State Parks

Group debates the future of state parks in Arizona

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[Source: Jon Hutchinson, Verde Independant]

Photo Credit: verdenews.com

A powerhouse panel of political players combined with a standing room-only crowd of State Parks supporters and conservationists gathered to help strategize the long-term sustainable operation of the State Parks system Thursday.

Supported by a documentary film, “Postcards from the Parks,” which tells the story of Arizona’s State Parks long-running financial crisis, the panel took five aspects of the issue and fielded questions.

Birgit Lowenstein, who helped organize the Benefactors of the Red Rocks, said, “we have taken State Parks for granted.”

There were also representatives from Cottonwood, Jerome, and Yavapai County, plus a flood of volunteers of the Parks system.

“We have created a financial band-aid, but it is not sustainable. We must find a long-term solution,” urged Lowenstein.”

Chief among the messages of the documentary film: “A closed park doesn’t make any money.”

The closure of the parks would save the government $8 million, but cost $260 million in economic decline to the surrounding communities from the parks’ closure.

The documentary film quotes Director Renee Bahl, “We don’t have to chose between a healthy economy and a healthy environment. We can have both.”

The first panel member was the Chairman of the Arizona State Parks Board Reese Woodling. He recalled the meeting of Jan. 15, 2010, made him “sick to his stomach.” That was the day the state board had to announce that 13 State Parks would have to be closed after the legislature gutted the budget of the parks system.

He says, now the “hot issue will be privatization,” but he had a warning: “It’s OK to operate a store or horse facility. We support the National Park Service model of enhanced concessions, but still, the Parks Board needs to be in control of its operations.”

Former District 1 State Senator Tom O’Halleran told the gathering the decline in funding for the state Parks system is not new and since 1980 has been decreasing. Arizona has one of the best State Parks systems in the country, but it has been dead last in funding it and the parks are in decline.

“The State Parks hold Arizona’s cultural and historic perspective. Do we want a concessionaire to say, ‘We will take care of your history for you?'”

O’Halleran says most Arizonans and visitors prefer a formal park and campground. Most people are not trained for wilderness recreation.

He applauded the turnout of more than 125 citizens for the meeting.

“We don’t see this kind of crowd in the legislature and that is probably the reason why the legislature doesn’t believe it is an issue,” said O’Halleran.

“The Verde Valley has more State Parks than anywhere else in the State. We also have more National Monuments,” Chip Davis reminded the crowd. “They are very important to our economy and to our tourism and it is an economic engine for us. But more than that it is part of our character and who we are. And that is why it is such a passionate issue to us.”

Davis speculates that the few number of legislators from rural Arizona — 15 of 90 — account for the small support for the parks system.

“Each one of us needs to take some kind of responsibility in writing our legislators and talking to our neighbors about the importance of the state parks. Arizona was the last in the nation to establish a State Parks system in 1957. Let’s not be the first to close it down,” said Davis.

Bob Burnside, Mayor of Camp Verde, was one of the first local government leaders to step up to keep Fort Verde open. “We don’t have a recreational park like Slide Rock. We have a historic park. Ours is our history and culture. We can probably help out next year and the year after, but can’t do it forever.”

“Governor Brewer and the majority of the legislature have mounted an intentional assault on land conservation and the State Parks system,” believes Sandy Bahr of he Arizona Sierra Club. “They removed all the funding for the operations of the State Parks. They have repealed the Heritage Fund that voters approved by a 2/3 vote. Now they have bonded against that money. It was at the Governors suggestion and the legislature approved it.”

“They have not yet taken the Game and Fish portion of the Heritage Fund, since it is an election year. The Parks Department was working with a $26 million dollar budget in 2009. It now has $8million.”

I have always asked, “Who doesn’t like parks, and this year the legislature demonstrated they don’t like parks.”

The legislature shot down one method of funding the state parks. HCR2040 would have added a small levy on the vehicle licenses. But, the Appropriations Committee Chair would not hear it.

“One thing that hurts is that there are no state parks in Maricopa County,” Bahr believes.

She says, “The thing that is important is just showing up. I have seen people change and we have to give more scrutiny to the Privatization and Efficiency study.”

The gathering was urged to flood the legislature with postcards calling for support of state parks.

O’Halleran closed the meeting with the admonition, “You have to leave here know that we can make real change.”

Legislature’s neglect of state park system harms Arizona’s economy

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[Source: William C. Thornton, Special for the Arizona Daily Star] –Preliminary recommendations by the Governor’s Commission on Privatization and Efficiency (“Arizona urged to privatize its parks,” Sept. 22) come as no surprise to those of us who have been on the front lines of the battle to save Arizona’s state parks.

For the rest of us, it should serve as a wake-up call of what’s at stake if a lack of vision and political will is allowed to destroy our state park system. Conveniently, the final proposal won’t be released until after the fall elections; but it’s difficult to envision any park privatization scenario under which Arizona citizens and taxpayers won’t be the big losers.

