State budget cuts could close Mat-Su Parks

This is the first in a series of stories geared at finding out how the proposed state budget cuts will be felt by those in the Mat-Su. Find out more about budget issues in the next edition of the Frontiersman.

The state operating budget is presently working its way through the Senate, but state officials are still trying to come up with a plan to deal with the cuts that would go through if the present budget is approved.

Department of Natural Resources Commissioner Pat Pourchot, between budget hearings with the Senate Finance Subcommittee, spoke about the changes to the department's budget -- as well as one of its most hot-button cuts, the threat of closures at 11 of Mat-Su's 35 state parks.

Under the state operating budget adopted by the House, Finger Lake, Kepler Bradley, King Mountain, Long Lake, Matanuska Glacier, Big Lake North, Big Lake South, Rocky Lake, Hatcher Pass, Independence Mine and Summit Lake were proposed for closure.

State Sen. Lyda Green's legislative aide, Jerry Burnett, said Friday the present budget doesn't cut as much from parks, although cuts still exist.

"Parks will be funded better in the Senate," Burnett said.

Green is on the Senate Finance Committee, and chairs the Health, Education and Social Services Committee.

Although the Senate has not yet agreed on a budget, the Senate Finance Subcommittee has proposed a cut of $530,800 to the state park operating budget. That's nearly $500,000 less than the cut passed by the House. According to Pourchot, that's enough to put just three of the 11 parks back on the "operational" list. According to Pourchot's impact statement, Independence Mine, Summit Lake and Hatcher Pass could be operated under the present budget, but the remaining eight parks would still be closed.

"Some of these sites require more management than others," Pourchot said. "The ones we added back are more important than the others."

By more important, Pourchot explained, the Hatcher Pass-area parks are more well-traveled, bring in more park usage fees, and are of more public interest than the others.

Mat-Su and Copper Basin area superintendent Dale Bingham knows this well. When the House budget passed, Bingham was shocked by the cuts.

"We just financed a $1.5-million project up there at Independence Mine," Bingham said. "It took us the last two years and we were planning to open on the July 4 weekend. We've been working so hard to get that road upgraded and paved -- it's unthinkable that we're going to have to close them."

Bingham said the closure of area parks not only has an effect on the recreational opportunities of people in the Valley, it also can bring an increase in crime.

"By not having any kind of management, it's not safe," Bingham said. "A lot of criminal activity goes on in parks. That's what we see when we're not in there."

When park rangers are making regular rounds of parks, or if a campground host is on site, the amount of criminal activity decreases significantly, Bingham said.

In his impact statement, Pourchot estimated state parks will receive approximately 1.1 million fewer visits, based on 2001 usage levels.

"It's so important for us to try to turn this train wreck around," Bingham said.

Although it may not be felt by as many Valley residents as cuts to the park system, changes to the department's timber sales will be felt across the state -- as will other cuts, although Pourchot said they likely won't be as easily identified.

"In the other areas, it actually gets a little more technical and complicated," Pourchot said. "We have significant budget cuts and significant fund source changes."

One of these areas is forest resource management, Pourchot said. Although cuts initially made by the House have been restored, that happened because the department has been allowed to use money generated from timber sales to pay for operating expenses.

What that means, Pourchot said, is the "mom and pop" timber sales that presently take place in areas such as Southcentral Alaska -- areas that are not heavily timbered like the Southeast -- will be halted in favor of larger, better-paying timber contracts.

"It will slant our sales to less local, value-added sales," Pourchot said. "We won't get the revenue [to operate] unless we make the revenue."

The shift in funding source, however, may be the basis of what's needed for Pourchot's staff to open the remaining parks now on the list to be closed. Pourchot said he planned to testify to the Senate Finance Subcommittee Friday afternoon to pitch a plan he hoped would keep parks open -- a plan that would take a separate piece of legislation.

"There was a recommendation from the subcommittee that does the budget that the parks money be restored through taking more money from [fees]," Pourchot said. "We'd take off program revenues and … put them into this other category of receipt-supported services. We are very much in support of that."

That could be done only through a bill that would give the Legislature the ability to appropriate park fees to the department for that purpose, but Pourchot said he's hopeful.

Both Pourchot and Burnett recognized that even if some money is restored at this point, the budgeting process is far from over.

"This still doesn't necessarily get you by the House," Pourchot said. "It's just a Senate approach."

Burnett said while the public comment period to address the Senate Finance Subcommittee is over, it will be days -- possibly weeks -- before a final operating budget is adopted.

"People can certainly still contact their legislators," Burnett said. "Legislative offices are always open."

Burnett said contact from Valley residents on issues such as the budget is always valued by legislators.

"We've been seeing lots of people from the area," Burnett said. "It is important because then you can talk about the needs of the community. That does affect our budget process."