Taming the Jungle of State Parks : Glendale Man Leads the Way

When former Glendale parks director Henry R. Agonia stepped in as chief of the state Department of Parks and Recreation 16 months ago, he entered a forest of troubles.

The department was besieged with battles among conservationists, recreationists and private interest groups. A revolving-door leadership from six different administrators in 12 years left instability, controversy and criticism in its wake.

“The governor has had an appalling history in trying to keep somebody in that job,” said Rick Bates, president of the California Off-Road Vehicle Assn. and an outspoken critic of Gov. George Deukmejian and the state parks department.

Restoring Respect

Now, in just over a year, the short, soft-spoken Agonia, a 45-year-old family man from La Crescenta who has little experience in politics, appears to have restored a measure of respect for the department and appeased such divergent groups as Bates’ recreationists and the Sierra Club, at least for the moment.

Sacramento observers say Agonia has opened discussion among groups that for years felt cut off from the Capitol. He surprises lobbyists with his frank, yet warm, diplomacy. And he has developed an uncanny rapport with the department’s immense staff, where morale had hit bottom.

Paula Carrell, Sierra Club lobbyist, described Agonia as “very open and willing to listen to our concerns. That’s a positive change,” although, she added, “not that we agree with him.” The club has long opposed Deukmejian’s policy of limiting state acquisition of new parkland.

Agonia earned the respect of Bates’ powerful group through congenial perseverance.

Started Rhubarb

Shortly after Agonia assumed the post provisionally in April, 1987, he drew the vehement ire of off-road vehicle enthusiasts by banning them from an environmentally sensitive area of Anza-Borrego Desert State Park in the southern inland area.

“It was a gutsy thing to do,” Carrell said. “It came as a surprise to us, a positive surprise.”

The decision almost cost him his job.

“He didn’t please us very much,” said Bates, who launched a drive last fall to oust Agonia. Hundreds of members of the lobbying group barraged senators with letters urging Agonia’s rejection.

The campaign caused Agonia’s confirmation to be postponed until April 11, only two days before he would have been automatically rejected for the post.

Bates said he called off the campaign after a series of meetings with Agonia, who agreed to consider the demands of active recreationists. “We had raised an issue, he addressed it and that was good enough,” Bates said.

Agonia now is proposing several alternatives to reopen the Anza-Borrego area to off-road vehicle recreationists on a limited basis.

The nine-member Parks and Recreation Commission, which is appointed by the governor and sets policy for department, is reconsidering its stance at Agonia’s request after having vetoed the idea last year, said John Whitehead, commission president.

“My opinion of Henry in the past year has changed considerably,” Bates said. “He at least is listening to what we want.”

The Anza-Borrego decision was Agonia’s first experience with the potentially volatile politics of his position.

“There is a lot of political pressure on Henry Agonia,” said Robert Mark, Northern California state parks chairman for the Sierra Club. “I’m not sure how comfortable he is with that.”

Reserving Judgment

The conservation lobby is holding back judgment on how Agonia eventually will handle a position that is both ultra-sensitive and ultra-political.

Politics is a new adventure for Agonia. He kept a low profile in Glendale, where he worked for the Parks Department since 1970 and was director for 10 years.

Agonia was virtually unknown when he tossed his hat into a political grab-bag more than a year ago. The 5-foot-7, 160-pound professional parks director, who wears a bushy mustache and a gold Mickey Mouse watch, said he had little hope that he would be chosen.

There hadn’t been stability in the department since William Penn Mott doubled the size of the state parks system during his eight years in office under then-Gov. Ronald Reagan. Mott left in 1975 when Edmund G. Brown Jr. took over as governor and now serves as Reagan’s director of the National Park Service.

A succession of state park directors, mostly political appointees, has served in the 12 years since. The former director, William S. Briner, resigned last year amid accusations of racism and sex discrimination. Before him, former Assembly Republican Leader Carol Hallett, appointed in 1983, failed to receive Senate confirmation.

