Date: Thursday, November 20, 2003
Topic: Thursday Program
Dan McLean - "The states' budget cries: The big picture & how it impacts state parks"
The presentation is available at this site. The data suggests that the picture is less than optimistic for the next 12-15 months. Revenues tend to be below expectations - as much as $21 billion dollars nationwide.
Follow-up comments by Glen Alexander (NASPD Executive Director). There is a decline appearing in the number of people coming outdoors. Issues: Getting people out through awareness. Greater self-sufficiency is expected among state park organizations. Fee increases have been more state of the art. State tax collections, beginning this summer, beat their projections - so there may be a turn in state tax collections. But this is in the near future.
Download this presentation as a (1) quicktime interactive video (4.5 mb), (2) a PowerPoint presentation (4.4 mb), or (3) download the presentation
Coping with the State's Budget Crisis.
Ohio (Jon Dobney, Glen Cobb, Alan Gatchel) - In 1992 we were encouraged to be entrepreneurial and to think outside of the box. We have had two buyouts and early retirements in the last 13 months. Cuts have been made in all areas of the operation. Broke functions into 4 categories and then parks into categories of significance. When cuts come go to level 4 and begin cutting based on priority of core services. The lesser parks took the greatest hits. We currently have 74 parks, 20 without full-time staff, and 29 parks satellited to a regional park. Some of the regional parks are not close to the satellite park. Were prevented from closing any of the parks. Will satellite a 1100 acre park in the next few weeks with the management responsibility to the regional park located 40 miles away.
How the regional systems work. First we had to move from competition within the system (between parks) to cooperation in order to succeed and meet budget cuts. Moved from staff meetings to regional meetings and then break them into work groups with discussions of (1) focus on customer, (2) have fun, (3) do what we do now better. Results of the meeting: "We can do this as long as we can do it together." Allow employees to make decisions about what work needs to be done and how they can work better together. Lots of cross training in management. Do Blitz Day projects that crosses boundaries - a project you can't get done because of cost. Did a $15,000 roof and did it all together (all staff including management and secretaries) for cost at $4,000.
Realities of cutting staff. The loss of manpower is evident, but the expectations remain the same. With reduced staff trying to simplify life (doing things smarter). We have a team that looks at ways we do our processes, reduce bureaucracy and forms required to keep the organization going. Goal is to simplify without hurting the agencies integrity. Focus must stay on the customer. Have a dozen issues currently working on. The master committee has subdivided with teams to work on issue. Most are in the budgetary and personnel area. Have been able to secure vehicles from other agencies that made our fleet newer.
Pennsylvania (Don Mains) - Until this year we stayed with the national average. We took a $10.5 million cut (17% of budget cut + another 1% later this year) then the secretary wanted to hold back another $600,000 this year. Out of our maintenance program he took $7 million and diverted it to other areas in the state.
The psychology of cutbacks. Unless your director has decided to be aggressive with the legislature you can't close parks. Suggest 3 levels of approaching budget cuts and then suggest a response to our customers.
Little things that add up but limit impact on customers. Examples include office/contact station hours and only one shift. Reduce guarded
Big dollar options with limited impact on customers. Go to open swimming on most beaches. Mothball small facilities and small parks. Increase volunteers and partnerships.
Significant impacts on customers. Closing big parks with layoffs. Keep everything open but at a lower level of service. Move through the 3 options until you have to do this. Tell the legislature what you have done and they will typically understand. We are in the tourism business and we have lots of competition. Once we lose them we will not get them back.
How to respond to customer complaints about declining service? We know, but just like you we have to live within our means. This is what we have done (provide examples).
View this presentation on-line or download the PowerPoint.
Massachusetts (Ken Foley) - We are looking at about an 18% budget cut, and will be another 18% next year. Eighty-three percent is salaries. We are putting less money into our facilities and working to retain staff. We are moving towards change after about 12 years of stability. We are combining with a new urban agency in the Boston metropolitan region. Our fees were cut in half in the 1990s. We had a big retained revenue account and that was lost. When we lost the account we lost incentive. It has returned, but in a different manner and amounts to about $3 million a year and it is designated.
Our big issue is deferred maintenance, age of facilities, age of equipment. Some of the cutbacks include 8% visitor decline since 1996. Our new emphasis is on educating the legislature, educating the public, and educating those who are our supporters (stakeholders) about what we really do. We try to share with them what we are all about. Ask yourself, what can we control? We have the opportunity to quantify what you have and what you do (trails, programs, people served). Qualify what you do. What is the purpose you do what you do. Get that message to the legislature and to the public. The purpose is to provide them with health, safety, and social values - things that may not be seen when you drive through the parks. You need to be able and ready to answer questions. You need to have the same story and have consistent facts.
