoring programs to encourage young Californians to become both park users as well as professionals in the parks system; and

• Underwrite the parks system through a sustainable program of revenue generation, general fund appropriations and dedicated public funding.

In addition, the report proposes a 10-year sustained implementation plan, in which it urges the department to recruit, train and retain a diverse workforce and continue to update its policies, classifications, qualifications and training protocols.

The Natural Resources Agency should follow the direction set by the transformation team and assess progress toward the goals each year, the commission wrote, and the results of those annual examinations should be posted on the department’s website.

Saying the Parks Department can’t accomplish the goals by itself, the report said parks supporters as well as other governmental agencies should help on a number of projects, including the state’s continued work on climate change, such as preserving habitats that could become climate change refuges.

The department also should reach out to academic researchers and engage universities, nonprofit organizations and citizen science programs as well as the state’s Native-American tribal nations to cultivate holistic approaches to resources and trends, the report said.

Rather than consider shrinking parks, the report said the state should add to its protected lands, particularly for climate change and connectivity reasons.

The report said the department needs to develop or revive traditional cultural activities and assure protection and repatriation of ancestral cultural items.

While fostering an increase in public and private funding, the department should have processes for prompt review and approval of those fundraising arrangements, the report said.

It said the department’s 3,200 historic buildings should be examined, and top candidates for extensive renovation, restoration or ongoing maintenance through community preservation partnerships or adaptive reuse should be identified.

Every two years, a “Park Equity Report Card” should be completed to determine if park attendance matches the state’s demographics, and those results should be posted to the public, the report said. Park employees also should be a diverse group of professionals, and some pilot projects should be started to see how visitor experiences can be improved.

How previous public funding, particularly state land and water conservation bonds, have been invested should be assessed, it said, as should money spent to make sure city-dwellers and others who have been under-served have access to the parks.

In addition, the report said two or three pilot urban park projects should become test models for park planning, design and operation that involves members of the surrounding communities, and barriers to urban parks should be identified. About the same number of pilot projects should be undertaken to test transportation access to parks, it said, and communication between parks and transit officials should be initiated.

At parks where overnight lodging is permitted, pilot programs should be used to assess future demand and to see what improvements need to be made, and other lodging options should be explored, too, the report said.

The report targeted young parks users, saying various youth programs need to be expanded and who attends those programs needs to be evaluated. Youth also should have opportunities to be interns and temporary workers at parks, it said, in the hope they eventually choose careers in the department.

Parks can help visitors improve their health, the report said, and the Parks Department should use pilot projects and existing data to identify how to expand and promote those opportunities. Visitors also need healthier food choices at parks, it said.

To accomplish all this, the report said the Parks Department needs the financial support from the governor’s office, the state Legislature and other public and private organizations.

Berman said the BSPA is suggesting the Parks Forward Commission provide “greater acknowledgment of the role that volunteers play in the operation of the state parks.” He said volunteers in Benicia and elsewhere in California “play vital roles in the support of the parks through education, interpretation, preservation, and conservation activities,” and “The report should include recommendations that volunteers, such as BSPA, are a part of the recommended transition team.

That way, he said, they can participate in “further fine-tuning and implement the commission’s recommendations.”

Ken Wiseman is the executive director of the Parks Forward Initiative. He is the former chairperson of the Board of Trustees of the California Ocean Science Trust and former executive director of the Marine Life Protection Act Initiative.

Among the dozen Parks Forward commissioners are the co-chairpersons, Bay Area conservationist Lance Conn and Christine Kehoe, a former legislator who is executive director of the California Plug-In Electrical Vehicle Collaborative.

Dr. Carolyn Finney is an assistant professor at the University of California-Berkeley; Dr. Caryl Hart, director of Sonoma County Regional Parks; Julie Packard, executive director of the Monterey Bay Aquarium; and Tony Rosenblatt, founding chairperson of the Presidio Trust and former chairperson of the board of the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy.

Also on the commission are Sutter Health chief medical officer Stephen Lockhart; Michael Lynton, chief executive officer of Sony Entertainment; Dr. Manuel Pastor, University of Southern California professor; John Reynolds, long-time National Parks Service employee and former executive vice president of the National Parks Foundation; Hawk Rosales, executive director of the InterTribal Sinkyone Wilderness Council; and Michael Woo, dean of the College of Environmental Design and Cal Ply Pomona.

Read the full Parks Forward Commission report by clicking HERE.