Changing vacation styles to affect state park areas

AUGUSTA — A major change in the way Americans take vacations will lead to different state park facilities, with planners wanting to provide the opportunity to experience nature, but for shorter periods of time and with more comfort.

A federal park service study and a public opinion survey conducted for the President’s Commission on Americans Outdoors reveal a shifting pattern to shorter vacations, from an average length of 5.7 days in 1985 to 4.7 days in 1989. The studies indicate that the aging population is seeking fewer strenuous recreational opportunities.

“We have been seeing some of the demographic changes they talk about in the National Park Service study,” said Herbert Hartman, director of the Maine Bureau of Parks and Recreation. “But I’m not sure all their findings can be applied to Maine.”

The studies found that overnight park stays increased only slightly, and the number of people backpacking into wilderness areas have decreased by half.

“I do think the state will face a major policy decision in choosing which areas to develop to meet the needs of our changing society,” said Attorney General James Tierney, chairman of the Baxter Park Authority. But “no matter what happens to other parks, with paved paths or hot showers, there is one park, Baxter State Park, that will forever remain wild, just as Gov. (Percival) Baxter wanted.”

Tierney said Baxter State Park is unique in that former Gov. Baxter bought the land and donated it to the state on the condition that the park remain “forever wild” and that any changes such as those indicated in the studies would be in violation of the restrictions established by Baxter.

Hartman said the state presently has a number of areas considered “wilderness” areas. The real demand he sees for the future is the development, often expensive, of “high use” parks such as ocean beaches and lake-shore areas. He said there may be a difference in what Mainers want for recreational opportunities and that of the tourists who come to Maine every year.

“We are seeing our parks used by Maine people about half the time,” he said. “That, of course, varies from park to park or site to site throughout the state.”

Hartman said he believes most Mainers want something more than a wilderness area, but short of a highly developed park with paved walkways. He said he may propose that several areas acquired by the Land For Maine’s Future Board be developed with parking, some trails and basic bathroom facilities, but not the paved parking lots, trails, concession stands and handrails on trails that mark a “highly developed” park facility.

Richard Silkman, director of the State Planning Office and chairman of the Land for Maine’s Future Board, said he believes the board does need to shift its emphasis to the high-use areas discussed in the national studies. He said acquisition of such areas is very expensive, with the additional costs of development on top of the price of the land.

“The board is moving to find properties like beaches and lake-front property,” he said. “One of the problems is that there are not a lot of beach-front properties along Maine’s coast, and what is there is not for sale.”

Silkman said he believes the state will need a major bond issue later this decade for the development of high-use recreational facilities. He said the board has bought some properties, such as a lake-front property in Auburn and is negotiating for a lake-front beach in York County, but the board has no funds to help the Bureau of Parks and Recreation develop the sites.

“I think we will probably be seeing over the next few years additional bond issues or appropriations to try and develop those recreational opportunities that the people in this state really want,” he said.

Hartman said his agency is discussing cooperative efforts with municipalities for the development of high-use parks. He said he is looking at proposals where the state would pay for most of the development costs, with municipalities agreeing to pay for the maintenance and staffing of the facilities.

“I think, with tight budgets, this type of cooperative effort will be needed to develop these facilities,” he said.

Both Tierney and Silkman stressed the importance of the bond issue on the fall ballot that would provide $5 million for the repair and upgrading of state parks and historic sites. The money would provide for some repairs to sewage treatment facilities that actually mean the difference between some parks staying open or being closed for environmental and health reasons.