Indiana state parks to raise
fees
By Heather Mangold
City Editor
Next time visitors enter Indiana state parks, they
will be charged a higher fee.
According to a news release, the Indiana Natural
Resources Commission increased the gate admission fees for all Indiana
state parks by $1 per carload. The cost was formerly $2 per carload
to enter.
"At $3 per carload, Indiana's state parks and reservoirs
are just about the best recreational value for the dollar you can find
anywhere," said Larry Macklin, director of the Department of Natural
Resources, in a press release.
He said one of the requests made by the founder
of Indiana's state park system, Richard Lieber, was that people who
visit Indiana state parks should pay for most of the operating costs
of the park facilities. This theory is strongly supported by the Natural
Resources Commission, said Macklin.
Fifteen years ago, approximately three-quarters
of the operating budget for Indiana state parks was financed by park
visitors, said Stephen Sellers, spokesperson for the Department of Natural
Resources. Today, park visitors pay for little more than half of the
state parks' budget, and Indiana's general fund finances the remainder
of the operating expenses, said Macklin.
Macklin submitted a comprehensive set of recommendations
to the Natural Resources Commission. The recommendations include increases
for camping facilities, launching boats and renting cabins, as well
as recreation equipment and shelters, according to the release.
According to the release, the fee package is expected
to bring in $3 million each year to help pay for the agency's recreational
services.
"These are modest increases for individuals, but
they are very important for the DNR's (Department of Natural Resources)
overall ability to provide high-quality recreational opportunities,"
said Macklin.
One of the state parks that will be included in
the fee increase is Prophetstown State Park in Tippecanoe County.
Roughly 60 percent of the land for the park has
been acquired. Some work has begun to remove buildings, restore a prairie
and a wetland and to help prepare for the opening of the museums at
Prophetstown, said Sellers.
"We anticipate additional funding from the general
assembly to help us acquire more land for the park and to continue development
so that we can have a partial opening next year," said Sellers.
Sellers said that one advantage for Purdue students
that comes with the opening of Prophetstown is that it will be located
in a more convenient area. Sellers said this area is the one part of
Indiana where it has been inconvenient to get to a state park.
"This fills a huge gap," said Sellers.
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