Ga. park rangers face furloughs

ATLANTA - Georgia park rangers will be facing one-day-a-month furloughs beginning in July, as the state heads into its busy summer outdoor season.

The furloughs will affect most employees of the state Department of Natural Resources. The Environmental Protection Division is so far exempt.

DNR is the latest Georgia agency to use unpaid furlough days to shrink its budget. Plummeting tax collections in the state have forced Gov. Sonny Perdue to make deep cuts to the state budget.

Critics worry that the latest furloughs could endanger park safety and make it hard for state officials to police boaters who are intoxicated.