We have reduced staff or eliminated staff. We are trying to do everything and need to prioritize what we do, what we can do, and then educate the people.
We have had 2 early retirement programs in last 18 months. Lost all of our senior people and institutional memory, but kept our FTE around. There is a gap between professional capability and need. Doing a big push on cross training. Asked staff to volunteer time to save other employees. A volunteer furlough program where employees gave up 20 days salary in order to keep employment at full level. Won't need an early furlough this year. Not sure about next year. We are pushing our education and knowledge to the legislature and advocacy groups.
We have added new fees. Added some to parks where they never had fees before. It is amazing is how public accepts a fee. Example: at first paid the reservation fee from general fund, but this year pushed that $8 fee to customer and we braced ourselves for the complaints, and almost none occurred. We have gone to almost 100% reservation at some campgrounds. We do some pay-and-display. Pay at the gate from an automated ticker and the ranger checks parking stickers. Do have to empty them at the end of each day. They could accept credit cards. Also, want to put annual passes in the fee.
Summary - talk about what you do with the public!
Virginia (Joe Elton) - Something unique has happened to VA state parks this week. We were looking at an addition $1 million cut and somehow we avoided taking those cuts this week. That's the good news. The bad news is the $10 million in hurricane damage we are working through. We are the most frugal state park system in the country. We have been doing more with less for an awfully long time. Since September 11 Virginia has cut $8 billion from the state budget.
We have tried almost everything that has been talked about this morning. We try to squeeze as much out of maintenance money, and other operations that the central office can control and not impact on parks and customers. We have gone through this strategy and the only issue is (1) what we can't do and (2) what we have to do. We instituted fee increases and went through one of the worst attendance years during one of the worst droughts in history. The conservation resources fund is a non-reverting fund for all revenues collected. It was originally set up to deal with a maintenance backlog, but evolved over a period of time.
In my view, the best defense, is a good offense. If you wait until the cuts come to engage your strategy you are too late. A series of budget cutting scenarios were developed. Began with "why we are important" and two "how it impacts us when you (the legislature) take funds from us". The staff needs to know as much about the state park system as the director does and they should take every opportunity to tour their state park with local community leaders and legislators. Make sure they know what the economic impact is. On $9 million budget we have a $150 million impact. Our house committees know our problems and they authenticated that the problems are real.
Second, create a set or working assumptions about funding. Finally, went to a set of strategies based on 7%, 11% and 15% reduction. We chose to try not to close parks, but always had an alternative strategy to close the parks. If you are not closing a park, eliminating a program or a critical service, then from the public perspective "you didn't need it." One newspaper characterized it as "caretaker status." It was one of the best things that happened to us. We have developed a relationship with the chair of the appropriations committee so that when a new person is appointed that we take them on a tour of the park system and they come back as true believers.
In the early 1990s we had a few fledgling friends groups. They didn't advocate for us. We decided we needed to have friends. Fish and Game is a prime example of how to use friends. Put a lot of effort in developing friends groups. Went from 25,000 hours to 150,000 hours last year. We raised expectations and they responded. Their purpose is to recruit and train volunteers and to advocate on our behalf. Today Virginia has the only association that represents all of the state and national parks in Virginia. For the first time they presented the "legislator of the year" award. This year the governor took $1.3 million out of the state park budget and the general assembly put it back in.
One legislator said, "If I don't hear from you folks (speaking to volunteer group members) during my election then you are just another group out their asking for money and not willing to help me get elected." We need 15 or 20 hard core people who seem like 1.2 million people.
Summary - We aren't going to get a bigger piece of a bigger pie, we need to get a bigger piece of a smaller pie.
Round Table - All Aspects of Entrance Fees (not every state identified in comments)
NPS & Alabama - The seamless park concept. An initiative led by NPS Director Fan Mainella and the states. Working with Alabama State Parks is an example.
MO has had a state friends association since the mid 80's with 2,200 members and this past year they had sufficient funds to hire a lobbyist.
VA Department of Planning and Budget wanted us to look at contractual services. We had done a study a number of years ago and concluded it was going to cost us a lot more money to contract our services. The reason is that state staff wear a lot of hats, but contractors are much more single purpose in their function. The NPS is also experiencing this. We went through a period where we were required to bid everything out. Most of our operations are in remote areas with low return. Those that we could bid out were our premiere parks and if contracted out we would lose considerable revenue. We don't have the resources to go through the process knowing in advance what the results will be. We are getting fully out of the contract maintenance service. PA put out sample bids and it was much higher than current operations. MA also found costs were so much higher. Experienced potential contractual problems with the union. We have difficulty securing specific trades and are able to hire local contractors for projects (carpenters, plumbers, etc.). Also in WA. OH has done a number of individual maintenance projects in parks with contractors. Did look at contracting for law enforcement for a new park, but the union pressured us not to do it. WV and UT have had some positive local experiences (not statewide) for limited cleaning services.