In comments posted to the Star’s website, one writer asked: “What’s wrong with somebody earning a profit?” The answer: absolutely nothing, and that’s just the point. Hundreds of businesses throughout our state earn profits by supplying park visitors with gas, groceries, supplies, lodging and meals. A 2009 study by Northern Arizona University estimated the total economic impact of our state parks at $266 million per year, about half from out-of-state visitors. When a local park closes, as has already happened at Winslow (Homolovi), Springerville (Lyman Lake), and Oracle, visitors and the dollars they spend go away.

You may ask: “Won’t they do just as well under private management?” The answer: Not likely! Private operators will, no doubt, be eager to take over profitable parks such as Catalina, Kartchner Caverns and the Colorado River parks. They probably won’t show much interest in smaller parks that, in themselves, aren’t profitable but still support local jobs [to read the full article click here].

State Parks: Lifeblood of Rural Communities

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[Source: Mary King, Sedona.biz] – Over a hundred people attended the meeting at the Sedona Library on September 30th to learn about the fate of the state parks, which the legislature has voted to close. The attendees were treated to a 13 minute film entitled The Future of Our State Parks. It showcased the beauty of our state and local parks including Red Rock, Dead Horse Ranch, Slide Rock and Jerome (which has been closed) State Parks and Fort Verde Historic Park.

After that, a panel that included Chip Davis, Park Supervisor for Yavapai County; legislator Sandy Bahr; Former State Senator Tom O’Halleran; and Sedona Mayor Rob Adams discussed the many aspects of the issue. Missing was Republican Tobin, who declined the invitation to attend.

Economic Issues Outshone Environmental Concerns:
The park closings have been cast by the legislature as an issue that appeals to only liberal environmentalists. It has been framed as a necessary cost-cutting measure to be attractive to conservatives. However, some say revenues lost to the state and rural communities will be far greater than the dollars saved by the demise of these recreational/historical areas:

» 8 million dollars would be saved by closing the parks.
» 260 million in tourist dollars could be lost by closing the parks that includes the money spent by park visitors on hotels, restaurants, gas, gift shops, etc.
» 3,347 jobs in rural communities would be gone.

Privatization:
Chip Davis summed up the idea of privatization when he said, “In 1957, Arizona was the last state to establish a state park system. Let’s not be the first state to dismantle our state park system.”  One speaker stated that he was sure that the closing of the state parks was a calculated move on the Governor’s part towards privatization.

Privatization is a complex issue, which could entail having the Arizona State Park System run by an out-of-state entity. It could mean expanding the use of the park by private vendors that would offer services that the park service would want to contract out like concession stands, thereby using non-state funds to operate the park system.

Initiatives to Save the Parks:
It was clear that the members had given a lot of thought to ways to create a permanent funding source for the future. Mayor Rob Adams stated that Sedona could not afford to fund their parks next year. He had consulted with an event planner to see what type of revenues could be had if an outdoor event like a wedding was held at Red Rock State Park (without infringing on the environment). The event planner estimated that one event could yield a hundred thousand dollars.

Another speaker said, compared to neighboring states like New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming, we get very little revenues from our mineral resource-copper. The copper is owned by the citizens of Arizona. Likewise, these neighboring states put much more money into their state park system.

Verde Valley Has the Most State Parks:
This region has the most to lose with the closing of the parks. We have lost Jerome State Park. 80% of Arizonians are urban dwellers, and their cities pay for their local parks. Scottsdale pays over two hundred dollars per person per year to fund their local parks. Our state parks and the tourism it generates is our lifeblood, and as a region we need to let the legislature and the Governor to know our concerns, especially in an election year.

Group debates the future of state parks in Arizona

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[Source: John Hutchinson, Verde Independent] – A powerhouse panel of political players combined with a standing room-only crowd of State Parks supporters and conservationists gathered to help strategize the long-term sustainable operation of the State Parks system Thursday. Supported by a documentary film, “Postcards from the Parks,” which tells the story of Arizona’s State Parks long-running financial crisis, the panel took five aspects of the issue and fielded questions.

Birgit Lowenstein, who helped organize the Benefactors of the Red Rocks, said, “we have taken State Parks for granted.” There were also representatives from Cottonwood, Jerome, and Yavapai County, plus a flood of volunteers of the Parks system. “We have created a financial band-aid, but it is not sustainable. We must find a long-term solution,” urged Lowenstein.”

Chief among the messages of the documentary film: “A closed park doesn’t make any money.” The closure of the parks would save the government $8 million, but cost $260 million in economic decline to the surrounding communities from the parks’ closure. The documentary film quotes Director Renee Bahl, “We don’t have to chose between a healthy economy and a healthy environment. We can have both.” [to read the full article click here].