Resources Legacy Fund (RLF) was pleased to learn of Governor Newsom’s appointment of Armando Quintero as the new director of California’s Department of Parks and Recreation (State Parks). Quintero’s appointment resonates with California’s long-standing heritage of protecting its cultural and natural resources and public lands while also promising strong guidance for leading State Parks into a more accessible and equitable future, especially important as our state and nation shift towards a greater consciousness of racial justice.
“Director Quintero brings deep experience to the preservation and stewardship of public lands for people,” said RLF Vice President Matt Armsby. “We look forward to working with him and Resources Secretary Crowfoot, continuing together to implement the vision and recommendations of the Parks Forward Commission.”
The Parks Forward recommendations, released in 2015, provide a roadmap for re-inventing California’s State Parks for the 21st Century. Good progress has been made. Key goals we still must work together to attain include ensuring that all Californians live within a safe, short walk of a well-maintained park; park users reflect the ethnic, age, and income diversity of the state; programs encourage and inspire California’s younger generations to become park users, volunteers, and park professionals; and State Parks’ natural and cultural resources are protected for future generations.
We also want to thank outgoing Director Lisa Mangat for her steady and thoughtful leadership of State Parks through the first stages of its groundbreaking transformation.
