After being seriously charred by wildfires earlier this year, Bastrop State Park is trying hard to rise from the ashes, Phoenix-style. Early this month, as rangers re-opened park gates, they probably gazed longingly up a distant--and empty--road. As bad as it is for Bastrop, it's just a 6,000 acre example of what's happening to many of Texas' parks. Now the agency's executive director has taken up the tin cup.
"We need to raise $4.6 million to keep state parks operating," says Carter Smith, and adds this plea, "We can't do it without you." Earlier this week, Smith went before media cameras at Government Canyon State Natural Area. Like scores of other state park agencies across the country, Texas State Parks are cash-starved, and looking for relief among state lawmakers is like a fruitless rain dance.
Bucking the trend of other states, however, Texas has yet to resort to closing park gates for lack of funding. Not yet, anyway. But after lengthy drought and vociferous wildfires, natural attractions at many parks have been dried up or burnt up. The resulting drop-off in visitation rates is killing the park system budget. Park generated revenues from gate receipts and activity fees account for half the system's budget are drying up.
With nearly 96% of the park charred by wildfire and closed to the public for months, it isn't surprising that revenues from the park have nosedived by almost 90%. With the park re-opening, will the revenue begin to rebound? It's a big question. Meanwhile, park land management isn't taking time off to see. Log onto any Texas State Park website and you'll find a picture of Carter Smith, begging for help. What's to be done? Give. Outright donations. Increase your visits.
Worst drought in Texas history. The state is on fire. Yet Gov Perry still thinks of global warming that “...a substantial number of scientists who have manipulated data so that they will have dollars rolling into their projects." But then he doesn't get out to the state parks much.
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