Entrance Fees - OK - going to implement entrance fees next March and wondered if WI still planned to cut entrance fees. That is no longer an issue in WI. Is it expensive to get started? NPS - it is somewhat expensive to start up, but based on how you structure your fees those expenditures can be made back fairly quickly. WA has a parking fee on all of our properties. Did it all with iron rangers with 25% going to implementation costs. Put it all together in less than one month. Have had very few complaints to the headquarters. Most of the brunt has been taken in the field. It offset our budget cuts (expected at $4 million and expect to earn $4.5 million in first year). We turned every dollar back to the parks. The iron ranger is an honor system. Will go to some pay machines, but is a problem. Looking seriously at credit cards. Is cheaper not to verify credit cards. NJ - we have collected fees for a long time, but went for a 10 year period where we could not raise fees. Were able to raise fees this year, but it did it in the middle of the summer on less than 24 hours notice - it worked, but we don't know why. All of our fees goes to the general fund and we don't get any back. Now if we can predict our revenue and we exceed it we get a percentage back. MA has collected fees in 40 parks for a lot of years. There were 6 or 7 sacred cows where we could not get park fees. Tended to be parks in the wealthiest communities. We accomplished it this year as part of a "whole system package." The governor and new secretary if fully behind it. NPS - Strongly recommend (1) do not use machines because you need contact with public in the collection process, and (2) if you can get your legislature to put fees back into the park you will get better reception DE - We've been collecting fees for a number of years. From Memorial Day to Labor Day we try to anticipate and staff the front gate. Is also the first contact many folks have with the park. From Labor Day to October we got to iron rangers and it has been successful. NJ - An annual park pass has been very successful. We only charge parking fees from Memorial day through Labor Day. Take a good look at internal controls for deposit, reconciliation. You must have good checks and balances in the system.VA - If you do get to keep your fees make sure the public knows that the funds stay in the state park system! When doing honor system enforcement is difficult. We received authority to window ticket those who did not pay. WA - Give each state park authority to decide when to ticket. Cost is $118. Give them an opportunity to pay - use a note to remind them to pay. UNK - What are other states around you doing. SC - Have gone to an iron ranger system and few complaints from public. MD - We use the term service charge and it represents what services they receive when entering the facility. We cannot use the term fee. We use a variable fee for individuals rather than vehicles because we don't feel that a car with one person should pay the same rate as a car with 7 people in it. Have backcountry permit system and it is called a "backcountry stewardship program." It is voluntary now, but will become mandatory.
KY - are any states only charging for out-of-state residents? NO
The number of states and provinces are implementing new fees. The number of fee entry park systems is declining.
NJ - we begin collecting parking fees at 9 am and cease at 5 pm. Now rangers will take a tour of the area and put courtesy notices on those who came in early, asking them to pay before they leave.
DE - do you allow walk-ins? More don't then do.
Round Table - Generating Revenues, Enterprises, Ventures and Marketing (not every state identified in comments)
MO - We do not charge a permit fee for research projects (plant, animals, recreation studies) and there seem to be a lot of one. Most of the research permits are based on grants. There could be a sliding scale to charge for them. States who charge (VA). A single fee filed at $10 for research at central office. DE doesn't have a fee, but at state parks we work with local universities to resolve issues. We get all of the results. NJ doesn't charge specifically for research permits, but does for special permit at $50 plus $40 hour if ranger is used. Special use permits are variable. We charged Clearwater Entertainment $60,000 for one event. Most of the fee is figured on man-hours at $40 an hour. MA - just revised our special use fee process. We found there was no consistent pattern and that we were giving away our services for no cost. Used PA and NJ model. Established thresholds at number of people using the facility. We have a system where we now receive several thousand dollars where in the past we received nothing. A good chunk goes into general fund, but we get to keep a share. Based on scale of the event, use of park facilities, and use of park assets and resources. NPS has special fees that are focused on commercial activities. NPS has just established a new unit under the National Parks Foundation for Washington Metro Parks.
MO - We are missing other opportunities to collect fees. An example is GeoCaching. We don't charge and we should. No one present charges for it, while some of the states ban geocaching altogether.
