Forum reveals citizen support of Idaho's state parks

_{By ELIZABETH LADEN}

ASHTON — Harriman State Park is a valuable resource to Fremont County and the state of Idaho and should remain under state Department of Parks and Recreation (IDPR) management, as should all Idaho state parks. That was the consensus of the area residents who packed the Smart Growth Coalition’s (SGC) meeting room Thursday, January 28.

SGC hosted a forum on Harriman and IDPR sparked by Gov. Butch Otter’s recent announcement that, as part of his cost cutting campaign, he wanted to dissolve IDPR and place the state’s 29 parks under Idaho Department of Lands management. Speakers were Mike Lawson, owner of Henry’s Fork Anglers in Island Park, Monte Later, who served on the Park and Recreation Board for 18 years, and Keith Hobbs, Harriman State Parks manager.

Otter later rescinded his proposal to eliminate IDPR, in part because people from all over Idaho protested. He asked IDPR to find a way to reduce the amount of money it draws from the state’s general fund — currently that amount is $4.5 million. He said the parks should be self sustaining. The Joint Finance and Appropriations Committee (JFAC) will take Otter’s recommendation into account on Feb. 1 when it meets to review IDPR’s proposed fiscal year 2011 budget.

Harriman State Park was a key issue when people protested eliminating IDPR because when the Averril and Roland Harriman families donated their 11,000-acre Railroad Ranch to the state for public use, they stipulated that it must be managed by a sate parks department, or the family would take it back. Therefore, people saw Otter’s plan as a threat to Harriman’s existence as a public facility.

Lawson said Harriman State Park is a valuable economic asset to the area because of the great fly fishing in the Railroad Ranch section of the park, where there is world class fishing on an eight-mile stretch of the Henry’s Fork, and also because of its 20 miles of hiking and cross country ski trails. Studies have put an economic value on fishing, he noted, but, “it goes way beyond that. How can you put a value on going for a hike in Harriman and seeing a great gray owl? You can’t.”

Lawson said when Harriman appeared to threatened, he felt like he’d been “punched in the nose.” He said the threat was a “wake up call” for him, and he hopes for others, to be more vigilant about protecting the state’s parks. “We need to be prepared to do what we have to do to get our state park system in order,” he said.

Lawson said he has some concerns about the call to make all parks self sustaining because that would mean the parks would have to promote more visitation. That could diminish the experience of being in places like Harriman, he noted. He said he did not want a visit to Harriman to feel like visit to Yellowstone during the peak tourist season.

Later served on the Park and Recreation Board when Harriman was being established as a state park. He said the board focused on these goals: “Man and nature.” Leaving nature undisturbed while still allowing a ranch operation that includes grazing and haying; enhancing natural assets, including the trumpeter swan and elk populations; managing the park so visitors have similar experiences to the Harriman family’s guests. Guests enjoyed horseback riding, hiking, fly fishing, and being outdoors in a beautiful setting.

Later said he thinks Harriman’s managers have “done a good job” of being true to those goals.

He said the board has six members, one from each IDPR region, and is evenly divided between political parties. He said it is one of only three boards that appoints a state agency’s director.

Island Park is in Region 6 and its board member is the vice chair, Doug Hancey, from Rexburg. (208.356.4183; skicar1@hotmail.com)

Later said Otter’s idea of putting state parks under Department of Lands management was not good because DOL is charged with maximizing return off every acre of land, which could means it would allow logging and grazing in the parks. Harriman does have some grazing now, but it’s in balance with the natural resources.

He also noted that when he served on the Parks Board, the philosophy was to not compete with private industry, and this could change if all parks have to be self sustaining. He said he has always hoped that Harriman State Park would remain the same always so future generations could enjoy it as he has.

Hobbs said it costs around $400,000 a year to manage Harriman Sate Park. In 2009, the park’s revenue was $225,000. He said Henry’s Lake State Park has a positive cash flow. Recent annual revenues there have been $50,000 to $60,000. Mesa Falls operations break even, he noted. The Mesa Falls Recreation Area is on National Forest land and IDPR and the National Forest manage it cooperatively.

Hobbs said Harriman is now in “maintenance” mode, meaning that employees will take care of day to day operations, but have to reduce seasonal staff. He said to address some of the $4.5 million it is not supposed to take from the general fund, IDPR has laid off 25 people in the Boise headquarters, raised fees, used money designated for the RV program, and may have to raise fees again. Hobbs noted that some parks were never designed to be self sustaining, and money from the “cash cows” in the system may have to be diverted to them.

Hobbs also said some people are working on starting a friends of Harriman group that could help with fundraising. Mark and Dede Draper, Patagonia employees, said they would donate Patagonia products to a raffle to raise money to meet the start up costs of starting a non profit group. Hobbs encouraged people interested in helping to start a friends group to contact him at Harriman headquarters in Island Park — 208.558.7368.

In the discussion after the speakers finished, people said they hope the state parks collect all fees whenever possible. IDPR sells a $35 Idaho State Park Annual Passport sticker that allows visitors to bring their vehicle to any Idaho state park for the day as often as they wish during the calendar year without paying the day use vehicle fee. A passport for a second family vehicle is just $5. The sticker can be purchased at any Idaho State Park, Regional Service Center (Boise, Idaho Falls and Coeur d'Alene) or by calling 208.334.4199.

Harriman State Park donated two Idaho State Park Annual Passport stickers that were used as door prizes at the forum.

Skiers are also required to pay a daily trail use fee of $4 per person, or can purchase a season ski pass for $35. This helps pay trail grooming costs.

Before the forum began Island Park residents Kate Chase and Annie Miller hung a thick stack of drawings by Ashton Elementary students that show how much children value Harriman State Park and are aware of the park’s wildlife and natural features. Chase had asked teachers to encourage students to create these works. She and others are now working on raising money to fund field trips to Harriman, since the School District has cut field trip funding. Please go to the SGC office to see these drawings — 512 Main Street. Some will be printed on useful items and sold as part of the fundraiser.

Also on Thursday, at midnight, Chase closed a petition she prepared that was signed by around 1,700 people asking Gov. Butch Otter to not eliminate IDPR. It will now be presented to the governor.

This is part of the online edition of Henry's Fork Country.

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