DNR outlines parks funding, ARPA projects and accessibility investments as visitation surges

Chief Ron Olson, chief of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Parks and Recreation Division, told the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development and Natural Resources that state parks are seeing sustained increases in use and that the agency is relying on user-generated revenue plus ARPA and private funding to address long-running infrastructure needs.

Olson said the DNR recorded 38 million state park visitors in 2023 and that camping and lodging revenue, recreational passports and oil-and-gas royalties remain the division’s primary funding sources. "We're in the lifelong memory business," Olson said, describing parks’ role in public health, tourism and local economies.

The nut graf: DNR officials asked the subcommittee to recognize that most park funding is restricted and user-driven; they outlined how ARPA dollars, private grants and an endowment for a new Genesee County park will be used to rehabilitate water and sewer systems, electric service and other aging infrastructure that cannot be sustained from routine operating revenue.

Olson gave a budget overview showing the department’s overall appropriation and how parks funding is distributed among restricted funds, an endowment corpus and a small general-fund contribution. He said the park…