State parks not broken, privatization unnecessary

In her response to the governor’s State of the State address, Sen. Carol Weston suggested that the state could achieve cost savings through privatization of state parks. The Friends of Maine State Parks believes that the state’s 47 parks and historic sites unequivocally belong in state ownership and under state management. Private operation offers no benefits and in fact presents risks – lack of state control over fees, lack of uniform management and the absence of uniform maintenance standards.

Maine state parks are lean operations – collectively they comprise an infinitesimal 1/1000th of one percent (.0009 percent) of the state general fund budget. Two-thirds of this expenditure on parks is recovered through fees.

In the past 15 years, park staff has been reduced by 30 percent. But these cuts have not impacted service: the park system’s 2 million visitors per year are surveyed frequently and consistently approve of their park experience. The approval rate was 97 percent in 2006. The park system also spins off nearly $100 million per year in economic impact in the state, a fact that has been documented by the Margaret Chase Smith Center for Public Policy and Research.

Aside from all the parks’ successes, the fact remains that its extensive infrastructure is in need of maintenance funding. A recent study showed that park infrastructure has a $35 million backlog of needed repairs. This is due to the state’s historic underfunding of capital repairs and improvements. This is not the Department of Conservation’s fault and is certainly not an indicator that state management of parks is “broken” and needs to be “fixed.”

Fortunately, the state recently stepped up to honor its commitment to the parks. Last November, the parks received overwhelming voter support (67 percent) by the passage of Bond Question 4, allowing the state to invest $7.5 million in its parks.

What is a private operator’s incentive to invest in park infrastructure? None, unless he or she can recover it either through the parks’ only source of revenue – entrance fees – or through other new charges. The state has worked hard to keep park entrance fees affordable for all its park visitors. The Department of Conservation has chosen to minimize fee increases because of its sense of public purpose – to give access to the outdoors, the ocean, mountains and lakes to those who do not have the luxury of a privately owned retreat. It is unlikely that a private operator would have a similar incentive.

Weston advances Fort Knox as a model for privatization. The restoration of Fort Knox really is a success story, and the Friends of Fort Knox organization has done a remarkable job in its fundraising efforts. Remember, however, that the fort is a historic site and all improvements have been managed by the Department of Conservation in close cooperation with the Maine Historic Preservation Commission. Since 1995, the Friends have raised more than $1.3 million while the state has invested $3.27 million. The fort is owned and managed by the state, with help gratefully received from the Friends. But it is a team approach, not an abdication by the state of its responsibilities.

Last year was a great year for our parks. In addition to voter support on the bond, the governor and commissioner of conservation announced the “Take it Outside” program that encourages Maine children and families to take advantage of Maine’s wide variety of outdoor recreation opportunities. The program was created with the input and continuing cooperation of many nonprofit recreation entities, the Maine Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Department of Transportation and the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.

As “Take it Outside” illustrates, the state parks are part of an integrated system of state government services that together strengthen the parks’ programs. Severing the parks from these resources would be a terrible loss to the public.

State parks are in some of the most beautiful areas of the state, and they are responding to current recreational trends. Bradbury Mountain has developed mountain biking trails; Lily Bay State Park is a popular access to Moosehead Lake for kayaking, canoeing and boating, not to mention camping. Cobscook Bay is a rugged park providing oceanside campsites with views of dramatic tidal changes and incredible wildlife.

Each of the parks is stunning in its own unique way, but there is an intangible quality that makes them so special, and that is the people who manage them, mostly longtime park employees who are devoted to their work, whose knowledge and commitment enrich visitors’ experience. The parks are not broken; please do not fix them.

Elaine Clark of Orono is president of the Friends of Maine State Parks.