When Briner resigned, the California Park and Recreation Society, an association of local park administrators, decided it was time the parade of political appointees halted.

Apparently, Deukmejian and others agreed. And Agonia was ready to serve.

Agonia, then-president of the society, said, “We felt that we in local government should have more access to state programs, that we should take a leadership role in state parks and recreation.”

At the society’s urging, Agonia, a Republican, tossed his own name into nomination. Members of the society supported his candidacy by sending letters to the governor and other officials. Glendale City Councilman Larry Zarian--of Armenian descent like the governor and a Deukmejian supporter--also interceded.

Agonia admits that he had little hope of being selected. “I did not know the governor personally before,” he said. “I was surprised, really surprised. I’m still not sure how people get appointed.”

Agonia faced a multiplicity of tasks in his first year. He had to develop his own agenda for department priorities, wrestle with constraints of a tight budget and regenerate enthusiasm in a demoralized staff. He also had much to learn about the state’s parks and the ideologies of groups that use them.

Much of his time has been spent touring the state’s 287 parks, beaches, historical places and wilderness preserves. So far, he has visited more than 100, most for the first time, he said.

“I am sometimes absolutely amazed at the background information he is able to pour out,” Commissioner Allard said. “He can tell you how many acres are in each unit and how many people were there last year and he’s only been on the job a little over a year.”

Agonia also can rattle off the scientific names of hundreds of plants. He awed staff members and commissioners during a visit to Brannon Island/Franks Tract State Recreation Area in the Sacramento Delta area. “He began reciting all the scientific names of the plants found there,” said Jackie Deuschle, department assistant deputy director of communications. “We all were amazed.”

Agonia’s knowledge stems from his work in a nursery as a high school student in Garden Grove. Plants have been his life ever since. He earned a degree in ornamental horticulture from Orange Coast College; a bachelor of science in park administration at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, and a master of arts in environmental planning from Cal State Northridge.

The new director has an outgoing personality and an intense dedication to his job, co-workers say. He generally arrives at the office by 7:30 a.m. and rarely leaves before 6:30 p.m.

Loves Disneyland

He finishes each day by running along the Sacramento River with his dog Josh, a golden retriever-Labrador mix. He calls himself a “Disneyland fanatic.” He was at the amusement park the day it opened in 1955 and has returned “hundreds of times” since with his wife and three children, he said.

While most former parks directors have gone on to assorted other professions, Agonia said he plans to stick with recreation and, after his tenure in Sacramento, “probably will go back to local government.” He said the state director job is “the opportunity of a lifetime.”

He said he would not return to Glendale, however, because he had already met the challenges of the job there.

Will Take Time

His success in the position may depend upon his ability to achieve the longevity that eluded his predecessors. Agonia says he needs at least three years to implement his short-term goals and has an agenda for changes beyond that.

He said he hopes to stay in the state post for another seven years under Deukmejian, who is expected to seek a third term as governor.

Agonia calls his goals for the department the “10 Commandments Not to Destroy Our Resources.”

The plan, which is not finalized, addresses what Agonia considers to be the most pressing issues in the park system--a need for urban area recreation and access to it; cooperation between the parks system, schools and local government, and better utilization of volunteers and park employees.

“Our biggest challenge now is really trying to provide the services that Californians expect from their parks system,” Agonia said. “We need to improve the way we deliver services.”

Plan for Park Fees

He is proposing to restructure park fees to ensure that users pay for the services they receive. For example, beach-goers who park on a roadside and walk to the beach to avoid paying a toll to enter a state lot may now be charged a pedestrian fee. The new procedures, soon to be implemented, are expected to boost park use revenues from $35 million last year to $45 million this year, Agonia said.

Overcrowding at campgrounds is another issue that concerns Agonia. A solution, he said, is to persuade campers, who have grown dramatically in numbers, to take vacations during the off season. Hundreds of thousands of campers are turned away each summer, but many areas are only lightly used during the rest of the year, Agonia said.

