Deer Lake supporters consider nonprofit

SANTA ROSA BEACH, FL - Talk about the possible closure of Deer Lake State Park as part of the state's budget-cutting efforts has been a catalyst for a community volunteer effort.
    
About 45 people attended a meeting last week led by the staff from the state Division of Parks and Recreation.
    
Those who attended also talked about possibly forming a nonprofit organization, such as the Friends of Grayton Beach, that would allow for fundraising.
    
Dale Schnedler, park manager for both Grayton Beach and Deer Lake state parks, said they talked about the history of Deer Lake and the volunteer opportunities available.
    
Deer Lake is among more than a dozen state parks that could be closed temporarily starting July 1 to help ease the state's financial crunch.
    
But "to the best of our knowledge, Deer Lake will be there tomorrow, next week and the week after that," Schnedler said. "We have no direction that the park's closing, and if it does, we have no direction about what we're going to do. ... We're just moving forward optimistically."
    
According to state figures, 5,370 people visited Deer Lake in fiscal 2007-08, and its operating budget was $45,479. Those figures were disputed at a County Commission meeting last month, and the commissioners agreed to consider taking over management of the park.
    
Beverly Kraska, who organized Wednesday's meeting, said the volunteer program "really has nothing to do with keeping the park open or closed" and that the state's announcement "raised everyone's level of awareness and involvement."
    
If a volunteer program is started, residents would help with tasks such as clearing out invasive species, maintaining and developing trails, and counting various species of plants and wildlife.
    
Talks at Wednesday's meeting also included the possibility of forming a CSO, or Citizen Support Organization, that would allow members to raise money.
    
According to the state parks Web site, www.floridastateparks.org, more than 80 CSOs have been formed in Florida to support parks. They include ones at Henderson Beach, Topsail, Eden Gardens and Helen McCall, Schnedler said.
    
Kraska said a smaller group will meet later to discuss forming a chapter and writing bylaws.