Stanley Hotel Lobby, September 5, 2009, Estes Park, Colorado
Gallery: Estes Park and then up to Trail Ridge – September 5, 2009
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February 2010
Financial woes of another state budget could result in more park closures. An Associated Press report in Business Week says funding proposed in Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal’s budget recommendations could prevent a new state park from opening as scheduled and force the closing of other parks.
"We’re going to have to make some tough decisions because we don’t want to thin the soup any more," Johnson said. "It will mean shutting down the parks that don’t have as high visitation so we have the resources to maintain those parks that have higher visitation."
Johnson said the cut would mean the state parks won’t be able to hire maintenance workers, rangers, workers for fee collection stations and other employees needed to run all the parks. Johnson said his office would look at park closures and more limited hours, but he said it was too early to say which parks would be shuttered.
Read the Buisness Week article: Parks chief: La. gov’s budget would force closures.
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Rider along the river, Buffalo National River, Arkansas, 2005
Information: Buffalo National River
Gallery: Buffalo National River
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Enos A. Mills – Father of Rocky Mountain National Park,
Bronze statue, Estes Park, 2009
Labor Day Arts and Crafts festival, a traditional Labor Day Weekend event in Bond Park
Gallery: Estes Park and then up to Trail Ridge – September 5, 2009
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In today’s hard economic times, closing state parks seems to be a remedy that many states have used or are considering. A Las Vegas Sun article says Nevada legislators are considering closing all of the state parks in Nevada.
The Nevada Legislature is thinking of closing state parks as it considers how to patch an estimated $900 million budget gap, a move that would save a few million dollars while killing the economies of rural towns and stunting tourism efforts across the state, opponents of the idea say.
Gov. Jim Gibbons has suggested a 10 percent budget reduction for a number of agencies, including the State Parks Division. But the Interim Finance Committee could take that a step further. At its meeting in Las Vegas on Thursday, the committee is expected to consider following the lead of cash-strapped states such as California and Arizona, that have closed some or all of their state parks.
In Nevada, the proposal is the brainchild of Senate Majority Leader Steven Horsford, D-Las Vegas, who says he is considering shutting down all state parks to save money.
Read the entire article: Would closing state parks to save money do more harm than good?
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View from Ozark Highlands Trail along Lake Fort Smith, October 21, 2008
Information: Lake Fort Smith State Park - The State Park that Moved.
Gallery: Lake Fort Smith State Park
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Press release from Governor Patterson and Commissioner Ash:
The Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation (OPRHP) today put forward a recommended list of closures and service reductions in order to achieve its 2010-11 agency savings target and help address the State’s historic fiscal difficulties.
Governor David A. Paterson issued the following statement:
"New York faces an historic fiscal crisis of unprecedented magnitude. It has demanded many difficult but necessary decisions to help ensure the fiscal integrity of our State. The unfortunate reality of closing an $8.2 billion deficit is that there is less money available for many worthy services and programs. In an environment when we have to cut funding to schools, hospitals, nursing homes, and social services, no area of State spending, including parks and historic sites, could be exempt from reductions. We cannot mortgage our State’s financial future through further gimmicks or avoidance behavior. Spending cuts, however difficult, are needed in order to put New York on the road to fiscal recovery. Going forward through the budget process, I look forward to a productive dialogue with the Legislature on parks and historic sites, as well as other issues."OPRHP Commissioner Carol Ash issued the following statement:
"The 2010-11 Executive Budget included reductions to every area of State spending. As such, the Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation has today put forward proposed closures and service reductions to meet its agency savings target. These actions were not recommended lightly, but they are necessary to address our State’s extraordinary fiscal difficulties."###
A fact sheet on the proposed closures and service reductions is included below:
The Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation (OPRHP) today put forward a list of closures and service reductions in order to achieve its proposed 2010-11 agency savings target and help address the State’s historic fiscal difficulties. As part of a comprehensive plan to close an $8.2 billion deficit, the 2010-11 Executive Budget included necessary cost reductions to each executive State agency, as well as cuts to education, health care, social services, and every other area of State spending.
OPRHP’s plan includes the closure of 41 parks and 14 historic sites, and service reductions at 23 parks and 1 historic site.
The plan also assumes $4 million in park and historic site fee increases that will be identified at a later date, and the use of $5 million in funds from the Environmental Protection Fund (EPF) to finance OPRHP operations. These two actions were part of the 21-day amendments to the Executive Budget and are intended to reduce the number of parks and historic sites subject to closures and service reductions.
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A proposed $20 million New York state budget cut will likely result in closure of New York state parks. A Saratoga Springs Saratogian report says that state parks, already hit hard by previous cuts, are in peril from further cuts.
“Every region will be impacted. It’s not just small, fringe sites. Some of the largest parks might close because they’re the most expensive to operate — Jones Beach, Niagara Falls.”
Unfortunately, possible closings come at a time when people need parks most. Last year, statewide usage increased by2 million visits — from 54 million to 56 million — as residents sought inexpensive, close-to-home vacations. This year, Moreau Lake State Park’s campgrounds are already booked most weekends.
“When times are tough, people use state parks,” said Julie Stokes of Greenfield, former deputy state commissioner for operations. “The impact would be very large. A ton of people from Troy use Grafton Lakes. They bus kids out there. That park is absolutely jammed, seven days a week.”
Read more in the Saratogian: Proposed state budget imperils state parks
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Also known as red squirrels, chickarees are especially fond of pine seeds. To get at the seed, the cones are pried open, leaving a pile of debris that can be up to 3 feet across. Whole cones are stashed in middens for winter use, Often, several generations will add to the same midden over a period of 20 years or more.
Typically, a chickaree will be heard before it’s seen, making a loud rackety call when an intruder enters its territory.
Bear Lake Trail, September 3, 2009
Rocky Mountain National Park
Gallery: Bear Lake and Emerald Lake Trails – September 3, 2009
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Lake Yellowstone Hotel is the oldest surviving hotel in Yellowstone National park and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The hotel is mentioned in the June 30,1894 issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association, “On this boat we took passage to the northern end of the lake near its outlet into the Yellowstone River. We here found a good hotel, the Lake House, where we stopped for the third night of our tour through the Park.”
An 1887 report to the Secretary of the Interior says, “The Lake House has one wing completed, and this is all that is need until the tide of travel sets more in that direction. It is one of the pleasantest, best kept hotels in the Park, and deserves more patronage than it has yet received. I regard it as the most desirable place in the Park for a prolonged stay.”
Gallery: Around the Lower Loop, September 15, 2007
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