John McKinney of the L.A. Times writes: “Over the past 20 years I’ve asked several thousand Californians to name five state parks. Fewer than 5% can do so. And most of these baffled respondents are outdoorsy folks — the kind of people I meet on the trail or at my talks about hiking.
This lack of awareness is more than surprising right now. It’s dangerous.
If Californians can’t name a handful of state parks, they won’t recognize the threat when Sacramento defers investment in the system or — as is inevitably happening again — attempts to cut funding.”
