When you remember your first meaningful experience with nature it may well have been during a visit to a State park, perhaps it was a family vacation to Door County visiting State Parks like Whitefish Dunes, or Peninsula State Park. That initial experience started an immersion and appreciation for our natural resources for thousands of people, Take that experience and multiply it hundreds of thousands times across our State ---
Whether it was to the majestic Wyalusing State Park on the Mississippi, or Copper Falls in the far North, or Harrington Beach on glorious Lake Michigan or the unique and popular Devil's Lake State Park near Baraboo, or Capital Springs Recreation Area less than ten miles south of Madison.
Our state Parks are gems and one of the natural resource keystones that make Wisconsin what it is today. Our Parks act as a primary connection to the natural world for hundreds of thousands Wisconsinites and a significant boost to our tourism economy as well.
Now imagine what our lives and future would be like without those Parks.
We are in danger of losing those parks for future generations. The loss will not be overnight but with a lack of GPR funding as proposed eventually our Parks will become shells of their former selves.
Wisconsin was one of the first states to have a State Park by setting aside thousands of acres of land in the late 1800s for the public. Today, we are confronted with a budget proposal removing public funding for our Parks leaving DNR to try to use fees to meet the shortfall. This will not work. They are treating the Parks system as a commodity not as a natural resource.
Parks are not simply a recreational commodity that can be supported by fees to balance annual budgets. That approach ignores any future park upkeep for the parks' land and stewardship needs, including infrastructure, invasives and wildlife management, and erosion control just to name a few.
Aldo Leopold said it well "We abuse land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect.”
Not all people can or will pay the increased fees. So the benefits that Parks play in our quality of life will be jeopardized for many. It will be more difficult to enjoy the physical and mental health benefits of parks and education about our natural environments will not be as readily available.
Additionally, Wisconsin will rely on a new and unproven model of self-sufficiency for the state parks. National information indicates that other state parks have been largely unsuccessful using fees in totally to fund their operations. Among our neighbors Wisconsin's fees are the highest.
Overall, the impact of state parks on the state and local economies is enormous. Local economies rely on attendees at their State Park to sustain their business. The outdoor recreation industry account for 11.9 billion dollars annually to the economy and parks are a significant part of that. Also, some areas rely on State Parks for their sustenance. All this will be in jeopardy.
Finally, there will be Uncertain Revenue for Long Term Management. Without that management and stewardship the parks will eventually deteriorate, and we are already beginning to see this. Eventually this will lead to calls for privatization.
What can be done ? We are doing it today, but the tasks will continue beyond today. We need to educate, speak up and join, support organizations like the League of Wisconsin Conservation Voters and the Friends of Wisconsin State Parks, write letters, meet with Legislators, attend hearings, support good candidates or even run for office like I did.
We must carry the message that "Today we take our Parks for granted; tomorrow they may not be here in the way we know them if at all. Parks are resources for future generations and must not be exploited for short term gain."
Whether it was to the majestic Wyalusing State Park on the Mississippi, or Copper Falls in the far North, or Harrington Beach on glorious Lake Michigan or the unique and popular Devil's Lake State Park near Baraboo, or Capital Springs Recreation Area less than ten miles south of Madison.
Our state Parks are gems and one of the natural resource keystones that make Wisconsin what it is today. Our Parks act as a primary connection to the natural world for hundreds of thousands Wisconsinites and a significant boost to our tourism economy as well.
Now imagine what our lives and future would be like without those Parks.
We are in danger of losing those parks for future generations. The loss will not be overnight but with a lack of GPR funding as proposed eventually our Parks will become shells of their former selves.
Wisconsin was one of the first states to have a State Park by setting aside thousands of acres of land in the late 1800s for the public. Today, we are confronted with a budget proposal removing public funding for our Parks leaving DNR to try to use fees to meet the shortfall. This will not work. They are treating the Parks system as a commodity not as a natural resource.
Parks are not simply a recreational commodity that can be supported by fees to balance annual budgets. That approach ignores any future park upkeep for the parks' land and stewardship needs, including infrastructure, invasives and wildlife management, and erosion control just to name a few.
Aldo Leopold said it well "We abuse land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect.”
Not all people can or will pay the increased fees. So the benefits that Parks play in our quality of life will be jeopardized for many. It will be more difficult to enjoy the physical and mental health benefits of parks and education about our natural environments will not be as readily available.
Additionally, Wisconsin will rely on a new and unproven model of self-sufficiency for the state parks. National information indicates that other state parks have been largely unsuccessful using fees in totally to fund their operations. Among our neighbors Wisconsin's fees are the highest.
Overall, the impact of state parks on the state and local economies is enormous. Local economies rely on attendees at their State Park to sustain their business. The outdoor recreation industry account for 11.9 billion dollars annually to the economy and parks are a significant part of that. Also, some areas rely on State Parks for their sustenance. All this will be in jeopardy.
Finally, there will be Uncertain Revenue for Long Term Management. Without that management and stewardship the parks will eventually deteriorate, and we are already beginning to see this. Eventually this will lead to calls for privatization.
What can be done ? We are doing it today, but the tasks will continue beyond today. We need to educate, speak up and join, support organizations like the League of Wisconsin Conservation Voters and the Friends of Wisconsin State Parks, write letters, meet with Legislators, attend hearings, support good candidates or even run for office like I did.
We must carry the message that "Today we take our Parks for granted; tomorrow they may not be here in the way we know them if at all. Parks are resources for future generations and must not be exploited for short term gain."
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