Parks Will Deteriorate If Taxpayer Dollars Aren’t Restored, Advocate Says
By Bill Martens
Tuesday, February 7
(WPR)---A leading supporter of Wisconsin state parks is calling for lawmakers to restore taxpayer funding for the park system the day before Gov. Scott Walker unveils his proposed two-year budget.
State support for state parks was eliminated in the 2015 budget, leaving the parks to survive on fees alone. To help offset the cut, the cost of trail passes, and admission and camping fees, were increased. But the bumps didn’t completely make up the difference in cost.
To help alleviate a projected $1.4 million deficit in the state parks account, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources in December has proposed further fee hikes, among other measures.
After the funding cut, the DNR was able to use some of its surplus funds to maintain the state park system, said Bill Lunney, past president of the Friends of Wisconsin State Parks. As a result, many people didn’t notice the funding changes, Lunney said; but now, that saved money is drying up.
"It’s not going to be an immediate scenario," Lunney said. "It’s going to be over a period of time where our state parks will potentially deteriorate, and will not be able to provide the very important role and function that they’ve had in the past."
A part of the parks’ role, said Lunney, is to boost tourism and local economies. Park-goers infuse money into local businesses, such as gas stations, restaurants and lodging.
Democrats have said another fee increase would make parks too expensive for some families, a concern echoed by Lunney. While he said he’s not opposed to "limited" user fees to supplement general taxpayer funding, he expressed concern that the move would put Wisconsin at an economic disadvantage.
"As the admission fees will be at the highest among Wisconsin’s neighboring states, it’s highly probable that this will have a negative impact on the attendance and tourism dollars," he said.
Walker has not said whether his budget will include the higher fees or other DNR proposals – including expanding electricity access at campsites to attract more recreational vehicle users, creating rental cabins and selling naming rights to park facilities – with the hopes of making the parks self-sustaining.
Lunney, who also chairs the Dane County Parks Commission, said there may be some potential in corporate naming rights, but said it wouldn’t be as effective as public funding.
Whether there is enough public interest in Wisconsin to restore taxpayer funding for state parks remains to be seen, said Lunney. However, he conveyed optimism given how little funding the system would need with respect to the budget as a whole, which was $72.7 billion for the 2015-17 fiscal period.
"A healthy parks system cannot under any circumstance that we’ve been able to find be able to support a full range of all of the park services, particularly the infrastructure maintenance that’s going to be necessary," without some sort of public funding, he said. Some of these duties include controlling invasive species, preserving a sound ecosystem and promoting parks as essential elements to a high quality of life.
Bill Zager, current president of the Friends of Wisconsin State Parks, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in December that some of the proposals are good changes and could attract more park-goers.
Walker is scheduled to introduce his 2017-2019 budget proposal at 4 p.m. Wednesday at the state Capitol.
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