WA - Any experience with cell towers? NPS - Force the company to give you RF maps to show what the coverage area is. A couple of companies worth getting in touch with. They are composed of people who used to work the other side of the street and now work with public agencies. Can give you use and electronic use data. Well worth talking to, but not cheap. Take nothing of face value. All poles start at 199 feet. NPS receives (based on 3) $25,000 for two and $29,500 for the 3rd and we are in a rural area. In the Washington metro area the highest is $32,000 per year. VA - Can you put it on land purchased with LWCF monies. No, but you can get an exception by writing to the Secretary of Interior.
OK - Showers we now charge. In six months we generated at one park $22,000. MO has had a state friends association since the mid 80's with 2,200 members and this past year they had sufficient funds to hire a lobbyist. WA makes $500,000 a year on metered showers. We have an on-demand hot water system. PA Free in campgrounds, but other areas cold showers are free and hot showers cost $.50.
MD - Do a bonus system for managers based on revenue generation for parks (a little more complicated than this). UT - for the first time the state revenue department has told each state what they must collect. For each $ above that amount 50 cents goes back into the Parks Department account.
NJ - Some of our managers are interested in having corporate sponsorships. Are doing it with RVs. We have a company put in on board and then encourage them to sell it at the end of the year. AR has been doing that for several years, but we purchase the RV. It was paid for in the first year. PA - built cottages of two cottages and 3 yurts and they paid themselves off in 2.5 years. We would build more if we had the money. You can build 10 yurts for the cost of a cabin. WA - Have a brochure and yurt brochure. A yurt has 150 nights and returns 22% of the initial investment costs. A cabin returns about 9% on the investment. Getting over 200 nights per year out of our yurts. VA - We picked up RV units from FEMA after the last hurricane disaster and are now rental units in our parks. They had to be rehabilitated after FEMA used them and cost about $2,000 plus site prep.
ND - years ago passed the state park fund so money could go to specific funds. We are now taking generations and have found a lot of groups who want to donate. DE - bequests - an avid user of the park left $9,000 when he died for the sole purpose of education. Had a large mansion turned over to the state. Expect to get $1-2 million endowment with it. We have a memorial tree program - we get $25 from local funeral homes for every person that passes away. The only recognition you get is a consolidated plaque on the park office. It stays on the list for a year and then the name comes off. We have gotten a lot of publicity. Since 1997 have received over $20,000. We do one mass planting a year (50-100 years). It is a model for all of our parks. MA - our conservation trust was started with a $200,000 donation (an estate) NJ - we do park benches, etc. MS - The NPS foundation specializes in getting bequests. You may want to contact them.
MO - We had an accessible group camp near St. Louis County and have worked an agreement with a large school district who now manages the camp, food services, and two swimming pools. We have been able to redirect the staff to other areas.
AR - we have focused on special events for several years to draw people in at times when the park is not usually fill. We have gotten a ElderHostel program and makes about $16,000.
DE - we have some fees for interpretive programs. We established a fee to control the size of groups. We recently had a Halloween trail and charge $2 to $5 to participate. Was $15,000 for a 2.5 day event. Other fees based on what they do - such as, travel off park. Kayak tours are $25 for 2 hours. Very successful the first year, but not the 2nd year. AR Charged for canoe trips with no impact (for years). Charged for interpretive programs and that didn't seem to impact on size. Ranges from $2 to $5. We have an outreach program where we will go out to local schools and we charge $10 for the program. The friends group has picked up the costs so the schools don't cost anything. NJ - Added fees are for chapels (weddings), in marinas a substantial fee for commercial fisherman. Movie production must pay for all direct costs. WA - we do historic vacation specials. We have charges for lighthouse tours - got $45,000 first year and rolled it into a light-keeper's house renovation for rental. These are high end rentals. Get married in the top of the lighthouse for $500. Light-keepers houses rent for $250 a night. MD - had a really successful ropes program, but DE stole our ropes course manager. Got 3 brand new vehicles donated last year. Have a water tower in our park and it has 1 million visitors. We sold the right to put a sign on the tower for $45,000 for the year.
NJ - thinking about going to local businesses and seeking sponsorships for seasonal employees and then letting them advertise (e.g., on the back of the entry ticket) "your lifeguard is sponsored by Smith Chevy". MD We do this with our brochures and trail maps. We have lease vehicles that are donated to a park for a system. Getting into the prison system labor force.
