Two local state parks on closure list

SANTA ROSA BEACH -Deer Lake State Park is among more than a dozen state parks that might be closed indefinitely next year because of Florida's financial crunch.

The possible closure of Deer Lake - named after one of the rare coastal dune lakes along the 26-mile Walton County coastline - and 18 other state parks comes after Gov. Charlie Crist directed all state agencies to cut 10 percent from their proposed 2009-10 budgets, said Jessica Kemper, public information officer for the Florida Parks Service.

Another park on the potential closure list is Yellow River Marsh Preserve State Park on County Road 191 in Santa Rosa County.

Kemper said Crist must approve the proposed cuts. If he does, the parks likely would close in July.

"There's no set time for how long (they) would be closed," she added. "How long (the parks) would remain closed depends on the economic climate and the state's finances."

The 19 parks were selected based on visitation numbers compared to the cost to keep them open.

According to figures from Kemper, 5,370 people visited Deer Lake in fiscal 2007-08, and its operating budget was $45,479. The figures showed there were no visitors to Yellow River and that its budget was $48,450.

The cost to operate all 19 parks on the list was about $1.5 million.

If the parks are closed, a full-time caretaker would supervise each of them and Parks Service officials would try to move staffers to other parks, according to a Parks Service news release. However, funding for temporary and seasonal employees at the parks would be eliminated or reduced.