Premium ContentMouse over Home then click on Premium Content for information.LINCOLN — Recent state funding for Nebraska parks has been flatter than the Platte River.
And if you plan to play Frisbee this summer at one of Iowa's smaller parks, bring a spare — the disks could disappear in unmown grass.
Memorial Day weekend and the official start of park season is four months away, but officials in both states have been thinking about how to best spread limited funds and limited staff over their expansive park portfolios.
While visitors to flagship properties like Eugene T. Mahoney State Park in Nebraska and Ledges State Park in Iowa won't notice much difference, those who visit out-of-the-way parks and recreation areas will encounter tall grass, no trash service and maybe even a padlocked privy.
"We've kept all our parks open, but we're rough around the edges," said Kevin Szcodronski, Iowa's state parks bureau chief. "We're not very proud of what people are seeing."
It's much the same in Nebraska, where parks once were mowed as regularly as golf courses and uniformed employees were highly visible. Now only parks with the greatest number of visitors get the full-service treatment, a practice that's unlikely to change in coming years.
"We can only do so much when we're stretched thin," said Patrick Cole, budget administrator for the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission. "The goal has been we want to minimize the impact to the public."
The two states use somewhat different approaches to deal with similar challenges.
In Nebraska, minimizing the impact also has meant reducing land holdings.
Over the past two years, the state has transferred five recreation areas to nearby communities as part of a strategy to shave maintenance costs. This session, the Legislature will most likely approve the transfer of two more: Champion Lake State Recreation Area in Champion and Pibel Lake State Recreation Area near Bartlett.
Chase County will take over operation of Champion Lake, which includes a historic grain mill, while the Lower Loup Natural Resources District will assume control of Pibel Lake. As with past transfers, the two properties will remain open to fishing, camping and other public uses.
The transfers are as much about saving fuel and time of a limited number of park employees as they are about saving money.
Unloading seven recreation areas will save the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission about $40,000 annually, which is just a sliver of the $23.2 million annual parks budget.
Nearly half the annual park budget comes from camping, lodging and activity fees. Last year, another $4.7 million came from sales of park-entry permits.
Lawmakers allowed the commission to raise the price of the park permits for 2012, which is expected to generate an additional $800,000 for the agency, Cole said.
A state general fund appropriation of about $6.5 million covers the rest, which equates to about 28 percent of the budget. Decades ago, that percentage was more like 50 percent, Cole said. Since 2002, the general fund appropriation has been flat.
At the same time, costs increased. Agency leaders have chosen not to fill parks division vacancies as a way to close the gap, which translates to about 30 fewer positions, Cole said.
In Iowa, the parks bureau has not filled 21 positions, Szcodronski said. Neither he nor Cole expects those jobs to return, even when the budget picture improves.
Unlike Nebraska, Iowa charges no park entry fees — unless you like to play the slots or a hand of blackjack.
About $3.2 million of Iowa's $12.3 million annual parks budget comes from the state's gambling revenue. The general fund pays a bit under half of the budget, while about $3.5 million is derived from camping and lodging fees.
Before the economic downturn, the Iowa parks bureau employed about 325 seasonal workers, Szcodronski said. That number dropped to 86 last year, before Iowa lawmakers provided funding to add another 90 seasonal employees. The bureau employs 28 full-time, year-round staff members.
Parks officials have been told to expect no increase in funding, Szcodronski said.
While the state has not used the land transfer approach adopted in Nebraska, it uses two tiers of service at its parks. The main 50 camping parks get staff and full service, while day-use parks will be pack-it-in, pack-it-out places with a decidedly unmanicured look.
"What does that mean? We have self-service parks," he said.
Things could be much worse, said Phil McNelly, who heads the National Association of State Park Directors in Raleigh, N.C. He pointed to Arizona, which has been ordered by officials to divest all parks that don't pay for themselves. California, meanwhile, has experienced closing of state parks.
The irony, McNelly said, is that most states reported substantial increases in visitation during the economic downturn as people vacationed closer to home.
Closing and divesting parks for budget reasons is short-sighted, McNelly said. He cited an economic study showing that every dollar invested into state parks generated $10 in associated recreational spending.
"Parks are the close-to-home place to get out, get some physical activity and camp," McNelly said. "I think it's a terrible time to be talking about divesting."
Contact the writer: 402-473-9587, joe.duggan@owh.com
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