VA - we struggled with a multi million dollar beach project and thought about an increased fee for that park to pay for the project - increase fee from $5 to $7 with the money dedicated to development KY - created a capital maintenance and renovation fund and a portion of the funds came from revenues generated in the parks. For a number of years we have done special events to get people into the parks at slow times. We have expanded into recreational events. Began to charge more for standard recreation activities. Our experience is that people have not complained. Now doing company picnics and make quite a bit of money. It has increased revenue in some areas significantly. We support the food service, recreational staff do activities. Goes, on average, from 9 am to 2 pm. Put up a tent. We charge them for everything. No single person has responsibility, instead the group coordinator in the state resort parks have accepted this responsibility. Do 4 major ones a year (at one park). MO - increased camping fees about 2 years ago and marketed heavily the money would go back to the state parks for renovation. Earmarked $1.5 million in capital budget process over the next 2 years VA - we had to redo our swimming pool, but put in an aquacenter (mini waterpark). You can charge a higher fee and it has been quite successful. Grossed $135,000 in July for the site, plus they had to pay $4 to get into the park.
Merchandising - DE - we have a small retail store and lat year made $45,000 to $50,000 OH - We do about $3.5 million gross in resale - net is about $1.7. Use park stores, Ohio State Park magazine (tear off to send in), do on-line in future WV - all lodges and some camping parks have gift shops - about $1.9 million gross - run it all ourselves. Have a gift show in February where all of our suppliers come in. VA we have been pretty aggressive and asked to look at where you have a staff person. Has had a good response.
Employee Training
VA (Tim Vest) - Have increased training over the last several years. For seasonals on a 12 week appointment we spend about 25% of the time training these individuals. We have working groups and send off one member to get "train the trainer" training. This has worked particularly well. We receive comment cards and customer satisfaction has continued to rise and we attribute this to training. We have a 97% customer satisfaction on suggesting park to our friends. Overall there is an 88% positive response rate. Not all training needs to be formal. We require seasonal interpreters to read several books. Office staff always has a booklet. They are required to know the history of the park and the general area.
MO - (Dan Paige) - Have required training they must go through. It is a two year detailed training program with a 30 day, 60 day, 6 months, 1 year and 2 year program. A mentor is assigned to the new person. The Director created an academy and contracted with the University of Missouri and about 40 go through it each year. The second part of the academy is the Legacy section. Get into strategic issues and more in-depth type training. Now have a 3 day training course titled the "Big Issues - "Whys" of DSP Management. We have an aggressive training program for interpreters that is required every year. We have invited other states to attend.
AR (Jessee Cox) - See web based PowerPoint presentation or download the presentation.
UT (Larry Gray) - "In a crisis you don't rise to the occasion, you fall to your level of training!" See web based PowerPoint presentation or download the presentation.
Recruitment and Staffing Alternatives
OK (Dean Taylor) - I'm very active in my community. I've learned from the NPS just how important it is to have these contacts. I can find employees, make contacts with potential 501-c-3 grantmakers, generic business cards. I give my seasonal employees a $300 bonus. They must stay through the whole season and cannot miss any major holidays. We do lots of cookouts with the staff and their families. I get employees to come by making it our mandatory quarterly meetings. We keep the meeting to 30 to 45 minutes. I allow a reverse evaluation (360° evaluation). The results are typed up and distributed to discuss at the next meeting.
I'm in a very rural setting with two communities of 900 and 300. I like to hire couples (pay one) as camp hosts. I pay their utilities and provide a site for their RV. They do fee collection, trash pickup, clean and maintain bathrooms. etc. If I can't find a couple I'll recruit someone who is a frequent user, pay them and give them a free night for every two days work. I have access for 3-5 inmates 5 days a week. I have volunteer law enforcement officers that work at both of my facilities. Local law enforcement agencies send their staff to my sites on weekends for "more experience." I'm active in the local chamber of commerce
DE (Ron Crouch) - We use the internet as a recruitment tool. Rather than a shotgun approach, we create a web site and it must be kept up-to-date. If it is not current people will not return to it. We have built career ladders so employees can see career paths. Job fairs at colleges and universities are a good approach. We make routine presentations to high school students on career opportunities and seasonal jobs. We pay for lifeguard certification if they commit to summer employment. Work with HS counselors to get the word out. We have a pilot program to hire international students with Resort America (must provide transportation from the airport and housing, even though they pay for it). We work with the ARC of Delaware to provide them meaningful jobs. We have been able to recruit interns from our local university. A group of individuals who are recovering addicts and they come and work with us. They do a great job helping us at least one day a week. Will range from one to sixteen people at a time. We have been able to hire some of them as seasonals. Never overlook our own staff when recruiting. If our own folks will say this is a great place to work then it is best our recruitment tool. "Do your own thing Friday" allows each staff person to do something in the park they think needs to be done - sometimes it is information we couldn't get around to doing or didn't realize it needed to be done. It has made a difference in the park and the morale. "Spirit Day" each year we close the parks for a day and get together and celebrate the season. We give free passes to our seasonals to go into other parks. Finally, had an individual who got a grant from AmeriCorp and got a volunteer coordinator in every park. It has worked great. We give them a list and they go out on their own and cooperate. We try to help our seasonals to see the big picture so they feel a real part of the team.
