Possible loss of state parks getting notice

David Brooks reports in the Nashua Telegraph on the possibiliy of selling off some state parks:

The state park system includes 73 properties ranging from large tracts of land to historic buildings. Its fiscal health came to public attention last month when a draft management plan said the state should consider unloading 27 parks, including Silver Lake, partly because they cost so much to operate and maintain.

Although park finances have been lamented for years and were the topic of public hearings earlier this year, the issue was overshadowed by the state's overall fiscal crisis.

As a result, the possibility of the state selling some parks, raised in a draft of a 10-year management plan, caught many people by surprise when it made the state's newspapers in June. The resulting furor led the state Division of Parks and Recreation to withdraw the draft and extend a public comment period through July 27. (more)