“We are looking at how we are going to reduce some of our expenditures, generate more revenue and become more efficient,” said Agonia, who has been ordered to cut the department’s spending by 2% as part of the state’s efforts to make up a billion-dollar state budget deficit.

Morale Improved

Despite cuts in spending, department employees said Agonia has done much to improve morale among the staff in the last year.

Deuschle said Agonia “is not an attention seeker. He very quietly goes about his job.”

Yet co-workers say their boss is no pushover. “The general feeling is that the director now makes the decisions,” said one employee, describing differences in administrative technique between Agonia and predecessors.

In Agonia’s job, the decisions are seldom easy.

The state parks budget has remained relatively frozen since the passage of Proposition 13 in 1978 and Proposition 4, which limits state expenditures. Yet the population and demands on the state park system are steadily increasing, said Les McCargo, chief deputy parks director and a 22-year department veteran.

In addition, acquisition of more land, such as that proposed in the $776-million park initiative approved by voters in June, places an even greater work load on the department to create facilities and accommodate visitors. “It’s kind of a domino effect,” McCargo said.

More Money Sought

One of Agonia’s most important tasks in Sacramento, officials agree, is to persuade the Legislature to allocate more money to improve public access to parks. “If anybody can convince the Legislature that they should cut loose a few more dollars, Henry is the one who can do that,” said John B. Allard, a state parks commissioner.

Beatriz Molina, state president of the Mexican-American Political Assn., which has long criticized the parks operation, is not so sure. “Henry inherited a lot of problems,” she said. “He is going to have to be very bold, very innovative and creative and, at the same time, be politically astute. He doesn’t have the experience to be politically astute. He’s too new at the game.”

She also said that Agonia, who came from a department with 150 employees in Glendale and now oversees up to 5,000 workers, “does not understand what moves a state government of this size.”

Molina typifies the intensity of political pressure on Agonia. While she applauds the appointment of a Latino to the state post, she said Agonia has ignored demands that Latinos, more than other minorities, be hired and promoted within the department and given greater access to parks.

Molina claimed that the department has a lower than average number of Latino employees, and she suggested that the department develop programs to encourage Latinos to visit rural parks that often are located far from their urban homes.

Rather than be concerned with one group, Agonia said he wants to make parks accessible to everyone. His primary goal is to “create access to parks. Access period.” But he said the state cannot do the job alone. Local government also must play a role.

That makes some conservationists nervous. They fear Agonia will bow to local pressure. In Contra Costa County on the eastern edge of the San Francisco Bay area, for example, supervisors are backing cattlemen who oppose the Parks Department’s proposal to ban cattle grazing in Mt. Diablo State Park.

Nervous About Opposition

Mark Palmer, chairman of the Sierra Club’s National Wildlife Committee, said: “Agonia is very nervous about that local opposition. He is very sensitive to that sort of thing. So far, he has backed up the Parks Department, but we’ll have to wait and see.”

Even the ideologies of pressure groups are not always clear. The Sierra Club, for instance, is split over a proposal to chop down 80 acres of eucalyptus trees on Angel Island in San Francisco Bay. The club supports the Parks Department’s policy to remove non-indigenous trees from parks. But a group within the club, Protect Our Eucalyptus Trees, persuaded Agonia last fall to at least temporarily halt logging on the island.

Unlike many of his predecessors, who flew over parks by helicopter, a quick and efficient route, Agonia prefers to learn about them from the ground, often venturing into remote areas by Jeep.

“I don’t think you can see the things you need to see by air,” Agonia said. “It is difficult to understand the advantage of a resource without the feeling of being there.”

During a recent interview from his 14th-floor office overlooking the state Capitol, Agonia recalled one of his most memorable experiences in his new job. He had traveled a long and torturous route into the heart of Sinkyone Wilderness State Park along Northern California’s Lost Coast when his expedition came upon a herd of Roosevelt elk in an isolated meadow.

“They were absolutely beautiful,” Agonia said, smiling as he gazed out the window, his mind locked on the image. “Absolutely beautiful.”