Puerto Rico - We call our seasonals "miracle workers"
Managing User Group Conflicts
AR (Jessee Cox) - See attached PowerPoint presentation or download the presentation. MO - our area is very similar and we have had to be aggressive in order to control types of use. We have had to close trails to certain types of users. We have put in about a dozen different types of gates. AR - we have asked the USFS to go with a burm system and it has worked very well.
MA (Gary Briere) - We have a long history of sharing conflict - how about the revolutionary war! Use the International Mountain Biking Association (www.imba.com/resources/bike_management/conflictsfull.html). They are great to work with. We had them come in with two other groups (Appalachian Mountain Club & one other) to do a 2 day trail design and construction today workshop. Many trails need to be redesigned and updated to the multiple uses so common today. The Appalachian Mountain Club and Student Conservation Association have excellent manuals for trail development and construction. Roger Moore from NCSU has developed a good manual. For example from the above web sight has 12 principles for minimizing conflicts.
In the mid 1990s we authored a report addressing issues and concerns with off road vehicle use of the existing MA trail system. We felt the need to confront this issue. The end result was a series of public meetings with people from CT (where it is not allowed), NY (doesn't allow it), and RI (limited access) and MA was becoming the "only place" for ATV use. We ended up with 8 parks with 5 in western MA away from the population base. Asked, do we have the management capability to maintain from higher impact from ATV use. Could the terrain handle the use? What would the user conflicts be? An MOA was developed that became the heart of the solution. Goal was to have the user step up to the plate in a more aggressive way to make a commitment to help the park maintain the trails. Each group is required to do 400 man hours of work each year in each park. They were also required to provide user education and a trail patrol. Now 8 to 10 years later we find it difficult to get the 400 man hours and our ability to maintain the trails. We are rethinking. CT and NY users are the most dominant users. We are looking at a potential fee, but first must determine what it costs to maintain the trail.
SD (Jeff Van Meeteren) - The mission of creating meaning with your management staff and building relationships with your local community. We get a lot of pressure from local business folks. We get 1.5 million visitors and a community of 15,000. I was encouraged to get involved in the Chamber of Commerce. It may not be the only answer, but we need to encourage your younger staff to be involved in the community. When it comes to tourism we are the "show" in town. We got involved in merchandising and so much so that they wrote the governor to complain. Governor wasn't very responsive. That created more animosity with our neighbors. At that point we determined to get the community involved. First I had to convince my staff. Second to convince business people why the park is important to the community. One of the first things we did was seasonal orientation. We give the seasonals a tour and take them to the community. Give 15 minutes to each business to talk to the seasonals. Did customer service training and invited the community (and charged them $10) and had 440 people attend. We kept hearing that "we want a piece of the park." We've tried not to commercialize the park. Started working with the businesses to sponsor naturalist programs. They would come in and do cooking shows, or animals. We let them sponsor our program brochure (with coupons included). They still wanted in the park. We started sharing more information - where the users were coming from, what influenced their purchasing decisions, what kind of money they were spending in the community, awareness of different services in the community. The next step is to figure out how businesses will market with us. Last year the chamber and businesses offered a free shuttle into town from the park. Empower your people to get them involved.
SD - Two issues. We have a horse trail system and a campground next to the horse trail. We know we aren't going to get a lot of campers to use the campground. We want its use to be more generic. We also have to keep 25% of the campground for open use. It takes 75% of our time.
MO - user conflicts between large fishing tournaments and recreational boaters at their ramps
Date: Friday, November 21, 2003
Topic: Friday Program
Friday Program
The State of Canada's Parks: Issues Facing Canadian Park Managers Today - Barry J. Bentham (Manitoba) - See attached PowerPoint presentation or download the presentation.
Manitoba (extracted from the slide) A cottage is not a rental cabin, but a leasehold lot where the public has built there own lakefront cabin. Half of the cottages are located in one park. Have about 5.1 million visitors annually. About 150 businesses located on park lands.
Since 1990 Canadian systems have been fixated with "completing" their parks. The goal was to have 12% of the country set aside as protected areas. How each province achieved this was unique to their area. Ontario has added 378 new provincial parks in the last decade. Ontario is at 8.7% of the land base.
