The park rangers patrolling Lakes Nacimiento and San Antonio—located along the Monterey-San Luis Obispo County line—are in danger of losing their jobs.
A total of 14 park employees have been handed the pink slips by the Monterey County Parks Department. Monterey County runs the lakes, including Nacimiento which is physically in San Luis Obispo County.
The drought has drastically altered the revenue created through boating and camping fees, making supervision of the lakes a financial drain.
Ranger Richard Riddle is one of those holding a pink slip for the end of September and says the county could think outside the box for generating money at the lakes.
"Hey, let's build a plan, let's take a look at the department," said Riddle. "We just had the 'Lightening in a Bottle' event at North Shore, and it generated tremendous amount of revenue, not only for the department and the county, but for surrounding businesses. Let's expand our business model, not just from camping and boating, but let's do special events."
County supervisors Simon Salinas and Dave Potter are part of an ad hoc committee that is studying the situation.