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Mariposa museum on state closure list

Brian Wilkinson

(Updated: Thursday, May 19, 2011, 12:00 AM)

The Wassama Round House State Park on Road 628 in Ahwahnee is one of 208 of 278 state parks in California that will remain open as 70 parks will be closed to achieve an $11 million budget reduction for fiscal year 2012-2013.

The proposed list includes the California Mining & Mineral Museum in Mariposa, awarded to Mariposa in 1983 by the state. The museum is located at the Mariposa Fairgrounds on Highway 49.

Mariposa County District 4 Supervisor Kevin Cann said Tuesday that the announced closing of the museum compounds the bad news the county recently received that in 2012, $300,000 in state funds will be cut from the county fairgrounds, half of what it takes to operate the facility. That financial reduction could put an end to the County Fair, the largest annual event in the county, in 2012.

The other half of the funding comes from renting the facility for numerous events during the year.

"The museum has been on the threat list for a number of years so the announcement was not a big surprise," Cann said. "Park director Ruth Coleman said she would love to work with the county to look for an alternative not to close the museum and this community will do what we can to keep it open."

Cann said a nonprofit is already being formed to keep the museum open.

"This community will come together to preserve the operation of the fairgrounds and museum even without the state's participation," Cann said.

The state's press release said the methodology used for the closures will allow the park system to retain 92% of the 65 million annual visitors to the state's parks as well as 94% of existing revenue.

The list of parks to be closed was released May 13 by Coleman. Parks on the chopping block include Fort Tejon, Jack London, Morro Strand State Beach, Moss Landing, Point Cabrillo Light Station, Santa Cruz Mission and Turlock Lake.

The affected parks are expected to be closed July 1, 2012, although reduced hours will start this summer.

"We regret closing any park but with the proposed budget reductions over the next two years, we can no longer afford to operate all parks within the system," Coleman said in a prepared statement.

For the complete list of parks to close can be seen at parks.ca.gov -- click on "newsroom."