Manitoba had identified 18 natural regions and the goal is to represent different landscapes. We consider ourselves complete when we achieve representations in each of the regions, even if we don't achieve 12%. So far we have 8.4% of the land base. Challenges have arisen from forestry claims and pre-existing mining claims. Also difficult is working with First Nations. Treaty entitlements are coming to fruition and are claiming traditional lands. Land use in the area is frozen until the dispute is settled.
Nunavut Territorial Parks (extracted from the Northwest Territories) is in conjunction with the Aboriginal People. Lots of money given from federal government and considerable amount of it was used for development of park land. Inuit were actively engaged in the process. Communities involved in management of parks.
Parks Canada has announced 10 new national parks, 5 new national marine conservation areas, and to expand 3 national parks. Included $273 million in new funding. Included $54 million was provided to operate annually.
Changes: Public mood shifting from protection. Focus on economic and political stability including debt reduction, education, and health care. This has created spending pressures on park agencies resulting in reduced spending. The most dramatic example is British Columbia. They took 40% budget cuts and a 35% reduction in staff. All of their public operations are now contracted out.
There has been a lack of public recognition of the importance of parks in Canada. There is a concern about parks as a tourism base. Most would like to see this role increased, even if it jeopardizes the parks. Results in a decline in support for public spending.
Conversely we have seen tremendous increases in park visitation over the last decade.
Issues and challenges include: Aging capital facilities, climate change (low water levels, increased fire suppression costs), longer user seasons demanded, antiquated financial control, growth of the system without additional operating funds, higher environmental standards (e.g., no landfills in any parks; water systems are mandated - we are spending $2 million in one small park to upgrade water systems), skyrocketing insurance costs (we have had to extend insurance to some of our corporate partners), staff shortages, and increasing public demands for public safety and security.
Responses of Canadian Agencies: (1) Some agencies have gone to a quasi-business model that allows them to retain their revenue and to create corporate partnerships. It increases their flexibility. (2) Business plans (3) Moving closer to user pay (54% recovery in Manitoba right now), and (4) Biting the bullet on capital renewal. We are putting lifeguards back because of drownings. Three staffed beaches cost over $1 million a year.
Resource Stewardship in Times of Budget Constraints
MO (Dan Paige) - We have 5 types of areas within the state park system: Natural Areas, Wild Areas, Ecological Stewardship Areas, Outstanding State Water Resources, and Historic Sites on the National Register. There are 4 funds including: resource stewardship fund ($150,000) for ecosystem restoration and exotic species control; Cultural Resources Fund ($100,000) for cultural restoration; Prescribed Fire Program (31,800 acres currently under fire management); and Science and Research ($30,000). There are 5 integrated planning efforts: (1) Natural Resource Management Plan, (2) Cultural Resource Management Plans, (3) Resource Databases, (4) Collection Management Manual, and (5) Geographic Information Systems.
VA (Fred Hazelwood) - We cannot allow our parks to deteriorate to a level where we cannot recover. Addressed Mosquito control issue in an organized and structured way. The goal was not to eliminate other species while trying to control the mosquito control presentation. Resource Management Plans are primarily put together by park staff and minimal input from central office. We are making our plans living documents.
DE (Ron Crouch) - Everything we do in the parks - Education is absolutely the key. As you are doing things use handouts, signs, public meetings. Get the word out and help people to understand what you are doing. Removal of invasive species has been particularly important. In one 3 acre tract they took out 40,000 Norway Maple seedlings. Because we have educated the public, we are receiving good community support. The explanation of protecting the native species has significant impact on the plant and animal community. We have one trail specialist for the state. We are trying to cut many of our trails back to a 3 foot width (currently many are at 12 feet).
Round Table - Open Discussion
Carry in and Carry out - This has been successful in DE, NJ, some NPS areas. In addition many states have secured corporate sponsors to pay for the trash bags. NJ only has trash containers in camping areas. MO has it in some areas. They have no separate trash cans, just dumpsters. NJ it is difficult to enforce in some of our urban areas. Have your visitor services people walk the area and if have a large family give them a 30 gallon bag and the folks are appreciative. DE - when we have large events we still have to put out trash cans. WA - Anyone doing it in campgrounds. PA has one in a remote small campground. We have recycle centers in most campgrounds as well as dumpsters. So does DE and MA. MA - we just have a dumpster now instead of remote barrels. MD - we have established the program state wide. Dumpsters in all areas except youth campgrounds where they have carry in - carry out.
KY - how do you get bags into the hands of people? DE We have a dispenser on a post. They are located in areas throughout the park. During the first year we handed them out to everyone and 60% were thrown away. After educating most people are bringing in their own bags. NJ - we try to remind people about how much packaging they are bringing on their next trip - use tupperware, etc. We don't use plastic bags on the ocean front - instead we have a sponsor for paper bags and it has been very successful. We do provide a large open dumpster in this area.
