January 22, 2010 in Idaho

Otter backs off plan to eliminate parks agency

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Betsy Russell photo

Gov. Butch Otter and state Parks Director Nancy Merrill announce a plan to trim costs at the state parks department, but not eliminate it.
(Full-size photo)

BOISE - Idaho Gov. Butch Otter and state Parks Director Nancy Merrill announced a plan Friday to save $4.5 million at the state parks department next year - but not to eliminate it.

“We will remain the Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation, by changing our management philosophy and operating more like a business,” Merrill said. “We will have the same parks and we will be open. Our service levels may drop a bit.”

Merrill and Otter said they’ll take $2 million from RV registration funds to help operate parks with RV use, including Farragut in North Idaho; drain $1.4 million from cash balances at the department; and cut $1.1 million from personnel by cutting 25 positions at state parks headquarters. Otter abandoned his proposal to sell the headquarters building, however. In his original plan, he hoped to save $10 million by cutting state funding for parks, with half the money coming from the sale of the Boise headquarters building.

The governor’s budget proposal to lawmakers this year called for merging the parks department into the state Department of Lands. But Otter said that was just “conceptual.” He said, “The whole idea that we were going to eliminate the parks department was dead wrong,” and apologized for anxiety his proposal created among park users.

Merrill said park fees will increase, but the increases will be modest and will vary around the state.

Don Weilmunster, president of the Idaho Parks Foundation, said he was relieved by the announcement. The foundation was formed to handle the Harriman State Park donation to the state in the 1960s; Weilmunster participated in the negotiations from the start. The gift required Idaho to set up a professional parks department to manage Harriman and other state parks - and eliminating the department could have cost the state the landmark eastern Idaho state park.

“Naturally I would be very concerned if we made some changes there, because it could jeopardize that gift,” Weilmunster said. “I’m not worried about that any more.”

The Idaho Legislature now will consider Otter’s plan, which includes investigating selling about 15 acres surrounding the Parks and Recreation headquarters east of Boise and moving other state agencies into parts of the building vacated by laid-off employees.

Friday’s proposal also foresees other changes: Raising campsite fees by $2 to $3, depending on location; boosting the cost of driving into a park to $5, from $4 now; and adding to user costs for dock slips, cabins and yurts.

Otter said he wants to manage parks in a more self-sustaining fashion and avoid drastic measures like closing down access to some of the public’s most beloved areas, as some other states are considering. In Arizona, for instance, lawmakers are in the process of shuttering as many as 18 parks.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Two comments on this story so far. Add yours!

• 

  CalderaGal on February 10 at 5:33 p.m.

  Citizens form Harriman friends group
  ISLAND PARK, ID. — A new organization has formed to encourage citizen support of Island Park’s natural, recreational, and historic crown jewel — Harriman State Park - Idaho. The 13-member Friends of Harriman State Park, Inc. steering committee is holding its first fundraiser this month to bring in enough money for organizational start-up costs, including those associated with obtaining 501c3 status.

  Friends spokesperson, Kate Chase, says the organization’s mission statement is: “Friends of Harriman State Park is a citizen support group, which serves as a fundraising and volunteer partner for Harriman State Park of Idaho. We work in cooperation with Harriman State Park to enhance and preserve its natural and cultural resources and its visitor experience.”

  The group’s organizing committee has filed Articles of Incorporation with the Idaho Secretary of State – a required step before the 501(c)3 application is sent to the Internal Revenue Service. Steering committee members listed on the Articles are Chase, a Last Chance resident; Jon Stiehl of the TroutHunter Lodge in Last Chance, and Amanda DeRito, an Ashton resident. Also on the committee are Bren Dismuke, Yvonne Ferrell, Mark Harbaugh, Clark Kido, John Parsons, Sheilah Prevost, and Rich Young. Park manager Keith Hobbs and assistant manager Jodi Vincent are serving as advisers.

  To generate revenues for the start-up costs, a raffle will take place at the Feathers ‘n Fins Skiathon’s after party at the TroutHunter Lodge in Last Chance on Saturday, February 27. The skiathon will take place in Harriman State Park. Raffle tickets will be on sale at the Skiathon and the after party, at the BANFF Mountain Film Festival World Tour, which starts at 7 p. m. Thursday, Feb. 11 at the Colonial Theater in Idaho Falls, and at the American Dog Derby in Ashton Friday and Saturday, February 19 and 20. Look for ticket sellers at the starting line on Main Street in Ashton. You can also arrange to purchase tickets by calling Harriman Park at 558-7368, or stopping by the office.

  Raffle tickets are $1 each, six for $5, 12 for $10. 25 for $20. Lucky winners will take home some very nice, upscale items. The list includes a Patagonia down pullover jacket, and Fish Pimp tee-shirt and hat valued at around $300; framed works featuring Island Park subject matter by local professional photographers, including Mike Polkowske and Peggy Hamlen. A Melaleuca EcoSense home conversion kit will also be given away. Worth $150, it contains 17 “green” cleaning and laundry products and a DVD on how these products will keep your home or business toxin-free. Beautiful items from Harriman State Park’s gift shop will also be given away. The TroutHunter Lodge is also donating awesome items, including a DVD of the acclaimed 2009 fly fishing film, “The Rise.”

  There will be a separate raffle of a Rossignol ski package donated by the TroutHunter, with tickets selling for $5 each.

  For more information or if you would like to help by volunteering or donating, e-mail friendsofharriman@gmail.com.

• 

  Loudin on March 22 at 1:38 p.m.

  How can a man named “otter” be against state parks?