Paying for our parks
From the Battle Creek Enquirer:
Michigan’s state park system has been a source of pride for generations. From the wilderness of the Upper Peninsula to the spectacular shorelines of the Great Lakes to close-at-hand recreation areas such as Fort Custer and Yankee Springs, we’ve been blessed with an abundance of acreage for camping, hiking, fishing and other outdoor pursuits.
But that abundance also can be a burden when it comes to paying to properly maintain the state’s 98 parks and recreation areas.
For at least the past five years, the Department of Natural Resources has been stretching a bare-bones budget to pay for little but the most necessary of repairs and upkeep. The department has a list of more than 300 park improvement projects it would like to undertake as soon as possible. But it lacks the approximately $200 million required to fund the list. In fact, the DNR currently is allocating only $2 million a year for infrastructure and major preventive maintenance – most of which must be devoted to emergency situations like sewer and bridge repairs.
Tags: economic stimulus, funding
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