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Idaho Parks and Recreation outlines deferred maintenance, new reservation system and plans for added capacity
Summary
Director Susan Buxton updated the committee on Idaho Parks and Recreation's deferred maintenance work, trail upkeep, a new reservation system with dynamic pricing, hiring needs, Bear Lake land purchase and plans to add campsites, docks and day-use capacity.
Susan Buxton, director of the Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation, gave an agency update covering deferred maintenance, trail maintenance, the department's new reservation system and staffing needs.
Buxton said Idaho Parks manages roughly 30 state parks, more than 600 facilities and about 65,000 acres. The department documents roughly 19,500 miles of trail (she noted federal inventories may be larger) with about 7,000 miles designated for all use, and it maintains roughly 2,000 miles of trail on mostly federally managed lands each year through its Trail Rangers program. The department also supports about 5,500 miles of groomed snowmobile trail statewide.
Buxton described about $165 million in deferred-maintenance work the department has advanced in the last four years and said the department's approach has been to add capacity while renovating — for example, building new campsites and restoring historic park lodges so they can be used and rented. "When we are fixing things, we are also going to increase capacity," Buxton said, adding that projects have included lodge and historic-building renovation at sites such as City of Rocks and Harriman, campground expansions and infrastructure work.
On reservations, Buxton said the department replaced its long-running vendor (ReserveAmerica) with a new contractor, which she said saved about $250,000 annually in transaction costs and enabled dynamic pricing features. She said the department launched the new system on Jan. 6 and, as of the committee meeting, had about 83,000 campsite-nights reserved (reservations are not equivalent to earned revenue until stays occur). Buxton said dynamic pricing is expected to increase revenue by about $500,000 and that fee differentials are modest (she cited an example maximum differential of about $13 per night).
Buxton said the department is essentially a dedicated-fund agency, with only about 5% of its budget from the general fund, roughly 190 full-time equivalent staff and a heavy seasonal workforce; hiring and retention for seasonal and full-time park staff remain a challenge. She asked the committee to consider staffing needs tied to new campground openings and housekeeping and maintenance at high-use parks (she specifically cited openings and needs at Eagle Island, Harriman and Farragut).
Other items referenced include a 28-acre Bear Lake land purchase to increase access and day-use capacity, plans to add about 250 new campsites, 150 boat docks/slips and 25 day-use areas statewide, and a note that the department currently does not have a sustainable funding source for nonmotorized trail maintenance and supports an industry-sponsored bill to create one.
Buxton answered committee questions about trail-user conflicts and said the department works with friends groups, county partners and grazing permittees to manage mixed uses at sites such as Harriman; the department has added signage, staffing and is conducting trail assessments for maintenance and use planning.
Buxton concluded by thanking the legislature for prior funding and said the agency will continue to pursue deferred maintenance, capacity increases and improved reservation and user-management tools.
