Idaho Parks director outlines deferred maintenance, reservation changes and plans to add campsites and docks

Susan Buxton, director of the Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation, told the Senate Resources & Environment Committee that the agency is pursuing deferred-maintenance work, expanding reservation capacity and adjusting operations to meet sustained growth in visitation.

Buxton said the agency cares for more than 600 facilities on roughly 65,000 acres and has maintained state park infrastructure “for over a hundred years.” She described a program of repairs and renovations across historic facilities, citing examples including the Old Mission at Coeur d’Alene, the Rocky Point Lodge at City of Rocks, Harriman and the brig at Farragut State Park.

On reservations, Buxton said Parks replaced a long-standing vendor with Brandt to modernize its booking system and pursue dynamic pricing. She told the committee the contract change “saved as $250,000 a year” in transaction costs and that the department launched the new reservation system on January 6; the agency reported about 83,000 campsite nights reserved through the new system and expects dynamic pricing to raise revenue by roughly $500,000. Buxton said revenue is primarily retained in the agency’s dedicated funds and that only about 5% of the department budget comes from the general fund.

Buxton described trail maintenance and off-highway vehicle (OHV) programs: the agency documents about 19,500 miles of trail and said its staff and crews maintain roughly 2,000 miles of trails on federal lands each year; the state supports 27 snowmobile-grooming programs and about 5,500 miles of groomed snowmobile trails. She said the agency runs avalanche and OHV safety training and funds grants—“about $10,000,000 of grants annually”—to local governments, partners and federal land managers.

Buxton discussed capacity and staffing needs. She said visitation rose during the pandemic and has remained elevated; the agency lost staff during the recession and is having difficulty hiring seasonal workers. To address demand, Buxton said Parks is adding campsites and docks when it performs renovations: plans referenced in the presentation include adding 250 new campsites, 150 boat docks or slips and improvements at about 25 day-use areas. Buxton told senators the agency prioritizes projects that add capacity while repairing deferred maintenance.

Committee members asked about managing user conflicts at sites such as Harriman State Park where equestrian, mountain-biking and grazing uses overlap; Buxton said Parks has increased signage, added staff for monitoring, is working with the Friends of Harriman and is evaluating trail-by-trail solutions. She also noted the agency supports an industry-led legislative proposal to create a sustainable funding source for non-motorized trails; the bill was described as user-group driven rather than agency-sponsored.

Buxton closed by thanking the committee for past appropriations to address deferred maintenance and said staff from the parks bureau, architecture and development teams coordinate renovations and historically sensitive preservation work. She offered to provide committee members copies of the deferred-maintenance inventory.

Buxton’s presentation will inform agency budget discussions and follow-up oversight in the legislative process.