New york state parks underfunded

The title says what is obvious. New York State has alot of state parks. The newer ones might be in the best shape. Others have become a maintenance problems despite efforts of staff and even volunteers. Our local park (Chenango Valley) has a golf course, beach area, campground and about a 1000 acres of woodland to maintain. Many of the buildings were erected in the days of the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps). Chenango Valley State Park was visited by the team during the study.

Financing and staffing the park system is a problem.

I spotted the headline today and heard a short report on the radio this morning.

Another new environmental type group named Parks and Trails New York has caught the attention of today's news stories.
The report on state parks is a mid-sized pdf file.


I had never heard of this group but they have been active and based in Albany. They have numerous and interesting publications.


And what about taking care of new state parks? Just last year, Pataki announced plans on adding another new park near Waverly, NY. Pataki has been great in acquiring new public land around the state. It will be harder to develop and staff another new state park.

Developing the public lands and parks means creating infrastructure. NY has never been so great about maintenance, even when charging entrance fees (or tolls, too).

Maybe the state parks department needs a new master plan? I have not investigated what is out at their website. The timing of the report by this group cannot be just a coincidence, can it? One week after the election results are announced, so is the report. The timing is fortunate for the Spitzer team to look at the state park system and how it is supported. Some fresh ideas are needed. (Hopefully, the Spitzer brains will not suggest doing the hospital thing -- "close 'em down!")

Another upstate blogger has posted some comments about volunteers helping out. I would rather see a real plan in place, which might include a real plan for what volunteers realistically can accomplish. As an old school board member, I heard alot of tall stories about all the good volunteers can do. They can do alot of good, but realism must prevail. I have done a number of volunteer activities and in this area of NY, most volunteers are grey haired and retired. And these are not the retirees that still need to hold down paying jobs! Much of the work in parks requires some brawn and sweat. If volunteers can be used, maybe something like Americorps on a state scale can be done. Young and old can participate, but young people may be drawn to the style of Americorps team work.

And who said the CCC was just for the depression years! It just morphed to Vista/Americorp and whatever next comes along doing the same thing with a different name.