McDONOUGH – Bowman Lake could still face closure if state legislators decide not to transfer $5 million from the Environmental Protection Fund to help cover the cost of operating New York State’s Office of Parks Recreation and Historical Preservation, a department spokesman confirmed Tuesday.

According to NYSOPRHP Spokesperson Dan Keefe, the 660-acre McDonough park is one of 34 state parks and historical sites whose continued operation hinges on the transferal of those EPF funds. In addition, another 18 - including Chenango Valley State Park in Broome County - would see service reductions.

“The hope is that these (measures) would be temporary,” Keefe reported in a phone interview on Monday.

The 52 facilities on the list are in addition to the 41 state parks and 14 historic sites which have already been slated for closure as a result of Governor Paterson’s executive budget proposal. Chenango County’s only other state park, Hunt’s Pond State Park in New Berlin, was included on that initial list, which was released on Feb. 19.

All tolled, 22 of the 26 state parks in the Central New York region would be affected, if the greater cuts are realized.

The state agency has been hit hard by budget cuts over the last two years – to the tune of 25 percent of their overall budget. Last year, Keefe explained, they were forced to cut services at 100 parks across the state.

“We’ve been cutting around the edges,” he explained, by shortening seasons, reducing hours and cutting programs. “At this point, it’s really difficult to make reductions without cutting at the heart.”

Keefe said a number of factors were considered when selecting which parks would be closed, including attendance, operating costs, revenue and proximity to other similar services. He described the process as an “imperfect science,” one which required “very difficult decisions” driven by the need to close the state’s $8.2 billion budget deficit.

The decisions are not being taken lightly by the agency.

“We’re not in the business of closing parks,” Keefe said.

What the closures will mean for individual properties has yet to be determined, he said.

“There is no plans to sell anything,” the spokesman reported, explaining the agency’s hope that the closures would not be permanent.

According to Keefe, the announcements of the proposed closures and service reductions have prompted public outcry.