Wyoming State Parks outlines new strategic plan, volunteer push and site-criteria concerns

Dave Glenn, director of the Wyoming Department of State Parks and Cultural Resources, told the Travel, Recreation, Wildlife & Cultural Resources interim committee on June 5 in Dubois that his agency is finalizing a four‑pillar strategic plan and pressing to expand a volunteer program that logged just over 20,000 hours last year. "We punch above our weight," Glenn said, noting state parks and historic sites, and trails together contribute about $781,000,000 in annual economic impact and more than $1 billion when cultural resources are included.

The nut graf: Glenn framed the briefing around workforce and capacity limits, site‑criteria procedures that trigger statutory requirements before creating new parks or historic sites, and several near‑term projects that could require legislative or interagency action — including the Outdoor Recreation Tourism Trust Fund rules, a $10,000,000 pass‑through for the Wyoming State Shooting Complex, and the Fort Phil Kearny interpretive center backed by a $1,100,000 Helmsley Charitable Trust gift.

Glenn said the department’s new strategic plan narrows its work into four pillars: inspiring service and engagement; stewardship (including cultural and natural resource management required by statute); economic and community impact; and employee recruitment/retention. He described a renewed push to double volunteer hours over three to four years and urged improved facilities for campground hosts and other volunteers.

On site‑criteria work — the internal rule process the agency uses before it recommends creation or disposal of parks and historic sites — Glenn told the committee the planning team is very small. "My planning department has three people," he said, and cited the High Plains Research Station at Arbor project as an example: State Parks logged roughly 450 staff hours to complete the site‑criteria packet in 2023 and that effort then stalled in the Legislature. "I'm trying to figure out is there a gate earlier on we can shut before my people spend 450 hours," Glenn said, asking legislators to consider whether the committee or another earlier review could signal whether projects should proceed.

Glenn and committee members discussed possible use of outside consultants and special‑revenue set‑asides to handle large master‑planning tasks. Representative Connolly pressed whether staffing expectations are part of site criteria; Glenn said they are, and used Gramma Rocks Reservoir as an example that currently lacks required capital and operating funding (the planning package estimated roughly $25,000,000 in capital needs and five new full‑time positions plus a roughly $1,000,000 annual operating cost).

The director also gave operational updates: the department is pursuing a nomination for the National Recreation and Park Association gold medal; finalizing Outdoor Recreation Tourism Trust Fund board rules with a target to begin awarding grants for projects funded July 1, 2026; and acting as the state pass‑through for the Wyoming State Shooting Complex funding, with memorandums of understanding under negotiation. He reported 2024 visitation to state parks at about 4,800,000 — up 5% from 2023 and 5% above the five‑year average — and said an earlier overcount at a Hot Springs County counter had been corrected (a previously defective magnetic counter had overcounted by about 600,000 per year and has been repaired).

On cultural resources and the museum, Deputy Director Sarah Sheen and State Museum Director Kevin Ramler briefed the committee on archives and museum funding. Sheen said the State Archives already has statutory authority to adjust many research and copy fees (some had not changed in 30 years) and the agency will pursue those adjustments administratively. Ramler asked the committee to consider authorizing the State Museum to charge a modest admission or program fee to support enhanced exhibits, outreach and program expansion; the museum has been free for 130 years and currently produces modest earned revenue (about $17,000 annually from its gift shop). Ramler said fees would support exhibit modernization, outreach trunks for schools, field‑trip programs that reach more than 30,000 students per year, and matching funds for larger grants.

Committee action: the panel instructed staff to prepare bill drafts for (1) statutory authority for the State Museum to charge fees and (2) a clarification allowing State Parks to charge trail fees on state parks; both drafts passed committee motion. A separate motion to draft language changing the local‑option lodging tax statute to allow local boards to use lodging tax for capital and maintenance (for trails) failed on a committee vote.

Ending note: Glenn told the committee he and staff will return with further proposals on site‑criteria efficiency and volunteer program reinvigoration, and urged continued interagency collaboration to expand recreation‑sector economic impact while ensuring stewardship of cultural and natural resources.