Alex Dunbar is a news and sports multimedia journalist for CNY Central.
New York State can't stop the thousands of gallons of water that go over Chittenango Falls every hour - but they can stop people from getting a good view. The State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation announced Friday that Chittenango Falls, 40 other state parks, and 14 historic sites will not open for the 2010 season. State parks officials blamed the current budget crisis for the closures.
Eric Wilcox is hoping to keep his favorite park open. He started a Facebook group in support of Chittenango Falls State Park - a group that now has close to 5,000 members. Wilcox is skeptical the state will save much money by shutting the gates.
"There's nobody here to do the maintenance. It's going to break down," said Wilcox. "They're paying people to patrol it - what happens when they go to re-open it? They're going to have a lot of maintenance on their hands."
Starting Monday, the state says gates will be closed and anyone found in the park will be asked to leave. A few people took advantage of one last chance to see the falls on Friday including Anna Jo Springfield from Florida. She didn't understand why the state would shut down an obvious tourist attraction.
"I think it's a shame because being from Florida we don't get to see these kinds of things and it's an opportunity I'll never get unless I come back to this area," said Springfield.
Springfield also didn't think the state should keep people from enjoying the spectacular views the park has to offer.
"Nature shouldn't be political or budgetary," said Springfield.
Local lawmakers are trying to restore funding to the Chittenango Falls but they say it will be almost impossible to find money until there is a state budget in place.
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