Will Iowa’s state parks be less safe without rangers? Depends who you ask

Iowa would have 18 fewer law enforcement officers under a plan the Iowa Department of Natural Resources is using to phase out park rangers at its state parks.

The plan, which The Gazette obtained this week, calls for gradually eliminating all 35 park ranger roles across the state. About half of those positions would be reclassified as conservation officers — who patrol a county or counties instead of specific parks — and half would become park managers or technicians.

The Iowa DNR says this move will consolidate law enforcement staff and won’t harm public safety in Iowa’s 69 state parks. Some state park advocates disagree.

Dave Sunne was a ranger and lived in Backbone State Park, near Dundee in Northeast Iowa, for 24 years before retiring in 2020. He fears the changes will result in a reduced law enforcement presence at the state parks as regional conservation officers will have to enforce Iowa laws across broad geographic areas.

“If they are going to be called over a county, they’re not going to spend any time in the park,” Sunne said.

During his two decades at Backbone, popular with hikers, climbers and campers, Sunne stuck around the campground from 8 p.m. to midnight most weekend nights in the summer. His presence sometimes was enough to send rowdy folks packing.

“We could go and talk with a group before things got out of control,” he said. “It’s not that I wrote a lot of citations, but I was there. People knew I was there.”

Conservation officers are responsible for enforcing the law at state parks and on other public lands, including 410,000 acres of wildlife management areas and several off-highway vehicle parks across the state. The state also has 8,000 miles of groomed snowmobile trails.

Seasonal staff working in state parks become sworn officers during warm-weather months, but they have authority to enforce only misdemeanors and would need to call other law enforcement officers for more serious crimes.

Johnson County Sheriff Brad Kunkel said he would be concerned if the Iowa DNR reduces law enforcement at Lake Macbride State Park, near Solon, which has more than 100 campsites in two campgrounds, a beach and 12 miles of hiking trails.

“As a larger park, I would hope that staffing would be a priority,” Kunkel said. “The bulk of our assistance at Lake Macbride happens during the overnight hours or on serious incidents like a drowning. We’ll have to wait and see if these recent changes affect past practice.”

State: Change will improve safety

The Iowa DNR says the switch actually will mean more law enforcement in state parks during the summer.

“Previously, park rangers' duties included a mix of law enforcement, resource management and facility maintenance,” Pete Hildreth, the agency’s Conservation and Recreation Division administrator, said in an email Friday to The Gazette. “They will now be 100 percent assigned to law enforcement. This change alone increases the amount of law enforcement in parks. Coupled with the addition of conservation officers' presence in state parks, there will be an increase in the number of officers at state parks during the recreation season.”

The Iowa DNR has said the plan isn’t about saving money. The average salary for Iowa conservation officers in fiscal 2023 was about $94,500, according to the State Salary Book. Park rangers earned just under $80,000 on average. So the rangers who become conservation officers could be paid more, leading to higher costs in that job category.

But for the 18 positions reclassified as park manager or technicians, the pay range is $43,600 for lower-level technicians to $59,700 for park managers. Whether the plan saves money depends on how the new positions are classified.

Conservation officers are paid from the Fish & Wildlife Trust Fund, derived from hunting, fishing and trapping licenses, whereas rangers are paid from the state’s general fund.

Money for park improvements

The Iowa House Agriculture and Natural Resources Appropriations Subcommittee this week added $250,000 to the proposed budget for next fiscal year to improve accessibility in Iowa’s state parks.

This was after The Gazette and other news outlets reported the parks have many shelters, restrooms, playgrounds and beaches that can’t be accessed by people with disabilities.

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The full House now will vote on this budget. The Iowa Senate has so far not allocated new funding for accessibility.

Overall, Iowa’s state parks need $100 million in infrastructure repairs and improvements, according to a presentation given last fall to Iowa DNR staff. Among noted deficiencies are shelters with rotten support beams, storm damage, cracked sidewalks, ungrounded electrical outlets and septic systems and sewage lagoons that need to be replaced.

Rep. Sami Scheetz, D-Cedar Rapids, asked the Iowa DNR for information about the infrastructure needs and why Director Kayla Lyon did not ask for more money in her budget request.

“This bureau manages a five-year budget with the goal of spending approximately $5 million annually on high-priority and costly projects,” Scheetz said.

“While this approach targets critical needs, it does not encapsulate all the needs across our parks system, as demonstrated by the $16 million in repairs identified in DNR documents and the even more substantial $100 million noted by a former employee.”

Scheetz, who serves on the appropriations subcommittee, said the agency should revamp its funding model to include a comprehensive needs assessments that prioritizes improving accessibility.

Comments: (319) 339-3157; erin.jordan@thegazette.com