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Parks staff eye grant for Bear Trap shelter; Visit Casper funded Hell’s Halfacre signs
Summary
Staff said they will apply for a state outdoor grant to fund at least one Bear Trap shelter under $200,000 to avoid legislative review, while Visit Casper paid for vehicular wayfinding signs and funded Hell’s Halfacre boardwalk and educational signage.
Parks staff told the Natrona County Parks Board on March 12 that they plan to pursue a state outdoor grant to build shelters at Bear Trap and provided an update on Hell’s Halfacre improvements funded by Visit Casper.
Michael said the intent is to apply for one east-side Bear Trap shelter and to keep the request below $200,000 so the application can proceed without legislative review. He said the grant is competitive — the transcript references an available fund of about $2 million — and requires a 40% local match. "We do have some options ... as far as coming up with a 40% that may be able to move from one place to another to get that done," Michael said.
Separately, Michael updated the board that Visit Casper funded vehicular wayfinding signs along the Casper Mountain Road corridor (roughly 13–14 signs installed so far of a planned 23–26); staff will review older wooden signs and do maintenance and restaining where needed. Visit Casper also supported a new boardwalk, viewing deck, fence replacement and interpretive signs at Hell’s Halfacre; a ribbon-cutting was mentioned for May 8.
Board members said the projects are welcome additions but noted budget constraints and pending lease issues limit actions on some mountain properties until leases are finalized.
Staff said they will assemble cost estimates and formal application material and report back to the board before submitting grant paperwork.