Puerto Rico - Half of our state parks are beaches. We have implemented a parking program that has been successful. I've been trying to convince my boss to charge per person. They also want hot water. How can we collect money at the beaches? We had 3.5 million people on the beaches in just 60 days. (2) We have an amphitheater and make $250,000 a year, but want to expand on this with new ideas.
Beaches and fees - NJ - we have a controlled entrance point and the fee is per car. Many of our neighboring communities use a beach badge system - it is a daily pass or a season pass. The badge system works well and must be enforced. Ranges about $50 for season and $7 to $8 per day. We charge $8 to $10 per car. NH does have a head charge per beach and have controlled access to the beach. They park for free. The individual fee is about $1 per person. Corps charges $1 per person up to 4 people and then $4 per car. NPS - At Canaveral National Seashore went to an extensive public information process to explain to what we are going to do. Had to let folks know how important the barrier islands are.
Amphitheater Revenue Production - NJ - we have an amphitheater that we have a friends group run. Friends seems to be a popular source of working these facilities. Can take an annual fee, per event fee, and a fees for services provided. Also take a percentage of the take. VA - Have an amphitheater we operate and coordinate concerts and activities. Charge an admission fee. Not real successful yet. Do lots of different approaches including movies, festivals, etc. MO - we have an amphitheater and our naturalists run programs out of it. KY At Jenny Wiley we have a production company that has been going on for 25 years. It is part of the park, but has been run by a friends group. For rain performances they come inside. It does tie up the conference center for all summer. My Old Kentucky Home runs to ongoing musicals with the summer. It is a separate entity and is a business. On Monday nights they bring in regular groups. They fill a 1,200 seat theater easily. Another does the "Legend of Daniel Boone."
The Institute of Outdoor Drama operates out of the University of North Carolina.
Stove Piping Law Enforcement - NJ - a task force has been established for Parks in the 21st Century. The most challenging charge is the role of law enforcement. Rangers have petitioned the secretary to have a law enforcement command structure separate from park operations. NPS - We refer to it as stove piping and it didn't go over too well in the NPS. Law enforcement in the park without Superintendent having control was a recipe for disaster. There was a study done for the NPS by the International Association of Chiefs of Police. They recommended stove piping. Superintendents who do not have a law enforcement background now take a course to make them aware of these issues. It is a mandatory law enforcement supervisory course. We do have both models in play right now, but mostly in urban parks. Superintendents do not directly supervise law enforcement, but have chief rangers. WA We are entering into a 10 year program that we are generalist rangers and will remain generalists. All of the field staff, with the exception of a few maintenance folks, are all armed. We are trying to balance law enforcement training with other types of training. Once you separate you lose your customer service Corps - Our people only have citation authority, but now law enforcement authority. MO - We have stove pipe system. They are there own separate chain of command and do their own scheduling. We have little input and their schedule is not convenient with our schedule. NPS when stove piping a tremendous shift from resource protection to visitor protection.
Economic Impact Studies - MO - We contracted with University of Missouri to do this for us last year (download the report from NASPD). Other states mentioned were WV, MT, AZ, MI.
Health Benefits Associated with Parks - MA - Anybody doing anything around the health benefits of state parks? VA - At Virginia Beach we have a regional types. Work with VA Health Department to show locations of where you can exercise. It focuses on 110 miles of trails. NPS - we do a health and safety fair in our park each year - primarily for employees, but open to many others. About 50% from our park and other 50% from other parks and public. NASPD - Directors felt this was an area where we could tie with potential funding. MI has a program funded where every 4th grader goes to a state park. MA - we are exploring this aggressively and serving on a state-wide commission. Also working with one of the major newspaper organizations and putting together a supplement for western MA and links state parks to health related issues.
WA - Starting an exchange program and if anyone wants to exchange program for 6 months to a year - either country to country or state to state
AR - Does anyone have a policy on trails were trails are treated like a facility and budgeted and staffed like a facility - not treated as an ancillary responsibility - MO - I have 70 miles of trail and ask for $20,000 just for trails on an annual basis. NJ - we have an extensive trail system and have been successful with national trails grants - got gators, all-sport motorcycles, tractors, top dressers. Also getting ADA money for the trails. KY - we have several parks with dedicated staff WA - we treat our linear trails just like a park DE - we have a state trails specialist and works with a team to deal with serious problems on trails WV - used a lot of the national trails funds. We are using AmeriCorps as a staffing source - A good training tool is the IMBA. They have a trail care crew that will work with you.
Date: Thursday, November 20, 2003
