Statement of Environment Texas Director
Luke Metzger
Today, on the final day of the legislative session, the Texas House of Representatives approved HB 12, ensuring that Texas parks receive the substantial funding increase they deserve.
How appropriate that
on a day when many Texas families are enjoying the holiday by camping,
boating or picnicking, that the Legislature approved a substantial increase in
funding for state and local parks. After decades of neglect, the Legislature has
put our parks on the path back to excellence. The additional funds will allow
the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department to rehire layed off park rangers,
re-open campgrounds, repair decaying facilities, and acquire sensitive lands to
create new state parks.
Environment Texas
thanks HB 12 author Rep. Harvey HIlderbran for his leadership, the staff and
management of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department for their dedication, our
allies at the Sierra Club, the Texas Recreation and Parks Society, Texans for
State Parks, Texas Coalition for Conservation and many other groups
and people for helping provide the momentum needed to pass this bill.
Winning an
increase in funding for Texas parks was Environment Texas' top legislative
priority. The organization helped build support for HB 12 by documenting the
plight of the parks in two reports, producing a short film narrated by Oscar
nominee Ethan Hawke, sending the State Parks Express RV on a 1500 mile
roadtrip around Texas, educating more than 100,000 Texans about the issue
through a door to door canvass, telephone calls and direct mail, and generating
thousands of phone calls, e-mails, and petitions in to key legislative
offices.
