Park fee a barrier for many Iowans

By The Gazette Editorial Board

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It's Roger Lande's job as director of the Department of Natural Resources to go to bat for his agency when he believes its duties aren't matched by adequate resources. And that's what he did recently when he floated the idea of a creating a state park user fee to help pay the cost of maintaining and improving Iowa's parks.

Lande contends his department's tight budget makes it difficult to keep up with park projects and pay seasonal staff. He proposed the idea of a fee to Gov. Terry Branstad as his office prepares budget proposals for lawmakers in January. No doubt Lande is sincere in his assessment of the need and in his effort to find new resources.

Branstad is opposed to the idea, and so are we.

We appreciate Lande's situation, but we agree with Branstad that a user fee would be unpopular and discourage Iowans from using their state parks, which many see as an affordable choice for relaxation and recreation.

At a time when Branstad and other state leaders are working hard to make Iowa the nation's healthiest state, throwing up a monetary barrier to outdoor recreation would send an entirely different message.

But Lande's funding point is well-taken. And, once again, a budget issue involving care of the state's natural resources is tied to a string of broken legislative promises. Iowa charged an unpopular $10 park users fee starting in 1987. But that ended in 1989, when Lawmakers and Branstad created the Resource Enhancement and Protection fund, or REAP.

Lawmakers originally pledged to put $30 million into REAP annually. That has never happened, and the DNR, has, instead, reaped the annual problems of underfunded programs.

But beyond the need for lawmakers to honor their word to protect Iowa's resources, the DNR should also look for creative ways to address its maintenance shortfall. Volunteers could be a big part of the answer, perhaps with some form of incentives to encourage higher levels of volunteer participation. We believe there are many Iowans who would be glad to pitch in to clean up and maintain parks, given the right opportunity.

We also share Branstad's hope that the Iowa State Parks Foundation can step up its fundraising efforts with an eye on beefing up the state's parks maintenance budget. Iowans who have told Lande they'd be willing to pay a fee should make a donation.

State parks are an important resource that we have an obligation to maintain. But charging a fee that makes those parks less accessible to Iowans is the wrong way to meet that obligation.

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