As recently as 20 years ago, the state general fund covered 70 percent of the cost of Michigan’s state parks. Today, that figure is zero, and as a result, the parks are in real trouble.

Department of Natural Resources Director Rebecca Humphries says that unless a cash infusion is made soon, some parks will be closed in 2010. A dozen state forest campgrounds were recently closed. Even with the closures, there will still be some $341 million needed for park repairs, buildings, roads and other infrastructure costs that have been put off as the state budget tanked.

The Citizens Committee for Michigan State Parks, an advisory group, has come up with a relatively painless way to help end the crisis. Its proposal, now making its way through the Legislature, would allow motorists to pay an extra $10 when they purchased their license plates, which would provide them entrance for a year into state parks. That’s a real bargain since it costs $6 a day or $24 annually to use state parks.

But the best part of the plan is it’s strictly voluntary.

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