Alabama to close state parks.

Governor Bentley held a meeting yesterday at Guntersville State Park and the first thing he said we are not closing the Guntersville park. A couple of representatives held a meeting at Desoto State Park and reassured a big crowd of concerned citizens that we need to stay calm, the budget hasn't been completed. One made the statement that we may have an increase to our parks when the budget is finalized. Folks are banning together to make sure our parks stay open for all to enjoy.

Mark and Linda wrote:
Alabama needs to look at its northern neighbor, Tennessee on how things are done.

Looks to me like he has. Governor Bentley is doing just like Governor Sundquist did.

If Alabama is anything like its eastern neighbor, no one cares until it’s too late. Have they had any community forums, town hall meetings, etc. to discuss the options to the areas or residents affected by the changes? Is this issue getting much attention from your reps in local/state government? If not, don’t be surprised if no one bats an eyelash until people start seeing the closure signs go up. I fear the same type of cuts in Georgia if things don’t improve in Atlanta.

Perhaps there's a need to change the way some states fund their state parks and who controls them.

Michigan for instance, requires it's state parks to be self-funded and it's working just fine. It's a separate division under the jurisdiction of the Michigan "Department of Natural Resources" (DNR).

The Numbers:

101 State Parks - nearly all have one or more campgrounds from about 500 campsites on down in size
16 Harbors and have dockage with facilities
10 Lighthouses under their control
6 Scenic sites - lookouts
In approx 4.5 million acres
1600 fulltime employees
1400 seasonal employees

State Park revenue comes mainly from the following:

The $11 per year per vehicle added ("optional" at the Michigan yearly vehicle license renewal and gets a "P" on the plate stick-on tab - approx 70% do pay the $11) which gives free entrance to and including all persons in the vehicle to any and all Michigan State Parks for the year, birthday to birthday, of the vehicle's owner. Towable RV units behind a stickered vehicke do no need a sticker nor do trailered boats. Motorized RV units do. Motorcycles are $5 daily or the annual pass.

Out of state registered vehicles for daily or annual entrance fee stickers. Non-resident registered vehicles entering a Michigan State Park a total of 4 days in a year really should buy an annual sticker as it's cheaper than 4 daily and good for an entire year at any Michigan State Park.

Campground daily site fees

Just a quick overview of Michigan's State park system.

$11 for an entire year of so many excellent state parks etc use anytime anywhere for even a carload of people is so cheap and yet help keeps the state park system financially healthy! What's not to like and it works?

This topic is all of the negative things mentioned here, but you folks that live other than in CA really have it pretty good Parks wise.

Don't get me wrong, California has an awful lot to offer, our coastline, tall mountains, deep valleys and spectacular places in between. We also have the likes of our governors, who are without question centered on entitlements, being the pocketbook of the left and political legacies.

Our parks , however, are run by out of state companies that make a great profit without really doing much if anything to improve our recreational outlets. One of the prime examples was the wisdom of the Parks Comm. in putting out to bid the concessions contract for Old Town San Diego St. Pk. The contract went to a legal firm from the right coast and they raised rents for park businesses and brought in out of state maintenance companies. The original lease holder built up the park from an old mission site to a bushelling money maker for the State and who hired local folks to work and improve the park.

Now most of the profits from the park go out of state and the services we still have are really poor.

But, they reduced the drain of hiring and paying state employees from the General Fund.

Of course there are benefits for RVers, in the few parks near Los Angeles, a dry no hookup campsite "near" the beach only runs $60 a night or more and there are several county parks on old outdated state highways that are head to toe asphalt parking lots called campgrounds. Prices are a little cheaper than St Parks but really an old highway turned into a campground and sites are only in the $30 to $40 range. Oh yeah, no hook ups and porta-potties.

And of course they did close a lot of campgrounds too which cost tens of thousands if not millions to repair after they were shuttered and left without caretakers to prevent vandalism.

Yeah, most of you have it pretty good.

There's always more to the story than what slanted or lazy reporters are going to say. This effort is originating from the legislature (not the governor). Everything has to be paid for, and the new budget is probably designed in a manner to point out the waste going on elsewhere. Its a budget proposal that won't be passed because they're not truly interested in closing parks and reducing health and safety services. They're probably wanting to cut something else that would cause more controversy (welfare, public subsidies, etc.), but you have to first get the right people on your side. Those who like state parks and want police protection might have to first be threatened with the loss of those services before they bend over and support a reduction in budgeted cost for welfare.

Its all a big poker game, and the politicians have to play their cards correctly in order to accomplish their ultimate goals. Follow the money and the outside interests and you'll see what's going on.

Here in FL, our governor has drastically cut PUBLIC jobs while building up the PRIVATE job sector more substantially. We likewise have a conservative leadership (more or less), and IMO, we're doing quite well.

Not understanding "how things are done" in other states I can't really make an educated comment about what should be done in Alabama. Like the poster above, here in TN they don't charge an entrance fee but do charge for camping. I am thrilled that TN cares about their state parks and is investing in improvements all over the state. The parks here are well used too and some you're lucky to get into in the summer. Most states neglect to improve the facilities in the parks and they see usage go down, reflecting that the people want nicer digs and modern trailer friendly amenities like wifi and sewer hookups. On a recent trip through AL we did stay at Tannehill Iron Works SP and loved it. Nice place with lots of history. I wish you all the best in keeping your state parks open, but I still say call their bluff on this threat. We are all taxed enough already.

Well, they could cut the budgets for all the politicians, but I suspect that nobody would notice. Gotta hit 'em where it hurts.

Alabama needs to look at its northern neighbor, Tennessee on how things are done. Tennessee is slowly redoing many of it's parks and adding new ones. We live near many of the state parks around Nashville, most are packed on the weekends. Henry Horton State Park was recently redone with paved parking and WiFi throughout the park. If the parks are nice, people will use them.

irishtom29 wrote:
I find the notion that parks should make a profit an odd one, I think their purpose is to serve the public. And I'm willing to pay taxes to support parks.

But what they do in Alabama is their business.

Double ditto. Still, a certain amount of "profit" needs to be made to improve camping sites and services.

I think I'll re-route some of my trips to stay at Alabama state parks this year. If others were to up their usage as well, it would speak to their popularity and necessity. Alabama has beautiful state parks and they're worth driving a hundred miles out of the way.