Hundreds rally for state parks. Protesters were down on the Capitol Wednesday with a message for Governor Paterson. Our Solomon Syed has more.

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About 200 protesters, young and old, from around New York gathered to deliver a strong statement to Governor Paterson.

"Save our parks! Save our parks!" they shouted.

As part of his $130 billion budget proposal, the governor cut $20 million to state parks. That means more than 50 parks and historic sites across the state will be forced to close and dozens more will have to limit operations.

"Are they no longer going to be accessible? Is new York state going to have to sell it off? Do we lose some of our heritage?" asked Campaign for the Parks director Shawn McConnell. "And the parks are the same thing. They are a natural heritage and they mean something to people."

And to the legislature, a bipartisan group of lawmakers presented a united front against the governor's plan at a news conference Wednesday.

"I circulated a letter in the Senate, which got 21 sponsors, 21 folks to sign on from both parties," said Sen. Jose Serrano.

But with only $11 million needed to meet the minimum operating budget, some wonder why the parks have to close at all. Especially since they're generating increased revenue as people turn to local parks and camp grounds for recession-friendly getaways.

"In terms of tourism, visitation, benefits to local hotels and restaurants, this is really a bad move," said Adirondack Mountain Club executive director Neil Woodworth. "At a time of economic problems in the state, 'staycations' have become the order of the day and many, many New Yorkers benefit from state parks."

And with 20,000 jobs within the parks system on the line, rally-goers hope the governor hears them loud and clear.

"He's mentioned the parks a few times. He knows that we care, he knows that we're out here and hopefully he sees that we're not going to stand for it," said rally organizer Anni Murray.

And with a month left until the budget is due, the folks here hope there's enough time to save the parks.