Thursday, January 31, 2013

The New CA State Park Director - "Service Before Self"


Since millions of people from across this country use and enjoy the California State Park system every year, I wanted to share my thoughts on the recent appointment of retired Marine General Anthony Jackson as the new State Park Director.

Yesterday, I had the privilege to meet General Jackson in Sacramento and listen to his vision for restoring public trust and confidence to state parks.  I was impressed with his motto of “service before self” and that he was bringing his ethos to the program.  I believe a number of other OHV representatives who also got to meet General Jackson came away with that same impression.

As a former federal land manager at military bases, he successfully balanced the use-of-land to train Marines with many of the same environmental challenges that face the OHV community.   Although relatively new to his current assignment, General Jackson shows a deep understanding of what it takes in 2013 and beyond to manage both motorized and non-motorized forms of recreation.

To get a better understanding of the new CA State Park Director, I would encourage all of you to listen to his January 15, 2013 radio interview on KQED.  The 50 minute interview will give you a great insight into the man and his views on the future of state parks.  If you cannot listen to the entire broadcast, I would encourage you to listen to the “OHV-related” segment from 36:00 to 40:00.

KQED Radio Interview
http://www.kqed.org/a/forum/R201301150900

 
In closing, I believe he will use his vast experience to bring accountability to the office and work hard to improve communications between diverse stakeholder groups, federal and local partners, and others that have an interest in access to a viable park system.

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