27 NH Parks Could
Be Up For Grabs
By PAULA TRACY
New Hampshire Union Leader Staff
June 18, 2009
CONCORD – Twenty-seven state parks have been slated for potential sale or give-away by a cash-strapped state Division of Parks and Recreation that wants to jettison properties that don't meet its core definition of state parks.
They range from the oceanside parks at Jenness Beach and North Hampton to windswept Cardigan Mountain in the Connecticut River Valley. Also on the list: the 13,300-acre Pisgah State Park in Winchester; Silver Lake State Park in Hollis; Ahern State Park in Laconia; and Clough State Park in Weare.
The parks could be considered for sale, lease, transfer or outright give-away through a variety of options outlined in the division's draft strategic capital improvement plan. It covers planning for the next 10 years. "What we are saying here is they don't meet the intent of the state park system," said Johanna Lyons, planning and development specialist for the Division of Parks and Recreation.
Lyons said New Hampshire is the only state whose parks rely totally on gate receipts for funding. That decision, made in 1991, has led to deficit budgets and a long list of deferred maintenance, the report states. The legislature has made capital funds available, and the parks have a 2009 total budget of $19.7 million. But they have been in a structural deficit for the last several years.
The planning document is available for public comment now through July 8 at www.nhstateparks.org Two public information sessions are scheduled. One is today in Portsmouth at the Wentworth-Coolidge Mansion State Historic Site, 375 Little Harbor Road, from 4 to 7 p.m.
The final one is scheduled for June 23 at Peterborough Town Hall from 4 to 7 p.m. Other sessions have already been held in the North Country and Concord. The report evaluates 68 sites for maintenance and capital improvement needs. Parks Division staff ranked, numbered and categorized the parks on how well they matched a legislative directive for core qualities of parks.
Parks are expected to possess "unusual scenic, scientific, historic or recreational, and natural areas;" meet the needs of the region; and support tourism. Twenty were placed on the Category A list, meaning they met the core criteria under state law and should be the future focus of the Parks Division's limited funds. Another 22 landed on a secondary list. They met some of the criteria but need improved services to make it onto the Category A list.
The category C list requires "alternative management strategies," and the plan suggests transferring the 27 parks to local government, nonprofits or other federal or state agencies. It also suggests private-public partnerships to maintain them. Many of the C-list properties are on or near water, including White Island on the Isles of Shoals and Wadleigh State Park in Sutton and Lake Tarleton in Piermont. Others are wayside sites such as the Nansan Wayside in Milan and the Hannah Dustin Memorial in Boscawen.
"By publishing this list, the Division of Parks and Recreation hopes the public will comment on what will be the best management option and identify specific organizations that could be stewards of these resources," the document states. The strategic plan was a result of Senate legislation that directed the Parks Division to publish a comprehensive development plan for the park system. Ted Austin, director of state parks, said there has not been a similar, comprehensive study done since the 1940s. Since then, a lot of properties have been added and the funding structure has been altered.
The report indicates that the State Park Study Commission has concluded "that self-funding cannot sustain the Park System into the future." "It was a tough job," Austin said of the strategic plan. Next up, he said, is to decide what needs to be done with the properties on the list and to work to see who may assume them.
Click HERE to see a copy of the plan in PDF Format
List of Underperforming Parks
Ahern State Park,
Bedell Bridge State Park,
Jenness State Beach,
Nansan Wayside Park,
Pisgah State Park
Wadleigh State Park,