Virginia State Parks Lack Funding, Personnel

[Tim5055]

Virginia State Parks Lack Funding, Personnel
RV Business
Tuesday, October 12, 2004

Virginia's state parks and preserve system has grown while operating budgets have been cut, leaving several new facilities understaffed.

Hugely popular bond issues approved by voters in 1992 and 2002 provided $214 million for new land and buildings, but tight state budgets brought few people on board to care for them, according to the Richmond Times Dispatch.

As a result, many natural wonders and historic buildings are not being adequately tended, state officials say.

The paper reported that Virginia doesn't have the personnel to oversee three new state parks or manage the addition of 64 sites to Pocahontas State Park in Chesterfield County. Also, a nature preserve in Virginia Beach had to shut down to the public because of insufficient staff.

"The system is overextended and underfunded," said Joseph H. Maroon, director of the state Department of Conservation and Recreation, which runs the parks and preserves.

The Commission on the Future of Virginia's Environment, a bipartisan General Assembly panel, recognized the problem in a 2002 report.

"While Virginia's state parks contribute significantly to the state and local economies . . . they continue to be woefully underfunded," the report said.

The panel recommended that the parks' operating monies be increased by $20.5 million over two years.

That didn't happen. State general funds for parks have gone up just $700,000 since 1995, to $10.7 million, park officials say.

The panel also endorsed park officials' call to hire 112 more employees, but that didn't happen either. The number of park workers has risen by 20 since 1995, to 194.

"Virginia ranks 50th out of 50 states in both the percentage of the state budget allocated to parks and the per-capita spending for state parks," the panel said.

In 1992, Virginians voted 2-1 to issue $95 million in bonds

[tlhdoc]

This was quite interesting Tim.  Thanks for posting it.

[SkipP]

Thanks Tim. We see much of the same thing here in NC and a few years ago, TN closed some parks.These areas have some of the finest natural resources in the country but can't find the $$$ to take care of them.

[ForestCreature]

Sadly that's the sign of the times. So far we have been lucky here in MI , but they're always threatening to make cuts to the SP & Forest system. Someday it'll happen .
 
 The National Forest has been quietly closing primitive campgrounds. 3 in the UP closed this year. I'm sure there are more in other NFs that have closed.
 
 What I don't get is they closed primitive CGs which are not manned on a regular basis. We have stayed at some in the area they closed and never saw a Ranger for 3 days. When they finally stopped in they asked us if anyone else has been there. Why close it if they don't man it?
 

[Gone-Camping]

The paper reported that Virginia doesn't have the personnel to oversee three new state parks or manage the addition of 64 sites to Pocahontas State Park in Chesterfield County.

Hmmmm, maybe because Louise is moving west?? She has indicated that the Pocahontas expansion project is in full swing!!! I'm curious about some of this. Oddly enough, First Landing State Park has a big project going on now too, adding water and electric to the sites, should be finished before the park opens for the season in the spring (actually, it's close to completion now)... I somehow don't think they are that broke?!?!

[mike4947]

Cliff, they definitely aren't broke, but they do have an allocation problem with funding. Seems you can get all kinds of capitol funds for building the new parks and upgrading older ones, but there's nothing in the budgets for actually operating them once they are built.

Sort of "you build them and they will fund them" They just haven't kept up with the "dream".

[vjm1639]

Interestingly though...the vast majority of our state parks here are beautifully maintained.  They are certainly much better than many state parks I've seen!

[stateparkgrl]

Mike - you are right.  The last two Bond Referendums that passed built a number of additional facilities here at Pocahontas...but unfortunately, did not give us the money to manage them. We have not gotten any extra funding for additional staff - in fact, due to low moral and high turn-over, our staff is the SMALLEST I have seen it in many years. We just can't keep working the hours we work for the pay we receive. We lost another Park Ranger to a private sector job just this week.

Thanks Tim, for your posting. My new District Manager, Ann Zahn, was on the front page of the Richmond Times-Dispatch last Monday. She is a great person - and did a terrific job voicing the concerns of the Parks in Virginia and the staffs who are trying to keep them going.

What is most depressing is that Virginia ranks NUMBER 50 in the nation on the amount of funding allocated to State Parks. Hopefully, opening the eyes of the public with the recent media coverage will help.

No Cliff - I'm not in Western Virginia Full Time YET...still waiting for that dream job in the mountians to go with the house!!!

Louise